So Philadelphia is the place where the Michael Vick Media Circus will occur. Early reaction there is largely puzzlement with some dismay mixed in. This is a curious move for the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is getting old and has had injury issues. Kevin Kolb has a knee injury and hasn't shown much to indicate he's ready to be McNabb's successor. If Vick shows them enough, maybe he's the man next year. On the other hand, Vick's previous experience in the West Coast offense wasn't very good - it prioritizes decision making and accuracy, neither of which are his best skills. One thing for sure: tickets for the Eagles visit to the Georgia Dome December 6 are suddenly going to be much more expensive. Lifelong Philly fan John Kincade is on vacation, but I suspect you'll still hear him turn up on 680 the Fan in Atlanta today. It should be some must hear radio when he does.
As for Vick himself, we'll see what he has to say Sunday on "60 Minutes" but he has now spoken on the record to a newspaper from Virginia. Reading his comments, I get the impression he's going to say the right things but still doesn't really get it. It's easy to forget that even before the dog fighting mess came to light Vick was involved with multiple embarassing episodes. Among other things he flicked off the Atlanta fans, had the infamous water bottle with hidden compartment at the airport, and became famous for his use of Ron Mexico as an alias. Will Vick go back to dogfighting again? Of course not - even if he wanted to, the dog fighting thugs would likely assume it was some sort of sting operation and steer clear of him. Saying his 2010 will be about "being the face of the NFL for the next ten years" doesn't convey that Vick has been very humbled by his experience, though.
College sports are all about the student-athletes getting to enjoy the thrill of competition. It's not about the money, which is why the NCAA is looking to raise the cost of applying to join Division 1 (and get a share of the basketball tournament money) from fifteen thousand to to one million dollars. Remember, it's all about the kids.
When I was a kid, I collected baseball cards and enjoyed it. Unfortunately, too many companies got involved with the hobby around the end of the Eighties. It used to be a challenge to put together a full set, but they began printing so many copies of the "basic" cards that stores couldn't give them away. Meanwhile, new high tech lines of cards came out that focused more on ultra fancy photos and "rare inserts" but also would cost two to three bucks for a pack with half a dozen cards. It was all just too much, and so the business has largely died. Now MLB has reduced the number of licensed companies to one: Topps. They're hoping this will regenerate interest, but I'm afraid it's too late. A kid today can see a hundred photos of his favorite player on the guy's website, and maybe follow him on Twitter. His stats are available instantly anytime. Even if baseball is lucky enough to have a 12 year old be a fan, why would he feel the need to buy a pack of cards anymore?
I'm looking forward to getting down to Gainesville tonight after my show. Haven't been there since April, which is the longest I've been away since enrolling in 1991. I'll be doing interviews for some of my fightingators.com work after practice Saturday morning and then writing them up over the next few days. Hope your weekend is a good one - see you back here Monday.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Beano Cook wouldn't even buy this
Joe Montana was reciting from the old Bob Davie book of excuses in South Bend yesterday. The legendary QB claims Notre Dame's problem is that their academic standards are just too high to compete with the likes of Florida and Oklahoma. That might fly if ND was losing to those teams. They've been losing to Syracuse and Navy. Beyond that, Jimmy Clausen and Sam Young were the most sought guys in the entire country at their positions coming out of high school. Neither player's career has progressed very fast compared to talented guys at other programs. It's not reasonable for anyone to be stuck in the Forties and thinking Notre Dame should dominate college football. That will never happen again. To absolve Charlie Weis and his staff of their dreadful performance over the past two years because the academic standards aren't totally accomodating is absurd though.
With football taking center stage now and the Reds fairly irrelevant to MLB all season long, maybe no one will pay much attention to Bronson Arroyo's USA Today interview that's been posted this morning. That would be a mistake, because he's as blunt about the performance enhancing drug debate as anyone's ever going to be...
"As far as looking at Manny Ramirez like he's Ted Bundy, you're out of your mind. At the end of the day, you think anybody really (cares) whether Manny Ramirez's kidneys fail and he dies at 50?"
Arroyo makes it clear that he's still taking anything which could provide him an edge that isn't specifically banned by MLB. Not sure why Arroyo's willing to be as candid as he is here, but you can definitely believe there are plenty of others who feel exactly as he does.
That Arroyo interview is the kind of thing you'd think "60 Minutes" would come up with when they choose to focus on sports. Instead, they've tended to be remarkably soft on the athletes they profile. This weekend, odds are very strong that trend will continue. Michael Vick is doing his first post prison interview with them. Which reporter will handle Vick - maybe the outstanding Scott Pelley? Perhaps a special appearance by Mike Wallace? Try James Brown on for size. JB is a well respected pregame host for a reason - he's great at keeping the mood light and balancing out all the competing egos on a set. Those skills fit what's needed to do a good job on the Vick profile extremely poorly. I hope Brown holds Vick's feet to the fire on why a team should trust his judgement or his choices of friends, but I'm not betting on it.
The NFL has had a recent tradition of holding a "big name" concert as part of the first night of their season. They've done a great job of geting quality artists for Super Bowl halftime shows the past few years - Springsteen, Tom Petty, Prince, McCartney and the Stones are hard to match up with. When it comes to the opener, it doesn't seem like they even want to try. As a result, prepare to enjoy the musical stylings of the Black Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw four weeks from now. Maybe they can do that super clever "I'm so 2008, you're so 2000 and late" song - just what pro football fans enjoy! For a halftime show, they could hire the guy from this video to come out and catch laptops with his butt.
With football taking center stage now and the Reds fairly irrelevant to MLB all season long, maybe no one will pay much attention to Bronson Arroyo's USA Today interview that's been posted this morning. That would be a mistake, because he's as blunt about the performance enhancing drug debate as anyone's ever going to be...
"As far as looking at Manny Ramirez like he's Ted Bundy, you're out of your mind. At the end of the day, you think anybody really (cares) whether Manny Ramirez's kidneys fail and he dies at 50?"
Arroyo makes it clear that he's still taking anything which could provide him an edge that isn't specifically banned by MLB. Not sure why Arroyo's willing to be as candid as he is here, but you can definitely believe there are plenty of others who feel exactly as he does.
That Arroyo interview is the kind of thing you'd think "60 Minutes" would come up with when they choose to focus on sports. Instead, they've tended to be remarkably soft on the athletes they profile. This weekend, odds are very strong that trend will continue. Michael Vick is doing his first post prison interview with them. Which reporter will handle Vick - maybe the outstanding Scott Pelley? Perhaps a special appearance by Mike Wallace? Try James Brown on for size. JB is a well respected pregame host for a reason - he's great at keeping the mood light and balancing out all the competing egos on a set. Those skills fit what's needed to do a good job on the Vick profile extremely poorly. I hope Brown holds Vick's feet to the fire on why a team should trust his judgement or his choices of friends, but I'm not betting on it.
The NFL has had a recent tradition of holding a "big name" concert as part of the first night of their season. They've done a great job of geting quality artists for Super Bowl halftime shows the past few years - Springsteen, Tom Petty, Prince, McCartney and the Stones are hard to match up with. When it comes to the opener, it doesn't seem like they even want to try. As a result, prepare to enjoy the musical stylings of the Black Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw four weeks from now. Maybe they can do that super clever "I'm so 2008, you're so 2000 and late" song - just what pro football fans enjoy! For a halftime show, they could hire the guy from this video to come out and catch laptops with his butt.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Jim Delany: "This conference goes to eleven"
The arrogance of the Big Ten's Commissioner Jim Delany never ceases to amaze. This is the same guy who issued an open letter on the conference's website right after Florida gutted Ohio State like a fish claiming "they're only faster because they can admit dummies". Larry Grant playing in that game for Ohio State after being admitted right away once SEC standards wouldn't let him into UF directly contradicted that, but Jim isn't big on letting facts interfere with his rhetoric. Now the SEC has received widespread acclaim for its TV package, which means Delany has to insist as usual that the Big Ten's is better. He sneers at the idea the SEC will benefit from all their new exposure, and asserts the Big Ten network is in more of the nation's top markets. There are two problems with that rationale:
1. The SEC is currently thumping the Big Ten. Does anyone want to argue that the new vastly wider reach of their broadcasts will somehow hinder them from doing that? If the new deal gives the SEC even two percent more ability to reach kids and sell merchandise, it's still an improvement on a situation where they're already ruling the roost.
2. The SEC's new ESPN produced over the air package (aka the "JP game") will come on established local channels. The Big Ten Network, which is a good product, often requires people to pay extra and go looking for it far up the channel list. As an example, here in Columbia I can get the network only as part of a digital sports package on channel 148. The SEC game is on channel 3. Which do you think a recruitable athlete in a place like Los Angeles, Houston or Dallas is more likely to see?
The SEC gets their money regardless of whether the networks can sell ads during the broadcasts or not. The Big Ten has to battle for ad dollars on their network in a very difficult time for all media ventures to do so. Delany would really do himself a favor if he stopped trying to claim victories after losses.
The SEC's currently looking at its bowl partnerships and waiting to see what's going to happen with the game in Orlando. Between Atlanta, Dallas and Jacksonville there are several bowls who might be willing to spring for some pretty big dollars to move up in the pecking order. I'd love to see there be more flexibility in the possibilities, which currently have teams like Kentucky stuck around the Music City/Liberty bowl tier every single year. Mixing it up a little bit would be nice. The Orlando bowl may be the single most inconvenient and poorly organized major event I have ever covered, by the way. I would love to see the SEC switch their bid there down to the Champs Bowl and give the better teams to cities like Tampa, Atlanta or Jacksonville who do things right.
The Rick Pitino extortion story had all sorts of unseemly stuff attached to it as soon as it hit the press. Yesterday evening, the Louisville paper finally got the confirmation needed to verify the rumors. Pitino apparently acknowledged a sexual encounter with the woman in question and provided funds for her to have an abortion. Her allegations against Pitino have been deemed untrue by prosecutors, and the story makes clear why - things she alleges happened simply could not have on the dates she claims. Whether this mess had anything to do with Pitino's son deciding to leave Louisville and join Billy Donovan's staff or not, there will be people who draw that conclusion. It appears this soap opera will only get uglier.
I didn't mind the Bucs making the decision to let Derrick Brooks go as part of a youth movement, although as usual they didn't do a very good job of the way they handled his departure. Now there's a chance they may see Brooks again twice this year as a member of the New Orleans Saints. A lot of people thought Brooks would wind up in New England when he was released, but so far he hasn't received much interest from anyone. The guy can still help someone, and he's the gold standard for the kind of leader you want in a locker room. I'd hate to see Brooks go against Tampa Bay, but if he does I hope he has a monster day.
1. The SEC is currently thumping the Big Ten. Does anyone want to argue that the new vastly wider reach of their broadcasts will somehow hinder them from doing that? If the new deal gives the SEC even two percent more ability to reach kids and sell merchandise, it's still an improvement on a situation where they're already ruling the roost.
2. The SEC's new ESPN produced over the air package (aka the "JP game") will come on established local channels. The Big Ten Network, which is a good product, often requires people to pay extra and go looking for it far up the channel list. As an example, here in Columbia I can get the network only as part of a digital sports package on channel 148. The SEC game is on channel 3. Which do you think a recruitable athlete in a place like Los Angeles, Houston or Dallas is more likely to see?
The SEC gets their money regardless of whether the networks can sell ads during the broadcasts or not. The Big Ten has to battle for ad dollars on their network in a very difficult time for all media ventures to do so. Delany would really do himself a favor if he stopped trying to claim victories after losses.
The SEC's currently looking at its bowl partnerships and waiting to see what's going to happen with the game in Orlando. Between Atlanta, Dallas and Jacksonville there are several bowls who might be willing to spring for some pretty big dollars to move up in the pecking order. I'd love to see there be more flexibility in the possibilities, which currently have teams like Kentucky stuck around the Music City/Liberty bowl tier every single year. Mixing it up a little bit would be nice. The Orlando bowl may be the single most inconvenient and poorly organized major event I have ever covered, by the way. I would love to see the SEC switch their bid there down to the Champs Bowl and give the better teams to cities like Tampa, Atlanta or Jacksonville who do things right.
The Rick Pitino extortion story had all sorts of unseemly stuff attached to it as soon as it hit the press. Yesterday evening, the Louisville paper finally got the confirmation needed to verify the rumors. Pitino apparently acknowledged a sexual encounter with the woman in question and provided funds for her to have an abortion. Her allegations against Pitino have been deemed untrue by prosecutors, and the story makes clear why - things she alleges happened simply could not have on the dates she claims. Whether this mess had anything to do with Pitino's son deciding to leave Louisville and join Billy Donovan's staff or not, there will be people who draw that conclusion. It appears this soap opera will only get uglier.
I didn't mind the Bucs making the decision to let Derrick Brooks go as part of a youth movement, although as usual they didn't do a very good job of the way they handled his departure. Now there's a chance they may see Brooks again twice this year as a member of the New Orleans Saints. A lot of people thought Brooks would wind up in New England when he was released, but so far he hasn't received much interest from anyone. The guy can still help someone, and he's the gold standard for the kind of leader you want in a locker room. I'd hate to see Brooks go against Tampa Bay, but if he does I hope he has a monster day.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Good thing this site doesn't have video
The SEC is making billions from their new TV deals, but they still want to squeeze every possible dollar out of people. As a result, the SEC Digital Network has been created and the conference is issuing new media policies. The original plan, which among other things contained a clause that would have eliminated the ability of all student media outlets to cover the games played by their schools, is now being revised. Among their restrictions, the conference also intended to no longer allow any websites to show video from games or press conferences more than 72 hours after the end of the event. Remember though, this sport is played by "student-athletes" for the pure love of competition. Don't you dare suggest anyone pay them a dime! Hopefully the SEC will pull back from some of the ridiculous excesses of this policy, but they are going to do everything they can to get more out of your wallet.
Fifteen ESPN college football gurus, including my buddy Chris Fallica, vote in their weekly power rankings. It's no surprise that UF was a unanimous number one, but some individual opinions stand out. Of particular interest to me is Bruce Feldman's putting Houston at number 20, one spot ahead of Georgia. The Cougars are a good team - they'll probably beat Mississippi State later this year. Better than Georgia, though? Hmmm. Feldman doesn't seem like he's believing in a Joe Cox led team, and I suspect he's correct not to do so. Ivan Maisel has Notre Dame at number eleven - who knew the Hawaii Bowl was the test of greatness? For the record, I think Nevada has a great shot at beating ND in South Bend on the first week of the season.
Speaking of student-athletes, Colorado decided to have one of theirs do a blog of his senior season. Then he made the mistake of actually being honest about something that made the school uncomfortable - can't have that! What shocking revelation did cornerback Ben Burney share? He noted he woke up in bed with a woman. The school edited that part out of his blog, the censored version of which can be seen here, and have since told him he won't be doing any more posts. Apparently the notion of an unmarried 22 year old having female companionship in bed was a little too hot for CU to handle. This from the athletic department of a school located in a place frequently called "The People's Republic of Boulder". The nerve of this kid, actually thinking writing something meant he could express what he felt! Wonderful way for the Buffs to start the season - always a great idea to alienate a senior.
Not that I had high hopes for the Bucs this year to begin with, but the news Antonio Bryant is injured and will miss all of preseason only further diminishes my expectations. There aren't many weapons in the Tampa Bay passing game to begin with, and now the one teams might have feared will be gimpy at best when the season starts and have gotten very little work with whoever the quarterback turns out to be.
Fifteen ESPN college football gurus, including my buddy Chris Fallica, vote in their weekly power rankings. It's no surprise that UF was a unanimous number one, but some individual opinions stand out. Of particular interest to me is Bruce Feldman's putting Houston at number 20, one spot ahead of Georgia. The Cougars are a good team - they'll probably beat Mississippi State later this year. Better than Georgia, though? Hmmm. Feldman doesn't seem like he's believing in a Joe Cox led team, and I suspect he's correct not to do so. Ivan Maisel has Notre Dame at number eleven - who knew the Hawaii Bowl was the test of greatness? For the record, I think Nevada has a great shot at beating ND in South Bend on the first week of the season.
Speaking of student-athletes, Colorado decided to have one of theirs do a blog of his senior season. Then he made the mistake of actually being honest about something that made the school uncomfortable - can't have that! What shocking revelation did cornerback Ben Burney share? He noted he woke up in bed with a woman. The school edited that part out of his blog, the censored version of which can be seen here, and have since told him he won't be doing any more posts. Apparently the notion of an unmarried 22 year old having female companionship in bed was a little too hot for CU to handle. This from the athletic department of a school located in a place frequently called "The People's Republic of Boulder". The nerve of this kid, actually thinking writing something meant he could express what he felt! Wonderful way for the Buffs to start the season - always a great idea to alienate a senior.
Not that I had high hopes for the Bucs this year to begin with, but the news Antonio Bryant is injured and will miss all of preseason only further diminishes my expectations. There aren't many weapons in the Tampa Bay passing game to begin with, and now the one teams might have feared will be gimpy at best when the season starts and have gotten very little work with whoever the quarterback turns out to be.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Shannon's how to get rich backup plan: help Nigerian prince who emailed him get money out of country
Everyone who knows Cornelius Ingram was saddened to hear that he had torn his left knee's ACL again at Philadelphia's training camp. This does reinforce that Urban Meyer and his staff absolutely made the correct decision in not letting Ingram play in the national title game. He looked just fine in workouts, but they said no to even a few snaps in the big game. If this had happened before Ingram got himself at least some pro money, it would have been a disaster. It's particularly bad news for Ingram that he tore the same knee - assuming they took the graft out of his patella tendon the way they did when I tore mine, it takes five years to regenerate. He'll likely have to get a cadaver graft now, which carries its own set of risks. Hopefully things will eventually work out for him - CI's a good guy.
Bobby Bowden said yet again yesterday he wants to go out on top with one more national title. I want Shakira to come to my house and reenact her dancing from the "She Wolf" video. We have an equal chance of getting what we're after. More importantly, Mickey Andrews says he's going to be done after this year. Since no one believes Bobby's calling it quits before he's forced to after 2010, what's going to happen with that defensive coordinator spot? Does Jimbo Fisher make the hire, or does Bowden? Everyone in Tallahassee knows Fisher wants to completely remake the defensive staff, so there's no way he's going to be on board with doing something like promoting Chuck Amato for the season. This will be a very interesting test of the "coach in waiting" concept.
I read with great amusement the Miami Herald's piece about Randy Shannon's supposed genius decision not to accept a contract extension yet because if the Hurricanes go 9-3 or 10-2 like he thinks they will then he'll really be able to cash in. I see a couple of slight problems with that plan: 1. They won't go 9-3 and 2. Even if they did, Shannon won't make much more than he would if signed an extension today because UM has no money. If they did, they would never have hired Shannon in the first place. The article notes Shannon "won't make that leap" to Urban Meyer's four million a year pay level without winning a national title. Gee, you think? The Canes couldn't keep the championship coaches they did have back when the price of the NCAA poker game was a lot cheaper than it is now. Also, exactly who would drive up Shannon's price by coveting the services of a head coach who is terrible with the media as the public face of the program and changes coordinators the way some people do their socks?
When word came down on Friday that Boston had designated John Smoltz for assignment to the minors, I thought he was done. At minimum, no one could put him out there as a starter again. He's been a disaster this year, and at 42 that's not likely to suddenly turn around. Astoundingly enough, ESPN reports lots of teams are lining up to grab Smoltz if they can. I hate to see this - it reminds me of Steve Carlton pitching for the White Sox, Giants, Cleveland and Minnesota in less than a year and a half when he was clearly used up. It would have been better if Smoltz had retired and been able to potentially go into Cooperstown in the same class as Greg Maddux and (should he not try again to pitch in MLB next year) Tom Glavine. His competitive desire wouldn't let him. Hopefully it won't compound the problem by leading Smoltz to prolong this year's embarassment.
I won't rehash the death of John Hughes since I wrote about it Friday, but I strongly encourage you to read this blog post by a woman who was pen pals with Hughes as a teenager if you have not done so already. It's an extraordinary story which perfectly explains why Hughes's films spoke to my generation so well.
Bobby Bowden said yet again yesterday he wants to go out on top with one more national title. I want Shakira to come to my house and reenact her dancing from the "She Wolf" video. We have an equal chance of getting what we're after. More importantly, Mickey Andrews says he's going to be done after this year. Since no one believes Bobby's calling it quits before he's forced to after 2010, what's going to happen with that defensive coordinator spot? Does Jimbo Fisher make the hire, or does Bowden? Everyone in Tallahassee knows Fisher wants to completely remake the defensive staff, so there's no way he's going to be on board with doing something like promoting Chuck Amato for the season. This will be a very interesting test of the "coach in waiting" concept.
I read with great amusement the Miami Herald's piece about Randy Shannon's supposed genius decision not to accept a contract extension yet because if the Hurricanes go 9-3 or 10-2 like he thinks they will then he'll really be able to cash in. I see a couple of slight problems with that plan: 1. They won't go 9-3 and 2. Even if they did, Shannon won't make much more than he would if signed an extension today because UM has no money. If they did, they would never have hired Shannon in the first place. The article notes Shannon "won't make that leap" to Urban Meyer's four million a year pay level without winning a national title. Gee, you think? The Canes couldn't keep the championship coaches they did have back when the price of the NCAA poker game was a lot cheaper than it is now. Also, exactly who would drive up Shannon's price by coveting the services of a head coach who is terrible with the media as the public face of the program and changes coordinators the way some people do their socks?
When word came down on Friday that Boston had designated John Smoltz for assignment to the minors, I thought he was done. At minimum, no one could put him out there as a starter again. He's been a disaster this year, and at 42 that's not likely to suddenly turn around. Astoundingly enough, ESPN reports lots of teams are lining up to grab Smoltz if they can. I hate to see this - it reminds me of Steve Carlton pitching for the White Sox, Giants, Cleveland and Minnesota in less than a year and a half when he was clearly used up. It would have been better if Smoltz had retired and been able to potentially go into Cooperstown in the same class as Greg Maddux and (should he not try again to pitch in MLB next year) Tom Glavine. His competitive desire wouldn't let him. Hopefully it won't compound the problem by leading Smoltz to prolong this year's embarassment.
I won't rehash the death of John Hughes since I wrote about it Friday, but I strongly encourage you to read this blog post by a woman who was pen pals with Hughes as a teenager if you have not done so already. It's an extraordinary story which perfectly explains why Hughes's films spoke to my generation so well.
Friday, August 7, 2009
R.I.P. John Hughes
The USA Today coaches preseason poll is out, and Florida is number one as expected. I was surprised they only got 53 first place votes, and someone voted them third. Some people are hard to convince. Meanwhile, the Big East put no teams into the top 25 - the first time that's ever happened. As always, some teams are getting too much credit based on their name alone. How is Notre Dame ranked ahead of Oregon State to start this season?
The gap between what Florida fans seem to expect from their basketball program this season and the national perception of it remains large. The latest example is Dick Vitale's top 40, which has UF at number 22. I don't think the apparent arrival of Nimrod Tishman figures into Vitale's thinking, either. Is he being excessively optimistic going into the year? It appears to me that is the case, but I've read a lot of thoughts from UF fans who seem to think the team will be lucky to make the NIT. Those people are letting the frustration of the Calathes years blind them to the potential future with the addition of athleticism Gator hoops is about to get.
Terrell Owens has a reality show doing so poorly its second episode finished 862nd in the weekly cable ratings, just behind a 3:30 in the morning showing of something called "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers" on the Disney Channel. I'm sure you can imagine the outcome: Owens has accepted full responsibility for the show's lackluster performance, noting he may have alienated the audience and the program is just not very good. You'd be imagining that because it's not true, of course. According to Owens, the ratings company's to blame, for reasons which make zero sense. I'd love to know what it would take for T.O. to acknowledge a personal failure of some kind.
Lou Holtz says he won't run for Congress. I don't know if I should be happy that he won't be involved in politics or sad that he'll still be on ESPN. Holtz's Notre Dame cheerleading has been over the top the last couple of years, to the point it's impossible to take anything he says about the school seriously. Some people think he may be trying to pave the way for his son Skip (currently doing a fine job at East Carolina) to get the job in South Bend. After the Holtz pep talks and "Dr. Lou" nonsense, maybe ESPN's skit this year will play off this and feature him giving "campaign speeches" for teams.
One of the top talents in college football has managed to put himself on the shelf for awhile. Appalachian State's QB Armanti Edwards apparently ran over his foot with a lawnmower. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the season, because Edwards is the kind of story that makes the sport fun to cover. Without him, the Mountaineers have no chance against Holtz's ECU squad. If Edwards plays, that could be a very interesting game.
I was saddened to learn John Hughes had died yesterday. No man made more important movies to my generation than he did. To give you an idea of how prolific and gifted the guy was, a story idea he had given up on two decades ago still got made into Drillbit Taylor last year. That was a bad movie, but the fact a leftover Hughes concept still seemed like a better idea to make than something from what Hollywood churns out for scripts these days speaks volumes. Hughes had left the movie business behind, but his contributions were gigantic. He was already missed, and now he'll be mourned. What a crappy year this has been - see you back here Monday.
The gap between what Florida fans seem to expect from their basketball program this season and the national perception of it remains large. The latest example is Dick Vitale's top 40, which has UF at number 22. I don't think the apparent arrival of Nimrod Tishman figures into Vitale's thinking, either. Is he being excessively optimistic going into the year? It appears to me that is the case, but I've read a lot of thoughts from UF fans who seem to think the team will be lucky to make the NIT. Those people are letting the frustration of the Calathes years blind them to the potential future with the addition of athleticism Gator hoops is about to get.
Terrell Owens has a reality show doing so poorly its second episode finished 862nd in the weekly cable ratings, just behind a 3:30 in the morning showing of something called "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers" on the Disney Channel. I'm sure you can imagine the outcome: Owens has accepted full responsibility for the show's lackluster performance, noting he may have alienated the audience and the program is just not very good. You'd be imagining that because it's not true, of course. According to Owens, the ratings company's to blame, for reasons which make zero sense. I'd love to know what it would take for T.O. to acknowledge a personal failure of some kind.
Lou Holtz says he won't run for Congress. I don't know if I should be happy that he won't be involved in politics or sad that he'll still be on ESPN. Holtz's Notre Dame cheerleading has been over the top the last couple of years, to the point it's impossible to take anything he says about the school seriously. Some people think he may be trying to pave the way for his son Skip (currently doing a fine job at East Carolina) to get the job in South Bend. After the Holtz pep talks and "Dr. Lou" nonsense, maybe ESPN's skit this year will play off this and feature him giving "campaign speeches" for teams.
One of the top talents in college football has managed to put himself on the shelf for awhile. Appalachian State's QB Armanti Edwards apparently ran over his foot with a lawnmower. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the season, because Edwards is the kind of story that makes the sport fun to cover. Without him, the Mountaineers have no chance against Holtz's ECU squad. If Edwards plays, that could be a very interesting game.
I was saddened to learn John Hughes had died yesterday. No man made more important movies to my generation than he did. To give you an idea of how prolific and gifted the guy was, a story idea he had given up on two decades ago still got made into Drillbit Taylor last year. That was a bad movie, but the fact a leftover Hughes concept still seemed like a better idea to make than something from what Hollywood churns out for scripts these days speaks volumes. Hughes had left the movie business behind, but his contributions were gigantic. He was already missed, and now he'll be mourned. What a crappy year this has been - see you back here Monday.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Camp's open, so I'm back
I've enjoyed a few days away, but now it's back to work. It was interesting to see the national reaction to the Urban Meyer contract extension. Doesn't it seem pretty basic that if someone's going to make the "priorities" argument, they should familiarize themself with where the money's coming from? Meyer's salary has as much to do with a professor's as the level of water in your bathtub does to the ocean. Some people still won't accept the idea Meyer's not just waiting to go to Notre Dame, but if they read Pat Dooley's piece discussing the extension with him even they might start to have some doubts. There's simply no reason for Meyer to go anywhere - he's not a guy who enjoys the NFL like Spurrier was, and there's nowhere else that makes sense to leave for. If Jeremy Foley or Bernie Machen left and were replaced by a meddler, that could change his situation enough to make a difference. Otherwise, Meyer's where he's going to be.
The trend of kids bailing out on their senior year of high school to race off to college or the pros doesn't seem like a good one to me, but it looks like UF will be benefitting from it this season. Stephen Alli's apparent early admission will likely help the scout team, and he should be more ready to contribute next year as a result. I can't imagine he cracks the lineup this year unless he's just an otherworldly talent. On the other hand, Nimrod Tishman has a terrific chance to be a big factor for Gator basketball this year. Should he make it in, and it appears like he will, this guy will be fascinating to watch. Walker can play, so all UF needs from Tishman is 10-15 competent minutes a night. If he turns out to be special, this could be a really fun team to watch.
When Jarvis Moss was drafted by Denver, I thought he'd have a pretty good NFL career. Not sure how things have gone so wrong, but it became clear they had after reports in April said he was offered around for a seventh round pick and no one took the Broncos up on it. Moss is back in camp after a weird retirement threat earlier in the week. I still believe Jarvis has the ability to help a team, but stunts like that only further ensure Moss will have to try and make it somewhere else.
The trend of kids bailing out on their senior year of high school to race off to college or the pros doesn't seem like a good one to me, but it looks like UF will be benefitting from it this season. Stephen Alli's apparent early admission will likely help the scout team, and he should be more ready to contribute next year as a result. I can't imagine he cracks the lineup this year unless he's just an otherworldly talent. On the other hand, Nimrod Tishman has a terrific chance to be a big factor for Gator basketball this year. Should he make it in, and it appears like he will, this guy will be fascinating to watch. Walker can play, so all UF needs from Tishman is 10-15 competent minutes a night. If he turns out to be special, this could be a really fun team to watch.
When Jarvis Moss was drafted by Denver, I thought he'd have a pretty good NFL career. Not sure how things have gone so wrong, but it became clear they had after reports in April said he was offered around for a seventh round pick and no one took the Broncos up on it. Moss is back in camp after a weird retirement threat earlier in the week. I still believe Jarvis has the ability to help a team, but stunts like that only further ensure Moss will have to try and make it somewhere else.
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