Might as well JUMP. There is a nice list of juniors who are jumping to the NFL on the offensive side of the ball. Dwayne Jarrett and Adrian Peterson join that list. Jarrett sure looked good against Michigan. I would be a little leery of him, however. He just looks skinny to me. But I love Adrian Peterson. He certainly is a guy I would take a chance on. He could be a franchise-making running back.
Walk on by. Darius Walker, the Notre Dame tailback who could have used a few more carries against LSU, saw that Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma was going to go pro, so he immediately announced that he, too, was going to skip his senior season and go pro. Actually, I don't quite know what Walker is thinking. Walker is listed at 5-10, 208. He doesn't look 208 to me. He looks smaller. I imagine he will be a second-day pick, maybe a fifth or sixth rounder like Walli Lundy, who was picked fairly low out of Virginia. Lundy had a nice rookie season. To me, Marshawn Lynch of Cal seems to be the better breakaway back.
Conversation. "Roger?" "Yes?" "Roger, it's Paul." "Paul, how are you?" "Fine, Roger, fine. Now listen, Roger. My jacket size is 46, 2XL. Now my tailor is coming over to fit up the sleeves and take in at the waist. I have such a hard time being fitted for jackets." "Well, yes sir. That'll be fine." "And Roger, I'm going to have my fabric gal come over and discuss options for the gold. You know, Old Pete picked those out, and they are just garish. You know I told him many times that Chan didn't like them and that we should change them." "Yes sir." "Now, Roger, instead of that chintzy stuff, I'm going to get a nice breathable wool, and my gal ... I don't recall her name..." "It's Mitzy, sir." "Oh yes, Mitzy, is going to tone down that gold." "Is that all sir?" "Well, that's it for now. Give my best to Jane. I've called over at Michael's, and now they should be able to get you in next Tuesday." "Thank you Paul. Goodbye."
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Paydirt: Famers.
Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn Sr. were elected to the baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Ripken is No. 3 in voting percentage all time, with 98.53 percent of the votes cast for him. He beat out Ty Cobb, George Brett, and Hank Aaron. I can see Brett, maybe. That a higher percentage of voters voted for him than Aaron is ludicrous. I like Ripken, but ... . Tony Gwynn received 97.61 percent of the vote, higher than Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton, BABE RUTH, and Honus Wagner. That is insane. Sorry, Tony, but that is just wrong.
Flex time. Mark McGwire received 23.5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The minimum needed was 75 percent of the vote. Many didn't vote for him because they think he might have taken steroids. Many argue that the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" applies in a court of law, but this ain't a court of law. That is probably true. However, when sitting in judgement of someone, you need to have some sort of due process, and McGwire's Congressional testimony doesn't cut it for me as far as due process. And certainly Jose Canseco's book means nothing to me. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, he is 13th all-time in on-base plus slugging percentage, 10th all-time in slugging percentage, and is No. 1 all-time in home runs per at-bat. I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he belongs in Cooperstown.
My name is Jose. What about Canseco? He received six votes for the Hall of Fame, and he is no longer eligible for elections by the BBWAA. He was a six-time All-Star. He was in the top five in slugging in his league five times, and he won an MVP award. He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he was worth more than six votes.
E. One of my top 10 favorite players of all time, Eric Davis, received just three votes (half as many as Canseco!?!) and is also no longer eligible. Davis won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards ... and that's about it. But he was about as five-tool as you can come. Unfortunately for him, that sixth tool, namely staying healthy, wasn't in his arsenal.
Goose, Rice, Andre, Bert. Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven are the next four on the list that still have not gotten in. I hope that they do next year. They all deserve to.
Good Broncos. I think that Florida deserved the No. ranking in college football this year. I think the Broncos of Boise State should have been No. 2. They didn't play for the National Championship, so the team that wins that game deserves it. But they won their BCS bowl, and every other game that they played this year.
Bad Broncos. Not to single out Mike Shanahan, but he is responsible for firing Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. They has the best defense in the NFL after five games, and finished the season 14th overall. If you're a half-empty guy, that means you slipped 13 places in 11 games. If you're a half-full guy, it means that your defensive was top-half of the league, even though your offense wasn't holding on to the ball as much as it had been earlier. But it seems that NFL head coaches are throwing over their coordinators (and other assorted assistant coaches) much more than they had 15 or 20 years ago.
Flex time. Mark McGwire received 23.5 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The minimum needed was 75 percent of the vote. Many didn't vote for him because they think he might have taken steroids. Many argue that the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" applies in a court of law, but this ain't a court of law. That is probably true. However, when sitting in judgement of someone, you need to have some sort of due process, and McGwire's Congressional testimony doesn't cut it for me as far as due process. And certainly Jose Canseco's book means nothing to me. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, he is 13th all-time in on-base plus slugging percentage, 10th all-time in slugging percentage, and is No. 1 all-time in home runs per at-bat. I think he is a Hall of Famer, and I think he belongs in Cooperstown.
My name is Jose. What about Canseco? He received six votes for the Hall of Fame, and he is no longer eligible for elections by the BBWAA. He was a six-time All-Star. He was in the top five in slugging in his league five times, and he won an MVP award. He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he was worth more than six votes.
E. One of my top 10 favorite players of all time, Eric Davis, received just three votes (half as many as Canseco!?!) and is also no longer eligible. Davis won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Slugger awards ... and that's about it. But he was about as five-tool as you can come. Unfortunately for him, that sixth tool, namely staying healthy, wasn't in his arsenal.
Goose, Rice, Andre, Bert. Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven are the next four on the list that still have not gotten in. I hope that they do next year. They all deserve to.
Good Broncos. I think that Florida deserved the No. ranking in college football this year. I think the Broncos of Boise State should have been No. 2. They didn't play for the National Championship, so the team that wins that game deserves it. But they won their BCS bowl, and every other game that they played this year.
Bad Broncos. Not to single out Mike Shanahan, but he is responsible for firing Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. They has the best defense in the NFL after five games, and finished the season 14th overall. If you're a half-empty guy, that means you slipped 13 places in 11 games. If you're a half-full guy, it means that your defensive was top-half of the league, even though your offense wasn't holding on to the ball as much as it had been earlier. But it seems that NFL head coaches are throwing over their coordinators (and other assorted assistant coaches) much more than they had 15 or 20 years ago.
Paydirt: Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again.
Whoops, I think the Gators just scored again. Watchingthe BCS Championship Game last night, I was struck by how similar it was to the 1996 Fiesta Bowl game that Nebraska beat Florida 62-24. In that game, Florida kept using five-wide formations all night (before that was a totally accepted concept). The problem was, Nebraska's defense was so much faster than Florida's O-line that they beat the living bejesus out of DannyWuerffel. Florida's passing offense didn't produce first downs and points. Last night, Ohio State didn't adjust during the game. Florida's defensive ends specifically and D-line generally were beating OSU's O-line soundly. At some point, you need to keep more blockers in.
In the zone. At some point, if you are getting whupped by a team that is throwing bubble screen and four-yard passes time and time again, you need to get out of your zone and start manning up with some deep safety help. Yet the Buckeyes let Florida just carve 'em up.
Chris Leak. All the things thatI've now read about this kid, and, yes, I compared him to Troy Smith unfavorably ... for all that, this kid is classy. He came to Florida with huge fanfare, and he left the all-time leading passer and National Champion. Enjoy this time, Chris. You earned it probably more than most.
Ginn up the works. Boy, is Ted Ginn fast.
Zooker. If I were an Illinois fan, and I admit that I am a Ron Zook fan, I would be giddy right now. Zook knows how to recruit. I actually think he knows how to coach as well. And when it comes down to it, there isn't really much more than those two factors. I think the Illini future looks pretty good.
In the zone. At some point, if you are getting whupped by a team that is throwing bubble screen and four-yard passes time and time again, you need to get out of your zone and start manning up with some deep safety help. Yet the Buckeyes let Florida just carve 'em up.
Chris Leak. All the things thatI've now read about this kid, and, yes, I compared him to Troy Smith unfavorably ... for all that, this kid is classy. He came to Florida with huge fanfare, and he left the all-time leading passer and National Champion. Enjoy this time, Chris. You earned it probably more than most.
Ginn up the works. Boy, is Ted Ginn fast.
Zooker. If I were an Illinois fan, and I admit that I am a Ron Zook fan, I would be giddy right now. Zook knows how to recruit. I actually think he knows how to coach as well. And when it comes down to it, there isn't really much more than those two factors. I think the Illini future looks pretty good.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Paydirt
You can call me Bobby. Atlanta hired Bobby Petrino. I liked Jim Mora better, and I think that the Falcons should have stuck with him. But Petrino has some NFL coaching experience as a quarterbacks coach and an offensive coodinator. John L. Smith built the Louisville program, and Petrino took it over and advanced it a little bit. (Just a thought, but maybe Smith will come back to Louisville. I think he is fun to watch.) But the NFL is another kettle of meat. (from Bob Dylan's "Quinn the Mighty Eskimo": "Ain't my cup of meat".) More coaching changes. I think that this move helps the Steelers. Strike another team off of the Wisenhunt-Grimm bandwagon. Arizona, Miami, Oakland, and Pittsburgh are still looking. Here are some of the rumors. Norm Chow, former USC and BYU offensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titan offensive coordinator, to Arizona to coach Matt Leinart. The Dolphins are going to go all out after Pete Carroll, USC's head coach. If I were the decision maker in Pittsburgh, I would go for Russ Grimm. I also may try to start a Mike Ditka rumor to Pittsburgh. That could be fun. Oakland? Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Buddy Ryan's kid, would seem to be the front-runner. He's a Raider now. The players like him. His defense played very well. God help 'em if they pick John Shoop. I also could see them going to Ken Wisenhunt, the Steelers offensive coordinator. I would love to see Mike Singletary be a head coach somewhere. But I don't think Oakland would be the place. Tom Coughlin will be back with the Giants if the Giants can't convince Charley Weis or Bill Parcells to come coach in New York. Tony the Slip. Shut up already about the shiny, slippery football. Tony Romo just didn't handle it. Reminds all of the Brad St. Louis-Kyle Larson botched snap that killed the Bengals' playoff chances. Here's a thought: have a wide receiver do the holding. A wideout should have better hands than a backup quarterback, not to mention a punter. WRs should beway more athletic when the snap is no good. The added arm strength a QB should be offset by the speed and the fact that a wide receiver wouldn't really need tothrow a deep out on a botched extra point or even a botched field goal. Rex Kern lives. Ohio State will win the National Championship game tonight 30-14 over Florida. You say it's your birthday? Happy birthday, King. Seventy-two, if my counting is right. My friend, Hot Doug, who owns a hot dog stand, has the Dr. George Nichopoulos as his special sausage today. The game sausage of the week? Gator. Go Buckeyes.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Paydirt
Cowher power. Bill Cowher more than anything did the nearly impossible, namely, replace a Hall of Fame coach like Chuck Noll, and have a Hall of Fame career right after. Off the top of my head: Tommy Lasorda for the Dodgers, Bill Russell (maybe?) for the Celtics and Tom Osborne at Nebraska maybe sorta equal what Cowher did. I'll have to do some more research on that. Shell game. Poor darned Art Shell. I feel I doomed him bysaying it was the best coaching hire of the year. But, more, I feel bad for him because I think he deserved another shot at an NFL head coaching job for years, and when he finally got it, he really laid an egg. You can win anywhere in the NFL, but that Raiders job would be the worst place to be a head coach in the league right now, if you ask me. Secret Leak. Chris Leak was the No. 1 player out of high school as a senior four years ago. Quarterback. Signed famously for Florida. Is Florida's all-time passing yardage leader. Starter as a freshman. Won the SEC title several times. Is playing for a National Championship Monday night. Andthe biggest name in the game? Troy Smith. Smith wins the Heisman. Smith will probably be a first-day pick in the NFL draft, maybe a first-rounder. I'll be interested to see if Leak is drafted, and if he is, where. [Todd McShay of ESPN has Chris Leak as the No. 7 QB in the draft, after Kevin Kolb of Houston. He also said that Leak merits some consideration as a second-day prospect.] And Smith wasn't not only not heralded coming out of high school, he wasn't the starter his sophomore year. It was Justin Zwick, also a sophomore and the big-name high school recruit QB for the Buckeyes. Remeber that when you hear about such-and-such a school winning the recruiting wars in football.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Paydirt
Oops, I think LSU just scored again. The Tigers did anumber on the Irish in the Sugar Bowl. Be interesting to see how JaMarcus Russell is perceived by the NFL, or at least fans. He has a real nice arm and is huge. He doesn't seem to be real close to NFL-ready, but he can chuck. Quinn the Mighty Raider? If there is a team that needs a quarterback that would pass on Brady Quinn to get a player like Russell, I'm guessing that team would be the Raiders. Pennington over Brees. I said that I would take Chad Pennington over Drew Brees in terms of injured QBs coming back (I also picked Art Shell as a great coaching hire and Eric Mangini as a bad one). The AP agreed, giving Pennington the Comeback Player of the Year Award over Brees. The only problem is ... I don't agree with it. I think Brees deserved the award, albeit slightly. Barren desert. I don'tagree with those who say that the Arizona job is terrible and noone should take it. They were saying that about the Cincinnati job before Marvin Lewis.There were those who were saying that Marvin should have turned the job down and waited for another one, a better one. You can win in the NFL anywhere, despite any sort of team history. Just because Denny Green was fired in Arizona, and they haven't had a playoff game since Jake the Snake was their QB, doesn't mean you can't win there.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Paydirt
Good luck, Nick: The Alabama job ain't the Michigan State job or even the LSU job. The list of coaches forced out or fired: Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione, and Mike Shula. Two GMs do great job. The two GMs of the two best NFL teams this season are due some credit after their respective bashings earlier in their careers. A.J. Smith has received some credit for the Chargers, but, really, it is Marty Schottenheimer who receives most of the credit. And in Chicago, Jerry Angelo should be hailed. But, instead, the question is whether to pull Rex Grossman after a few bad passes in the playoffs. Michigan CB has some woes. Leon Hall was a Jim Thorpe candidate in '06, but I think his Rose Bowl might have cost him a little money. He was beat and beat bad on the Dwayne Jarrett long TD. Now, there were plenty of breakdowns in the Wolverine secondary, but I'm just sayin'. The kid is No. 3 on Mel's Big Board. ... Go where you're drafted: Heard Greeney on Mike squared this morning say that Brady Quinn should pull an Eli and try to get out of the Raiders' clutches in the '07 draft. Couldn't disagree with him more. You just don't know how things turn out. Teams change all the time. Pats top pick. OK: Here is the Super Bowl 41 (XLI) prediction: New England gets revenge for Super Bowl No. 20 by beating the Bears. Go ... Run ... Fly to Vegas and put all your money on every team other than the Pats and Bears. thankyouverymuch. OldCleat
Know Your Super Bowl MVPs, No. 4
Know your Super Bowl MVPs. This former Super Bowl MVP is the second Super Bowl MVP from JunÃpero Serra High School, the same high school that produced Barry Bonds. He is a quarterback who has been named Super Bowl MVP more than once.
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