28 Dec
What Mac Read
So, as I’ve probably made clear, I read a lot, and the last few days I’ve been reading a lot of baseball books — some I’ve read before, some I haven’t. One of the books I’ve read is The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven by Aaron Skirboll. It was a worthwhile read, despite some PED moralizing that, frankly, I’m sick of in most contexts. Someone asked when I posted my Dave Parker comments a few years ago if there was a book on the Pirates cocaine scandal; there wasn’t then, but there is now. This isn’t a review, but some points of maybe interest.
- I really had to revise my opinion on Parker, whose involvement in the scandal went beyond simple cocaine use; he was not quite dealing drugs, but he was serving as a conduit from the (mostly small-time) drug dealers to his teammates. To me, that’s worse than just being a cocaine user, as I’d thought, and drastically adds to his guilt and the cost to his team. He still has Hall of Fame numbers, and he did turn his life around, but I have to dock him for that, and I think I’d move several players ahead of him.
- Skirboll interviewed two major league stars for the book, Parker and Lonnie Smith. Lonnie comes off a whole lot better; actually, he comes out of the book looking as good as anyone except maybe Whitey Herzog. Lonnie got off the drugs, didn’t pretend that he hadn’t been using or that it didn’t affect his play. For his efforts, baseball basically screwed him over, blackballing him for a couple of years until the Braves, desperate for anything resembling a major leaguer, gave him another chance.
- In that Parker post, I said that about ninety percent of major leaguers in the time period in question had probably tried cocaine. I’m still pretty comfortable with that estimate. Both Herzog and Keith Hernandez estimated that forty percent of major leaguers were users, which presumably doesn’t include those who sampled the drug once of twice; they also said that 11 members of their Cardinals team (including Hernandez himself) were users. Dock Ellis said that “the overwhelming majority of major league plaeyrs in both leagues were substance abusers,” though admittedly one of the substances he abused was a powerful hallucinogen. (Skirboll buys the LSD no-hitter story; I don’t.)
- The baseball lifestyle was made for a cocaine epidemic. Lots of travel, irregular hours with many “night shifts”, disposable income, right in the cocaine target demographic of 20-35. In addition to making you feel really good (let’s face it, it does) cocaine also provides an energy boost, often desirable to baseball players. The line between recreational and performance-enhancing drug is blurry.
- At one point, the judge in the most public cocaine trial, that of Curtis Strong (who is not a central character in the book, though his trial is basically its climax; Strong was, Skirboll says, basically a non-factor at his own trial) admonished Mets fans for giving Hernandez a standing ovation after returning to Shea Stadium following his testimony. Mets fans!
- Also, a female Tennessee student is quoted as saying that “Orgasms go better with Coke,” which could be a great slogan for the Coca-Cola company if they weren’t so staid. At any event, if I had to spend a bunch of time in Knoxville, I’m sure I’d do drugs too.
Maybe I should date more Lady Vols.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:21 amEvidently I missed out on the Teena Marie cultural juggernaut over the past 30 years.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:22 amSaito signed with the Brewers. I will miss you, Eagle Fist!
December 28th, 2010 at 8:37 amA shot at Mets fans and a shot at Knoxville? This post was a shot at Calipari/Big Blue Nation away from the triumvirate of awesome.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:41 am4 – Boo.
December 28th, 2010 at 9:33 amMac,
Did the book get into the idea that the Busch family wanted to rid itself of Hernandez? (I mean, how else can you justify a deal for Neil Allen?)
And then you get the relativist moralizing about that, of course.
#2
Teena Marie was a bit of a factor in my professional world, but, yeah, it really was a slow news day.
Lonnie Smith, what a weird player.
December 28th, 2010 at 9:41 amCan’t wait to read it.
Does the scandal matter? It did to me.
Fully onboard as a Pirate fan in the ’70s. Pittsburgh Lumber Company. We are Fam-A-Lee. Pops!
I had a bad year in 1982 and looked for solace in baseball. On Sept.1, NBC analysts were saying they were the favorite. They tanked. It hurt.
I wonder now if we in blogdom could see the white line running though that clubhouse with the tools we use now.
Or would we see that team gave 700 PA’s to the hapless Omar Moreno?
Fortunately, I heard two wonderful guys in the summers of 1984 and 1985 named Skip and Pete. I had to go to Europe for 6 years, but decided when I came back home, I’d find a new team.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:07 amSid slid!
Happy Ending!
Lonnie was the first player I ever thought of as a “professional hitter” n the NL sense.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:14 amOf the big four Tennessee cities (Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga), Knoxville is the worst. But it is getting better.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:28 amI wonder now if we in blogdom could see the white line running though that clubhouse with the tools we use now.
Maybe if you were a fan of a team other than the Pirates. There’s something in sports fandom that seems to require a belief in the moral superiority of one’s own team, so I suspect the blinders would still be on.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:31 amKnoblauch duping Lonnie, Hrbek mugging Gant…
I hear a lot that the 91 series was one of the best ever… But I was 7, and I remember it as a kid’s baseball movie where for some reason they had the bad guys win.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:36 amFave Lonnie moments: ’92 WS Grand Slam vs. Toronto, and a game vs the Mets in 1989.
Sid Fernandez had struck out 16 Braves, but Lonnie led off the bottom of the 9th with a HR to win the game. Back then, those small victories felt monumental.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:51 amLonnie Smith’s biography:
December 28th, 2010 at 11:17 am“Adventures in the Oufield.”
Dude could rake, though.
“Skates” used to drive me crazy. Now I know why.
Legit question: Does anyone here miss the Steroid Era?
December 28th, 2010 at 11:19 am14-Not really, but in comparison to a lot of teams, the Braves didn’t really get a ton out of it. I guess you could throw suspicion on a couple of Javy years, Sheffield, or a random reliever, but unless I’m forgetting someone, I don’t really miss it.
December 28th, 2010 at 11:24 amYou’re forgetting the remainder of the 2003 everyday lineup IMHO.
December 28th, 2010 at 11:35 amMy understanding is that it was Herzog who wanted to get rid of Hernandez.
December 28th, 2010 at 11:52 amMarcus Giles just naturally had a large head and a prominent facial bone structure. It’s a coincidence! I swear! Really!
December 28th, 2010 at 12:14 pmFalcons offensive play-calling was the worst I’ve ever seen. And I’m a Kentucky fan!
December 28th, 2010 at 12:23 pm‘Legit question: Does anyone here miss the Steroid Era?’
Nope. Call me old fashioned but I like it better when 30 homers is a great year.
December 28th, 2010 at 1:42 pmSo if pitchers took steroids too, why do we think that jitters were the main beneficiaries?
December 28th, 2010 at 1:50 pmGood question, spike – but it seemed to turn out that way, at least in terms of power numbers.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:03 pmBret Boone was a big roid user, but he sucked for the Braves.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:06 pm@21, just to hazard a guess, a baseball has a lot of elasticity, so if it’s thrown harder, it will go farther when hit (kind of like when you slam a basketball down on the ground).
If steroids were the actual cause of the “steroid era,” and not expansion or less foul ground or whatever, the effect would probably be due to more energy from both the pitcher and the hitter.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:22 pmSide note: I fully expect sportswriters 20 years from now to call this the Phiten Era.
Lincecum’s Cy Youngs will totally need asterisks.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:31 pmCatching up on reading today and Poz’s post about the 32 worst sports endings. He mentions the way the Cubs fell apart after Bartman in that game and reminds me that it was AAG who botched the sure double play that really was what cost the Cubs a trip to the WS (that and letting Farnsworth pitch meaningful innings).
I know I’m letting emotion get the best of me but from what I’ve seen AAG has not earned the great defensive SS label he has. He kicked away a few games in July and August and cost us one of the games against SF in the field. The defensive stats don’t show it I guess, but he’s a choker in the field when the pressure is on, or so it would seem to me.
December 28th, 2010 at 3:11 pmWrong Alex Gonzalez.
Our AAG (Another Alex Gonzalez) was actually playing for the Marlins that year. In fact, he won WS Game 4 that year with a walk-off HR.
December 28th, 2010 at 3:28 pmDusty, don’t trust your eyes.
December 28th, 2010 at 3:31 pm27 Thanks ububba, I was wondering if that was possible-it just seemed to fit with the AAG I’ve watched in his half season with the Braves.
Nevermind.
December 28th, 2010 at 4:05 pmJohn Rocker was a suspected ‘roid user.
December 28th, 2010 at 4:16 pmHe certainly twitched a lot.
December 28th, 2010 at 4:33 pmfangraphs – microeconomics/offense
Quadrant I contains only Atlanta, and it is an interesting case. Although they were fifth in the league in runs per game, the Braves had the potential to be a league-leading offense. They led the league in OBP, but a sub-par strand percentage prevented it from reaching its scoring potential. The Braves had eight players, with at least 50 plate appearances, who had a .350 or better OBP. However, there was just not enough power on the team to drive these runs in. Brian McCann led the team with 21 home runs, and the leader in isolated power was Brooks Conrad. With a injury-free season from a maturing Jason Heyward, and the addition of Dan Uggla, Atlanta figures to have a better strand percentage and perhaps a big offensive improvement in 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/2bjvg8w
December 28th, 2010 at 4:54 pmVery interesting csg, I also think you can’t underestimate the benefit that lancing off Smelky will provide.
December 28th, 2010 at 5:20 pmBill James predictions for our starting lineup…
prado: 12hr 87r 67rbi .801ops
December 28th, 2010 at 5:50 pmheyward: 22hr 101r 88rbi .904ops
chipper: 17hr 65r 67rbi .882ops
uggla: 31hr 96r 94rbi .835ops
mccann: 24hr 68r 94rbi .859ops
gonzalez: 13hr 46r 53rbi .696ops
freeman: 16hr 68r 83rbi .781ops
mclouth: 15hr 72r 54rbi .751ops
Does anyone find it odd that football coaches, who dedicate like 18 hours a day to their craft, don’t understand that punting on 4th and 6 from your own 40 with three minutes left and down 3 is the LOW PERCENTAGE play? How can anyone call that the safe play? It’s the conventionally wise play, which has nothing to do with caution.
Ok, moving on. When does baseball start? I miss games without clocks.
December 28th, 2010 at 6:33 pm150 HRs for the starting lineup? Not bad…
December 28th, 2010 at 6:36 pmInteresting projections by Bill James. I don’t think that Martin is going to do that badly, especially considering that he’s beaten that OPS mark in 2008, 2009, and 2010. I’m also bullish on Heyward (but I couldn’t be a Braves fan if I wasn’t), and I think that he’s going to develop much more power.
If Chipper is completely healthy (and, granted, that is a huge if), I think that he can beat that projection. That being said, with the risk of injury, I think that a .882 OPS is an optimistic projection. I don’t think that Uggla’s going to be hitting 30 HR’s, but I think that work with the Braves hitting staff concerning his OBP will make up for that loss in slugging.
I agree with the McCann projection (although I also hope that this is his breakout year in terms of power). If Gonzalez can hit 13 HR’s, I’ll be surprised. But I think that a .696 is optimistic.
James is always optimistic on rookies, and I don’t think Freeman is going to come close to any of those totals. If McLouth can give that line at the end of the year (with average defense from CF), I’d consider it a successful season for him.
December 28th, 2010 at 7:37 pmYeah, that lineup would be good enough to put the Braves in contention in the NL East, Cliff Lee be damned.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:02 pm@34
That would make Freeman ROY.
I’d be very pleased if all those guys put up those numbers.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:09 pm34- Honestly, I’d be seriously surprised if Heyward doesn’t significantly exceed that projection if he stays healthy. He’s as likely to hit 35 HR as 22.
December 28th, 2010 at 9:34 pm@32 What killed us at the end of last season was essentially injuries to Chipper AND Prado (plus Wag in the playoff). If everybody remains healthy (a BIG if) and Kimbrel/Venters combo can handle the closer role, I like our chance.
December 28th, 2010 at 10:23 pmWent to see UNC/Rutgers at MSG tonight.
UNC has had its issues this year for sure (shaky guard play), but this game was a simple talent mismatch. Rutgers is kinda short & pretty slow. Plus, Carolina shot pretty well until garbage time. Game got outta hand in a hurry.
UNC freshman Harrison Barnes is still a bit of a mystery. He’s most certainly not the transformational player that UNC people might’ve been expecting. Has his head up his ass occasionally. Misses a shot (and he missed a lot) & he doesn’t get back on defense. Gets yanked. Has got some learning to do.
Decent turnout of Carolina folk at the game, given the ridiculous weather.
December 28th, 2010 at 11:16 pmThis UNC bunch is just different than a typical Roy Williams team. They do seem lazy on the defensive side and they seem to lack focus. They are a young inexperienced team for the most part though. It wont be long before McDonald/Marshall gets the starting PG spot over Drew. Drew is careless and makes very poor decisions throughout the game.
December 29th, 2010 at 8:22 amAnd he’s a lousy shooter.
December 29th, 2010 at 9:19 amMy favorite thing about UNC is that they lost to Vanderbilt. My second-favorite thing about UNC is that they beat Kentucky.
December 29th, 2010 at 9:27 amMeanwhile, at Clemson:
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/cops-man-playing-real-789992.html
December 29th, 2010 at 10:03 amHarrison Barnes is one of the more overhyped prospects in some time. Nice player, but nothing to write home about.
Larry Drew II is Quentin Thomas 2.0. I could not wait for Ty Lawson to get a breather when UK played UNC. Thomas’ +/- stats have to be some of the worst in college basketball for a top tier program.
Stu, Vandy is legit. If Tenn wasn’t bipolar, that would be a pretty good SECE.
December 29th, 2010 at 10:33 amDJ…Harrison Barnes is NOT the most overhyped prospect in some time. That would have to be John Wall. However, Barnes was NEVER scouted to be anything other that a very good player. He’s not all that athletic and, surprisingly, doesn’t seem to have the killer mentality yet. I thought Sullinger, when I saw him, was the best HS player last year. However, Harrison is very young. He’s at UNC for 2, possibly 3, years.
December 29th, 2010 at 11:07 amJohn Wall wasn’t overhyped. He’s actually a great player. Barnes is not.
December 29th, 2010 at 11:27 amI agree with ububba, John Wall is an outstanding basketball player
December 29th, 2010 at 12:02 pmWhich UNC are we talking about? UNCW, UNCA, UNCG, UNCC, or UNCCH?
December 29th, 2010 at 12:10 pmHate King – there is no UNCC anymore – it’s just called Charlotte now.
December 29th, 2010 at 12:13 pmUniversity of North Carolina
December 29th, 2010 at 12:30 pmIt’s hard to call John Wall over-hyped when he’s already an above-average point guard in the NBA.
December 29th, 2010 at 1:17 pmSome speculation that Malzahn can have the Maryland job if he wants it. Leach and June Jones are not options anymore.
December 29th, 2010 at 1:48 pm48 – 2010-2011 AP Preseason All-American Forward: Mr. Harrison Barnes. First true freshman to make the list since its inception in the mid-80′s.
H-Y-P-E.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5752533
December 29th, 2010 at 2:18 pmAnd ESPN’s 2010 Top 100 # 1 overall player: Harrison Barnes
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/rankings/_/class/2010
December 29th, 2010 at 2:21 pmThem cheatin’ Commodores:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/A-parking-pass-puts-Vanderbilt-forward-in-the-NC?urn=ncaab-301473&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Sheesh. It’s like they put Barney Fife in charge of the Justice Department.
December 29th, 2010 at 2:23 pmVandy, everything that is wrong with the NCAA.
December 29th, 2010 at 2:29 pmThose entitled Division I athletes, thinking they can just buy any parking pass they want.
December 29th, 2010 at 4:28 pmCan’t believe Goulbourne is having to miss a second game for that. Tough test tonight against Marquette — here’s hoping Walker, back from Mono, has something in the tank.
December 29th, 2010 at 6:27 pmProbably doesn’t mean too much in the grand scheme of things, but interesting nonetheless: http://goo.gl/ZrlCj
December 29th, 2010 at 7:15 pm@35 It all depends on who the play is supposed to be safe for. It may not be the safe play for the team, but it is for the coach.
Going against conventional wisdom takes courage and a willingness to defend your decision in the face of the inevitable criticism if it goes wrong. Going with conventional wisdom, on the other hand, usually means you’ll get little heat if it doesn’t work out. After all, you didn’t do anything that someone else wouldn’t have done. It may be the low percentage play for the team, but it’s the high percentage play for the coaches ass.
December 29th, 2010 at 7:46 pmAwesome graph, Jason. I think we all know around here that McCann is on a Hall of Fame start to his career, though others around baseball may not be quite as aware. But that’s pretty cool.
Yogi was amazing, though. For seven straight years, from 1950-1956, Yogi Berra finished in the top four of the MVP vote every year. I’m not sure anyone else has ever done that. For that matter, Willie Mays finished in the top six for ten consecutive seasons, every year from 1957 to 1966.
I’m guessing those are both records. Anyone know if that’s true?
December 29th, 2010 at 8:32 pmLooks like Pujols finished in the top four every year from 2001 to 2006, and again in 2008 and 2009.
December 29th, 2010 at 8:44 pmRight, I’m talking about consecutive years.
December 29th, 2010 at 9:07 pmMusial finished in the top nine, including one win and two second-place finishes, ten years in a row, from 1948 to 1957. And as I’ve mentioned before, Aaron was mentioned in the MVP voting for nineteen years in a row, from 1955 to 1973. Barry Bonds had a pair of five-year streaks of top five finishes, including four MVPs and one second-place finish from 2000-2004. Dimaggio was in the top eight each of the first seven years of his career.
Ted Williams… it depends upon how you define it. He was second in 1941 and 1942, took three years off to fly fighter planes, then finished first, second, third, and first from 1946-1949.
December 29th, 2010 at 10:22 pmI would think that streak should count and not go against him since he was involved in the war.
December 29th, 2010 at 10:40 pmWent to see Prince at Madison Square Garden tonight. These were the opening 6 tunes:
The Beautiful Ones (just him & a piano)
Let’s Go Crazy/Delirious
1999
Little Red Corvette
Raspberry Beret
Working in a quasi-in-the-round setup—the stage was shaped like that male/female Prince symbol—he was not fiddling around tonight. About 8 songs later, he got to “Purple Rain” and, yes, the whole Garden was howling along as Prince ripped up that iconic guitar solo. (Greatest power ballad ever?)
He really blazed on the Telecaster all night, but the ending set again featured just him at the piano doing things like “Do Me, Baby” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” Crowd singing every word in falsetto. Goosebumps all around.
Yes, the thing had its Vegas-y moments, especially on some of the rave-up funk tunes like “Cream”—still, he really shook it up with whoppers like “Uptown” & “Let’s Work.” At 52, he doesn’t dance as much as he once did, but he can play guitar just fine. All told, he put out pretty hard for an hour and 45.
The man’s still got it—the whole package.
December 30th, 2010 at 12:44 amAh, yes – the SEC continues its domination of the Big East. Hopefully, that will continue on Friday.
December 30th, 2010 at 2:59 amububba, I am very jealous that you got in to see Prince, we had a shot but no babysitter.
December 30th, 2010 at 5:13 amMy buddy saw him in NJ recently, said he was incredible.
Sounds like a great show, ububba.
BUT…there are power ballads, there are awesome power ballads, and then there’s “Still Loving You” by The Scorpions.
December 30th, 2010 at 8:34 amI’ve always said that the Scorps get humor points for singing in English.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:07 amGo to hell Tarheels!!!!
December 30th, 2010 at 10:09 amPretty cool short film (about 3:35) on the NYC blizzard:
http://vimeo.com/18268743
December 30th, 2010 at 1:10 pmIf UNC finishes what was expected to be the program’s best year ever by losing to Cowardly Tennessee, they should just kill themselves.
If the Cowardly Vols win, they’ll still be the 9th best team in the SEC. But good on ‘em for getting us to 1-0 should they manage it.
December 30th, 2010 at 1:15 pmHow bout them Dores last night! And I can now say I’ve been on national televison. We were in the front of the student section, I was in a yellow shirt right next to the chest painted guys. That’s gotta be the best spot to watch a basketball game, midcourt, leaning on the floor, with the action just 10 feet away. That was a fun game.
December 30th, 2010 at 1:27 pm@74
Smitty, it’s Tar Heels. Two words. If you’re gonna cuss us, at least have the common courtesy to cuss us by our proper name.
December 30th, 2010 at 1:40 pmOr, alternatively, Go to Hell Carolina works just as well.
December 30th, 2010 at 1:50 pmI simply do not understand Goulbourne’s “suspension.”. He BOUGHT a parking pass?!?
I’m not even an athlete and this one is over my head. If NCAA regulations made any sense, then their stringent enforcement might be more tolerable.
December 30th, 2010 at 2:24 pmA completely frightening email sent to Bill James’ “Hey Bill” section:
I’m going to start writing a movie based on this email, entitled “I Married a Blind Woman”.
December 30th, 2010 at 4:15 pmHey, Harry S Truman didn’t have a middle name, either.
I think you should write it for Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. That way, you could call it “So I Married a Blind Woman.”
December 30th, 2010 at 4:52 pmI read that earlier today and was similarly frightened — then I worked it out that “Cutie Pie” is ASG, not AAG. But yeah, that was a close one….
December 30th, 2010 at 4:56 pmYeah, you got me, Parrish. I’m dumbfounded too. I guess he should have just said his dad did it. I’m just glad we won the 2 games and can now move on with our full complement of players.
December 30th, 2010 at 5:46 pmHey everybody –
I’ve been AWOL for the last few months for a variety of reasons. I had bar study, passed the bar, got my first real legal job, and moved into a house. It was a lot of growing up in a very short amount of time.
I still read the forums regularly, and the MLB.TV package through the PS3 is the greatest baseball related thing to ever happen to me. I can say I really enjoyed watching the 2010 Braves play, unlike the previous few years. And I’m really looking forward to next season.
I hope to get back to contributing once Spring Training rolls around. I really enjoy reading everyone here, and I just wanted to say keep up the good work. Oh and Mac, thanks for giving us a place to sound off.
December 30th, 2010 at 7:57 pmHey everybody –
I’ve been AWOL for the last few months for a variety of reasons. I used to post as Kyle B., but something happened to my account. I tried to log in with my droid a few months back and the whole thing went heywire.
Anyway, I had bar study, passed the bar, got my first real legal job, and moved into a house. It was a lot of growing up in a very short amount of time.
I still read the forums regularly, and the MLB.TV package through the PS3 is the greatest baseball related thing to ever happen to me. I can say I really enjoyed watching the 2010 Braves play, unlike the previous few years. And I’m really looking forward to next season.
I hope to get back to contributing once Spring Training rolls around. I really enjoy reading everyone here, and I just wanted to say keep up the good work. Oh and Mac, thanks for giving us a place to sound off.
December 30th, 2010 at 7:58 pm@79-
“Go to Hell Carolina” is always in fashion.
December 30th, 2010 at 8:16 pmAs an NCSU student and Gator fan, this game really, REALLY amused me.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:22 pmUNC just had an epic, epic fail against Tennessee with clock management worse than Les Miles.
And yet, they still managed to make it to overtime.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:22 pmI thought that was supposed to be a 5s runoff on the clock? I mean, otherwise, don’t you just need to have a guy hand the ball to the QB, no one else needs to be lined up correctly or anything. Sure, 5 yard penalty, but the clock gets stopped.
Dumb rule, IMO, but now this has really gotten interesting.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:26 pmAh, UT class.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:26 pmI think the 10 second runoff on the penalty is an NFL rule.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:28 pmDerek Dooley is a spoiled child. That was the correct call. And the players are like a bunch of thugs, though that’s probably Fulmer/Kiffin’s fault.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:29 pmHaha. What a game.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:45 pmUT LOLs.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:46 pm[MANIACAL LAUGHTER]
December 30th, 2010 at 9:46 pmBob Davie thinks Tennessee is a Big 10 team.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:46 pmIf only.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:47 pmSeriously, though, I’m the only one who thinks illegal procedure penalties should be 5s runoffs in the last 2 minutes of a half?
December 30th, 2010 at 9:52 pmDaniel Lincoln sucks and I am glad he won’t be kicking next year
December 30th, 2010 at 9:55 pmIt was the correct call, but perhaps a loophole in the rules. UNC certainly deserved to lose after that Vaudeville showing in the last 15 seconds.
December 30th, 2010 at 9:55 pmI am not sure how a penalty on a team can actually be able to help them.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:07 pmI didn’t realize there wasn’t a time penalty in the NCAA… They should fix that.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:15 pmThe penalty helped UNC. But Daniel Lincoln’s dumb ass can’t make an extra point…
December 30th, 2010 at 10:17 pmI remember that game where Lincoln (as a freshman) kicked like a 50 yard FG against USC in ’07 as time expired to send it to overtime. So he wasn’t all bad.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:20 pmI mean, the PAT got blocked, he didn’t miss it. Granted, it looked like it came out lower than it needed to have.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:22 pmHe kicked it right into the line like he did against Bama this year
December 30th, 2010 at 10:25 pmI think poor clock management did the Vols in, not the kicking game. Of course, Bray could have not thrown a pick. Tennessee makes the SEC look bad. Boo.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:30 pmTennessee won the game. The ref called it over. UT can appeal and they should.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:36 pmRob,
Not sure how Tennessee managed the clock poorly. They had a stupid personal foul on a pass that wasn’t caught (but was called complete) then they stuff at the end.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:43 pmI’m just glad the Tennessee football season is over and I pray none of you have to go through the crap we have had to in the last year, well expect you Gator fans.
December 30th, 2010 at 10:53 pmI thought Buster Posey played for FSU, not UNC.
December 30th, 2010 at 11:47 pmKyle, the spam filter caught your comment. I don’t know why, but it can be because it doesn’t like the server you signed in on.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:12 amTough loss for UT–but one which might be indicative for the type of year they had. Anyway, lets hope the rest of the SEC fares better….
December 31st, 2010 at 12:13 amIt’s karma, dude. Everything that’s happened to Tennessee the last six years is due to bad karma. They should be in balance in a few thousand years.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:14 amAnd the refs were probably right to leave the clock at one second after the spike (although there is a vague statement in the rules about unfair clock management – perhaps it’s for something else, but lining up illegally to stop the clock hardly seems fair) (and the rule will probably be different next year).
However, UNC had 12 men participating in the play (in addition to the other 3 or 4 still running off the field at the snap) – 6 linemen, 3 WRs, the QB, a holder, and the kicker. None were attempting to get off the field. Supposed to be a 15 yard penalty, but they were only given 5, even after a video review (and it’s a reviewable infraction). So yes, the refs screwed it up, though perhaps not in the most obvious way. Would have been a 49 yarder instead of 39, and into the wind.
Oh well, it’s probably a little too demanding to expect referees to know the rules of the game.
I’ll keep going. By my understanding, either it’s a 5 yard penalty (like they called) presnap – meaning the clock would continue at the refs whistle, or it’s a 15 yard penalty if there are 12+ players participating (which there were), but the play counts, so the clock would stop on an incompletion. The refs called a hybrid of the two, letting the play (and clock stoppage) stand, but only penalizing 5 yards. Since the refs had to review it, UNC could have had their FG unit ready to kick at the ref’s whistle with a running clock, but that would be trickier than the stopped clock attempt they were awarded.
Neither the 15 yard penalty nor the running clock with a 5 yard penalty would have guaranteed a different outcome like the NFL’s (and likely NCAA’s, starting next year) mandatory runoff would have, but they’d have to hurt the FG kicker’s odds at least somewhat.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:18 amAs far as I’m concerned, the officials ruined the endings to 2 perfectly good bowl games today & tonight.
That unsportsmanlike call on Kansas State was just ridiculous. It literally cost them an opportunity to win.
So I gotta ask: At this point, is the NCAA really just trying to make people hate the game? If so, they’re succeeding.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:56 amAgreed, celebration penalties at the end of close games are pretty much the worst. It takes a stunning lack of awareness of the situation and of one’s role in the game of football to throw a flag for what are generally rather innocuous celebrations following game-changing touchdowns.
Refs shouldn’t go looking for celebrations to call, they should let the celebrations find them. You have to wonder if some of these officials are watching the endzone more intently than the preceding play.
December 31st, 2010 at 1:10 amactually, seeing that we’re (UNC) missing 12 projected starters (from the beginning of the year), competing with Tennessee is in and of itself a victory. UNC will be scary next year (as our recruiting class is ridiculously strong and, in light of no NCAA sanctions, will get even better (like top-10 better)).
As for the “Go to Hell Carolina” people: Jealous much?
Finally, who’s the guy who is a NCSU grad AND Gators fan? Wow. Talk about #$%$ envy.
December 31st, 2010 at 1:51 amHave I accidentally stumbled upon an AJC blog?
December 31st, 2010 at 7:22 amububba @ 117 – AMEN, BROTHER!!
I really don’t think there will ever be a true revolt against the NCAA, though one is richly deserved.
But then, I never believed the Berlin Wall would really fall, either.
One can hope.
Oh, btw, Auburn fans might as well stay home. I’m pretty sure their game will be officiated by Big 10 refs, also.
December 31st, 2010 at 7:52 amAs an Alabama fan it’s embarrassing to say this, but I was pulling for Tennessee. If they actually try to move the ball on the last series and if not, punt the ball out of bounds instead of blasting it out of the end zone, the other stuff would have been moot. I didn’t know the distinction b/t the 5 and 15 yard penalty for 12+ men on the field, but other than that, I think putting one second on the clock was the right call. After the missed extra point, it was obvious something like this would happen.
Anyway, UT didn’t have a bad year. They improved a lot by the end of the year and actually made it to a bowl – this seemed impossible at the start of the year. They also found a qb (despite his end of game blunder) who will be good in years to come. Most importantly they no longer have Fulmer or Kiffin. Dooley seems to be heading them in the right direction and has a lot more class than the other 2 guys combined.
December 31st, 2010 at 9:34 amAs a grad of a UT master’s program, it’s embarrassing to say this, but I was pulling for UNC. There are many reasons for this, some rational, some irrational, none of which I’ll get into now.
On a Braves-related note, I saw that MLB Network selected Chip Caray’s call of Heyward’s home run on opening day as the best of 2010. Not sure how I feel about that. I like the exposure it gives Heyward and the Braves, but cringe at how it might encourage Chip (and his employers) to continue bad habits going forward. Also included on the list was Chip and Joe’s call of Conrad’s GS against the Reds on Memorial Day. What does Chip mean when he says, before Conrad comes to the plate, “We’ve got a way-go, folks”? Is that a baseball announcer phrase I don’t know about, or is he just making shit up? It may seem like I’m being a smartass, but I’m not–I really want to know if I missed something.
Happy New Year everybody!
December 31st, 2010 at 10:13 amHall of Fame discussion (Blyleven vs. Morris, Raines, Bagwell, etc.) in today’s New York Times:
http://tinyurl.com/28xapyy
Oh, and go Dogs.
December 31st, 2010 at 11:21 amNice win for your boys, hank and DJ. I’ll say it, again: I cannot wait for conference play.
December 31st, 2010 at 1:07 pmMore high UT comedy in basketball. I love this week.
December 31st, 2010 at 2:02 pmThanks, Stu. Beating Pitino is always a satisfying experience.
I’ve always loved Conference play. I have no idea why, but SEC teams always seem to play horribly out of conference and well in conference.
I KNOW the Vols and Mississippi State are better than they’ve shown. (Although Tennessee’s dumbassery is beginning to look like the truth.)
And the Dawgs are a legit Top 20 team (and will pose a matchup nightmare for UK).
I can’t figure LSU. Maybe Dale Brown’s deal with the Devil has come due.
Happy New Year, everybody! Don’t drink and post. (I take that back – that’s when the real fun begins.)
December 31st, 2010 at 2:30 pmEh, this is much closer to the UT team I thought we’d see this year than the one that beat Pitt was. They’re just not very deep or good. That said, I’d much rather play them when they’re riding high than when they’re desperate for a win, so I’m getting more nervous about the VU game in Knoxville in a couple weeks.
December 31st, 2010 at 3:46 pmI think I must have pissed off God or something.
December 31st, 2010 at 5:41 pmYou can add Zach Miner to the list of ex-Bravos that are now Royals property. Royals signed him to a minor league deal. You may remember when Minor was traded along with future Royal Roman Colon to the Tigers for future Royal Kyle Farnsworth.
December 31st, 2010 at 5:42 pmTennessee has played like a bad OVC team the past few weeks. If you really saw that coming, you should have cashed in.
Tennessee has several talented guys, but most are pretty inconsistent. I think having a shooter would solve a lot of the problems on offense. The gameplan right now seems to be play zone or pack the lane to prevent anything close, hope it isn’t the one night out of three or four that Tennessee is hitting shots, take advantage of any breakdowns resulting from the offensive frustration, and prosper. Teams that do that will either win or make it close a majority of the time with the roster as currently constructed, IMO.
Also a chance that the investigation of Pearl/looming suspension is taking a toll. Defensive numbers and general effort have slipped a lot lately.
December 31st, 2010 at 5:48 pmAndre Ware is so stupid. So is Dayton Moore.
December 31st, 2010 at 5:48 pmWow- is Richt gone?
December 31st, 2010 at 5:53 pmWow Dawgs
December 31st, 2010 at 5:53 pmIs Richt even there to begin with? Four plays to win the game and AJ Green might as well have been sitting down.
December 31st, 2010 at 5:54 pmI think Richt has to win the east next year
December 31st, 2010 at 6:05 pmTennessee has played like a bad OVC team the past few weeks. If you really saw that coming, you should have cashed in.
Well, I picked them to finish 5th in the East on this very board. So, maybe not quite this bad, but like I said, closer to this level than to the beating-Pitt-at-Pitt level.
December 31st, 2010 at 6:28 pmThanks Stu. Big win. Love me some Harrellson. He’s the difference between a top 25 and top 10 team. I don’t think any UK fan (even the most optimistic) anticipated he would be playing at this level in December.
Conference play is going to be a blast. Heading to Athens next weekend.
December 31st, 2010 at 7:00 pmI think Garcia has money on the Seminoles.
December 31st, 2010 at 7:34 pmSome Murph and McGriff talk, and a very telling comparison with Rafael “Pointy” Palmeiro:
Joe Posnanski » Posts Hall of Fame: The Borderline Five «.
December 31st, 2010 at 7:44 pmjusthank, I like your optimism about UGA hoops, but I have serious doubts. They are a very poor outside shooting team — zone defenses by inferior teams have been effective. No bench production. Pretty good defensively, but overall it’s a four-player team right now.
December 31st, 2010 at 8:29 pmI’m not liking the SEC showings in the bowl games thus far. Please oh please, Auburn, don’t suck on the 10th.
December 31st, 2010 at 9:10 pmWell, since that horrible first quarter USC has made it a game.
December 31st, 2010 at 9:21 pmThe Hawks are so predictable. They will never surprise you. They really need to shake up the roster to actually do anything special.
December 31st, 2010 at 9:32 pmUnfortunately, the only players anyone would want are the Hawks’ two best players, Smith and Horford, or their two young players who might turn into something. Rest of the roster is dead weight with massive contracts.
December 31st, 2010 at 10:52 pmHappy New Year!!
The SEC is off to a terrible start and they should have at least won 2 games. I am surprised the South Carolina lost, but not Georgia.
In fact, I am hoping that as 2011 begins, we may look to the year for a new beginning in Georgia football. With some luck, Georgia will finally get rid of Richt and get the kind of football coach that it deserves. If Auburn wins the BCS game then the SEC will have had 4 teams in 5 years win national championships. Georgia should be a part of this trend….
January 1st, 2011 at 1:12 am@145 I think trading one of Josh and Al is inevitable.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:53 amMac, so you’re saying nobody would want Marvin Williams?
January 1st, 2011 at 8:45 amI’d trade Marvin AND Bibby for Chris Paul right now. What’s really bad is that the Hornets would laugh at us if we suggested it. Oy.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:07 amBulldawg fans, I’ve seen this movie before. It’s called “The End of Tubby-Time at UK”.
Richt and Tubby are two fine men who did great things early in their tenure, but for whatever reason, lost the steam needed for success at the highest levels.
I hate it, because I think Richt is a credit to his university and his profession, but it’s hard to restart a program that’s dead in the water without a new coach.
If recruiting slips, you’ll know he’s done.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:12 amTerence Moore – Stiil Crazy After All These Years
I got a million bucks that this is all conveniently forgotten when Griffey gets on the ballot.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:48 amGo back and read the SEC preview
(I won’t count bowl games)
Jorgbacca- said 5-7 was possible for Ole Miss. (4-8)
Alex R said 10-2 for UGA (6-6)
braves14 said between 6 and 10 for USC(9-4) East Champs
I said 6-6 for the Vols (6-6)
Mac didn’t predict a record, but did say he felt Bama could lose and they had to be focused to repeat. Not far off.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:55 amSounds like Terence won’t vote for anybody whose body changed between the ages of 20 and 35, unless they just got fatter.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:59 amI had a student in one of my training classes a few weeks ago whose son is being recruited by some major schools. I think he started out as a Ga lean, but was extremely disappointed with the whole UGa recruiting process. They said Richt seemed to be aloof and didn’t get involved much. This is probably the beginning of Georgia’s problems.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:32 amI think Richt is ready to entertain other offers. I don’t believe he’ll be fired, but he’s one more mediocre year away from that fate, so better to make a move now.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:43 amSo Mich State is #9, and Ala is #16, yet the Tide is the overwhelming favorite. Is there anything else one needs to know about college “rankings”?
January 1st, 2011 at 11:35 amso where does the whole elephant thing come into play with the Crimson Tide thing? I’ve never connected the dots there.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:04 pmHappy New Year, all!
January 1st, 2011 at 12:05 pmIt’s from a newspaper storyas I recall, 30′s I think
January 1st, 2011 at 12:18 pm” think trading one of Josh and Al is inevitable.”
Perhaps, before they do that, they can find a coach who runs the offense through them. Right now Horford is 4th on the team in usage rate.
True, the Hawks are not going to be a legit championship contender even if management figures out who are the assets and what are the team’s liabilities–not with this roster–but the fact that nobody there yet understands those basic concepts suggests that the team won’t ever get better. If they’re forced to trade Smith in the future, it won’t be because of the JJ contract. It will be because of the ethos that led to that contract, the very ethos that idiotically takes the ball out of Horford’s hands.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pmSteroids?
University of Alabama traditions – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The biggest reason is that a tide, while an awesome demonstration of nature’s power, is fairly hard to illustrate and basically impossible to turn into a stuffed animal.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:38 pmhah, thanks Mac. Glad i’m not the only doing a little head scratch’n. Hey, as long as it works, why question it.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:44 pmwow..nervermind
January 1st, 2011 at 12:48 pmNo it isn’t. Alabama can blow any lead.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:51 pmDenard Robinson has 150 yards in the 1st quarter.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:06 pmWell this game has gotten better and better since it began. Then again, that’s kind of how UF has operated all year. Let’s hope it keeps going that way.
And am I the only one really annoyed that ALL THREE SEC/Big 11 matchups are happening at the exact same time? I’d really like to give ‘Bama and MSU a full watch instead of having to alternate between the two on commercial breaks in the Gator game.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:11 pmI know it has nothing to do with the university nicknames, but I have always loved the sea shanty Roll Alabama Roll
January 1st, 2011 at 1:18 pmSome of this is that Alabama’s defense is stronger in the front seven than the secondary, and MSU is the first team they’ve played in a long while that uses a base offense that you can actually play with three linemen and four linebackers. Alabama’s backup DBs, the corners in particular, aren’t very good.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:19 pm#166–At least you can see one of them–the FOX package we have in the UAE is not showing any of the Bowl games….Following on the computer is just not getting it done….
January 1st, 2011 at 1:19 pmYay! Blocked punts are fun!
January 1st, 2011 at 1:20 pm@167
January 1st, 2011 at 1:22 pmYargh! so now they’re pirates? Now i’m really confused.
Hahahaha. What a block by ‘Bama’s QB. That was awesome.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:22 pmStephen,
January 1st, 2011 at 1:23 pmdo you have access to Espn3?
And he has a pick. Oh well. SEC, unsurprisingly, asserting itself after a lackluster showing so far.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:27 pmShorter Todd Blackledge: “There’s nothing but chain restaurants in Orlando.”
January 1st, 2011 at 1:29 pmbeedee–No–we used to have access to ESPN, but the package we are on changed about two years back….
January 1st, 2011 at 1:40 pmMost insufferable person in Gator Bowl: Rich Rodriguez or Craig James?
January 1st, 2011 at 1:45 pmStephen, he means the ESPN internet streaming video feed.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:47 pm[Chris Relf] + [Michigan’s defense] = [Tebow]
Thanks again, Mrs. Rodriguez!
January 1st, 2011 at 1:53 pmUnfortunately, there is some sort of firewall which prohibts ESPN3–but at least I can get MLB.tv…
Nice finish of the half by MSU….
January 1st, 2011 at 1:54 pmwow, Michigan getting routed by Miss St. Rich Rod enjoy your last game there.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:01 pmRoll Tide!!
January 1st, 2011 at 2:02 pmIn the coming month before National signing day, these jobs could come open.
Michigan, Stanford, and Georgia. Which means LSU could come open if Miles bolts to Michigan. Kirby Smart could go to UGA I guess. Malzahn could be off to Maryland or Stanford maybe. At least something entertaining could happen.
Good thing to see UA focused for once.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:04 pmI think that Miles stays at LSU, but the Michigan job would have to be tempting….
January 1st, 2011 at 2:07 pmAs someone who has hated on Michigan State the entire season, all I can say is that this game is enjoyable. In a sad, painful sort of way.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:10 pmIt’s remarkable how human recall works. Somehow, I had managed to forget just how mind-numbingly terrible Terence Moore’s columns are, and I actually clicked on that link. Helpfully, he jogged my memory.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:18 pmbtw, Michigan State cant run the football against Alabama
edit: their offensive line is getting destroyed also
January 1st, 2011 at 2:20 pm186 – And he has a vote for the HOF. When we stop treating the BBWAA as a confederation of experts–or even as a group of people who know more than the majority of people writing here–then I’ll care about the HOF. Until then, whatever.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:33 pmHeh. That’s two fumbles they ruled down when it should’ve been Florida football.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:12 pmFlordia is just terrible to watch. I actually feel sorry for Gator fans.
That said, close this thing out, UF.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:42 pmHow the heck did UConn get a Fiesta Bowl invite?
January 1st, 2011 at 3:43 pmAhmad Black FTW!
ETA: You’re absolutely right, Cary. The offense has been such a pain to watch this whole year. I think it’s very telling with what’s happened to MSU and Florida since Mullen left.
Either way, nice to send Meyer out with a win. The Florida defense played really well today.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:44 pmWell okay, that Ahmad Black interception was pretty. Sweep the Big Ten. Go Hogs.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:44 pmEarly comedy in Pasadena: Herbstreit assuring the country that, surprisingly, a few people actually think TCU should win the game, and then Brent Musburger pointing out that TCU is the favorite in Vegas.
January 1st, 2011 at 3:53 pmBig lEast has an automatic bid, and UConn was in like a four-way tie with the tiebreakers. They’re a joke team from a joke conference.
January 1st, 2011 at 4:04 pmProbably the worst UGA bowl loss since the 1974 Tangerine Bowl, when a 6-5 UGA team lost to an undefeated Miami of Ohio, then a Mid-American Conference champ. Yes, you give credit to the other guys, but you can’t lose to UCF.
Wasn’t crazy about going for the field goal early, when the opening drive had a 4th & inches inside the 5 yard line. Murray wasn’t great after the first quarter & the O-Line was bad in the second half. They made no effective adjustments to the blitz. Some of it was execution, a lot of it was selection. Plenty of blame to go around.
Nonetheless, I agree that Richt gets another year. Overall record remains good. His bowl record remains good. And it should be noted that Richt turned the program around again, but these last 2 years are erasing a lotta good will—14-12 is still 14-12. The question, then, becomes: If Richt does go, who would be the replacement?
Of course, I was able to drown my sorrows at a pretty good rock show later on, Drive-By Truckers at Terminal 5. Yes, as the Brits say, I got “properly pissed.”
January 1st, 2011 at 5:16 pmI heard that was a winner – my friend Kelly Hogan went, and was complaining of the Irish Flu this morning as well.
January 1st, 2011 at 5:36 pmRan into Kelly last night. (She was clutching an Amstel Light.) Not big pals with her or anything, but had to thank her for her rendition of “Soft Picasso” at the Vic Chesnutt tribute at the 40 Watt last February.
As usual, she did a good job on the mic, too, especially during the cover of “Respect Yourself” (with David Hood on bass).
January 1st, 2011 at 6:09 pmShe is one of the good ones, in every possible way.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:55 pm[MANIACAL LAUGHTER AGAIN]
January 1st, 2011 at 7:01 pmLegends… Leaders… Losers.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:04 pmBanner day for the Big 10. Owch.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:06 pm200 – Wisconsin just blew the game. I’d fire Bielema after this game if I was the AD, but he’s similarly awful.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:06 pmThe Big 10 had more losses today than the two Michigan teams had combined scores.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:08 pm204 – Which speaks more to the fact that there are too many bowls. 7-5 teams don’t deserve to play for anything. The entire bowl system is so unimaginatively dull for people who lack the tribal allegiances of specific programs that it’s a wonder people watch. But we do. Or at least I did–unfortunately.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:14 pmMSU was 11-1, and lost by just 42 only because Alabama, the fourth-place team in the SEC West, had third-stringers on the field in the fourth quarter.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:15 pmAnd Penn State, Michigan, and Northwestern were all terrible teams. What’s your point? I’ve been as loud a critic of Michigan State as anyone this year–they’ve gotten lucky against two or three teams, and beat up on their mediocre conference (and not by convincing margins). My point wasn’t that Michigan State shouldn’t have played–I’m glad they got exposed–but that the other three teams shouldn’t be playing on New Years Day.
Of course, with a National Championship Game on the 10th, they’ve watered down the day. Awful, awful day of football.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:21 pm206 – Also, do you think Alabama is really the 4th-best team in the SEC? Really? I don’t. They may have finished there, but Alabama would beat South Carolina 9 times out of 10, and LSU 60-70% of the time too.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:25 pmExcept that South Carolina beat Alabama & so did LSU.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:26 pmMy point is simply that Alabama is not the 4th best team in the SEC. Also, to be clear, I’m just an advocate of NOT seeing teams like Michigan and Penn State on New Years Day. I’m not sure I’d get much of an argument from anyone on that, but if you do want to see them, then by all means let’s hear it.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:28 pmThe bowls are about their corporate sponsors & their access to big TV audiences, not what makes any football sense.
If we had football sense, we’d have a legit playoff.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:33 pmAnd note that the SEC teams that the Big However Many lost to today were the fourth-place team in the West, the fifth-place team in the West, and the 7-5 runners up in an historically bad East.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:34 pmBama just showed what an opportunity they missed.
On certain days, they are the best team in the country by a large margin.
Secondary is suspect, but other than that they are better than anybody you can name. A shame, really. You don’t get those repeat opportunities very often.
SEC proved today what is the real truth about the conference – the top of the conference is unparalleled. The bottom half is mediocre at best.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:39 pmAnd as my first act as Head Coach of the University of Pittsburgh, I think I’ll bitch slap my baby mama.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:41 pmWhy didn’t the Big 12 invite TCU when they had the chance?
January 1st, 2011 at 7:42 pmTCU could have joined the Big Ten, but they wanted a challenge.`
January 1st, 2011 at 7:42 pmBut even the bottom half of the SEC puts plenty of players into the NFL. So their talent level is still better than most.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:42 pmKinda feels like Meyer is leaving Florida because he didn’t like the way the program was starting to control him.
It’s counterintuitive, but it just feels like Foley told Meyer to fire Addazio and Meyer voted with his feet.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:45 pm“The bowls are about their corporate sponsors & their access to big TV audiences, not what makes any football sense.”
I get that–cue sigh. Sometimes I just need to vent about the system. It’s almost anti-football at times…
“And note that the SEC teams that the Big However Many lost to today were the fourth-place team in the West, the fifth-place team in the West, and the 7-5 runners up in an historically bad East.”
Nobody is arguing the Big Ten is good. My point all along has been that the 5th, 6th, and 7th best teams in the Big Ten suck. And as we all saw, so too does the conference’s 3rd best.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:45 pmYou could put a pretty good team together just of players from the SEC’s four traditional cellar-dwellers, Kentucky, Vandy, and the Mississippi schools. You’d have Cutler at QB, Oher at LT, Green-Ellis at RB, Willis at MLB…
January 1st, 2011 at 7:46 pmEli Manning, too.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:55 pmRandall Cobb would be the second-best receiver at Bama or Georgia. And the best receiver at MSU, LSU and (maybe) South Carolina (their #1 is pretty good).
January 1st, 2011 at 7:59 pmCobb is very good, but no way is he better than Jeffrey. For that matter, Chad Bumphis is awfully good, though he was hurt today (which just makes State’s performance even more impressive).
January 1st, 2011 at 8:05 pm220—Not sure which school they’d replace — Kentucky, maybe — but South Carolina is definitely in the bottom four, historically. Unless you don’t count them because they weren’t in the conference until the ’90s.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:13 pmTCU wasn’t invited to the Big 12 because they bring no money. They struggle to sell out their home games in a 50,000 seat stadium, have an alumni base of less than 75,000, and bring no added tv sets. In short, they add very little. And no, they weren’t invited to the Big Ten either.
But the Big East wanted them.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:15 pmIf the Fiesta Bowl is a major bowl game, why are UConn and Matt Millen there?
Ole Miss actually has more of a football tradition than USC. Before 1985 or so, they had more than Florida.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:15 pmI expect that the only reason the Big lEast wanted TCU was to protect their automatic BCS bid, which was severely endangered. UConn (“Even the Orange Bowl doesn’t want us!”) not helping.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:19 pmThat, and the Dallas/Texas market.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:47 pmThe Little Ten bashing not as bad as i thought it would be. The TCU line was very funny. Just wow how bad the conference looked today.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:48 pmCongrats to Bama for their excellent game today! Good to see order restored in the bowl games.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:21 pmBest wishes to JC- gonna miss Sabernomics. Here’s hoping he’ll drop by here more often now…
January 1st, 2011 at 11:06 pmTebow mic’d during his first NFL win. Kid’s a winner…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8QnCNPwfs
January 1st, 2011 at 11:20 pm@232, wow…the kid really does have it in him. Although I always wanted Bama to crush him, I wish him success in the NFL. It looks like he’s the spark that Denver needs. I love how he told the coach that only one player carries the ball in that situation (meaning him).
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:13 am@232
Never was a particular fan of Tebow–I’m a UGA man, actually.
Definitely grown tired of players mic’ed segments.
However…
That… Was… Cool…. Thanks for the link.
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:14 amAnother Pulitzer Prize winning article by Mark Bowman with the following sentence:
“Now they must simply need McLouth to at least prove they don’t have to be overly concerned about the center field position.”
This guy is a profoundly awful sportswriter.
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:33 amI can’t stand the way Bowman writes. He reminds me of a little weasel.
January 2nd, 2011 at 4:28 amcsg,
Thanks, man. That was pretty cool.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:49 amSo when did Mrs. Puff start working for ESPN?
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:35 amWondering if Auburn fans, just days before they play for the National Championship, are miffed at the “Roll Tide” commercials rolled out by the Worldwide Leader …
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:36 amHarold and Wild Thing on MLB just did a segment on how a tweak in Cody Ross’ stance dramatically helped his season.
Apparently, pitchers were living inside on him, so Uggla suggested he open his stance. The rest is history.
What happens if you throw cutters or sliders down and away to someone employing that stance?
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:39 amIf they can pick up the spin of those pitches then their first step goes towards 2nd and they drive that pitch to RF, if not, they look like Frenchy and swing over the top of it.
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:56 am@238 Miffed isn’t the right word. When they planned and filmed it Alabama was considered to be the favorite to win another championship. Now, do I change the channel every time it comes on? Yes.
And all the “Roll Ducks Roll” people can go to hell.
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:44 amThe fact that Auburn is in the NCG de-miffs me in about every possible way. I just light up the mental “Scoreboard!” chant whenever anything comes up. “See you in Glendale!” trumps any possible slight at this juncture.
/and may I be damned to hell for jinxing this, but Oregon is in for an eye opener.
January 2nd, 2011 at 11:00 amSpike, noooooooooooooooo!
January 2nd, 2011 at 11:43 am#Maybe–But Oregon is a pretty fine team with plenty of speed. They have not been tested like Auburn has…..
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:48 pmI don’t think it’s a gimme for Auburn at all. It will be one of their toughest tests, if not the toughest.
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:21 pmAaaaand we’re down 2 starters against Davidson. This is starting to get annoying.
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:28 pmI just don’t believe Oregon is as good as Alabama (which I grant you is a game I would not like to have to play again). I am not predicting victory. I just don’t think any of Oregon’s opponents are all that, Stanford included.
Boy, speaking of, what a great year to be Stanford – no quality wins and and a 20 point whipping to the only team they played with less than 5 losses. For this, you get a #4 rank and draw the worst two loss team out there for your “bowl”, with a chance to be #3, depending on the NCG. Sheesh, I hope they get destroyed.
January 2nd, 2011 at 3:41 pmWell, the Falcons got what they wanted and now it seems that the only 2 teams they can’t play in their first Dome game are the Bears or Eagles.
What’s crazy, of course, is that the Rams or Seahawks will get a home game vs. New Orleans.
Barring a nice first-round home win by the NFC West team, hosting the Saints or Packers would be a helluva matchup.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:12 pmIt looks like I’m back. Thanks for all the technical help to get me back in the game, Mac.
I just wanted to say real quick that I’ve experienced some serious life changing events in the last few months, and that’s why I haven’t been around much. I had bar prep over the summer, took and passed the bar exam, and got my first real job and moved into a house. It was a lot of growing up in a short amount of time.
With the MLB.TV package now streaming through PS3s, I didn’t miss much Braves baseball. I liked watching the 2010 Braves play baseball, which is far different than the preceding few years. I’m excited about the 2011 season, and I’m glad to be back with the fine folks at Braves Journal.
Cheers, Happy New Year, and bring on Spring Training.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:20 pmKyle B–Congratulations and welcome back. 2010 was really fast-paced for me as well–there were many days where I was lucky to be able to just come to Braves Journal and read the conversation.
That brings me to Thanking Mac for all that he has done during the past year to make Braves Journal the great site that it is.
I am certainly looking forward to all that goes on here in 2011….
January 2nd, 2011 at 11:50 pmNew post.
January 3rd, 2011 at 7:15 am