Tuesday, November 23, 2010
November 12 Podcast
As always, football and basketball are on the menu as Jock Talk records live from Austin.
Jock Talk's Inaugural Interviews.
JC and Taylor inverview University of Texas Baseball players Mark Payton and Clayton Crum. The players open up about the experience of playing baseball at UT and finish the interview with a game of would you rather.
Friday, November 5, 2010
A$$ Whooping of the Week (Week 9)
It was a quiet week on the A$$ whooping scene. There were a few blowouts, a few shut outs, KG vs a cancer patient Charlie Villanueva, but the beat down this week occurred on the sidelines, where several coaches showed a complete lack of stones while making several confusing decisions.
At the top of the list is Mike Shanahan. The Redskins coach benched Donovan McNabb for the wildly successful Rex Grossman for the final 2 minutes of the Redskins loss to the Lions on Sunday. Grossman promptly fumbled and Ndamukong Suh returned it for a game sealing touchdown. Originally, Shanahan claimed Grossman had a better handle of the 2-minute offense (although McNabb was the QB for the final 2 minutes of the first half), but then changed his tone and said McNabb wasn't enough good enough shape to handle the 2-minute offense. Isn't it Shanahan's job to make sure his players are in proper shape? Missing from his explanations is the fact that Shanahan's offensive coordinator is his own son, who was having problems with McNabb. Benching a player who is not getting along with your son in the final minutes of 6 point football game? Sounds like someone playing a father and not a coach. If he can't prioritize his responsibilities as a coach ahead of being a father, perhaps he shouldn't employ his family.
Our second coach is Brad Childress. As a Vikings fan, reaching the NFC Championship game was very enjoyable. The season was bittersweet though, as I suspected Childress would be given credit for the success and an extension to his contract. Brad Childress has done a terrible job as the Coach of the Vikings, even during last years success. This season, "Chilly" has begun to show his flaws. He ripped his Hall of Fame QB, then traded draft picks for a player he would cut weeks later. Was it really a surprise to anyone who has followed football this decade that Moss would only play when he wanted to and create drama off the field? No? Well apparently it caught the leader of the Vikings off guard. Good usage of next years draft picks Coach!
Our last group of coaches all committed the same crime this weekend: failing to grow a pair and trying to win the game! Buffalo is the only winless team in the NFL. In overtime on Sunday, facing 4th and 7 on the Kansas City 40 yard line, rather than attempt a game willing field goal or a fourth down conversion, Coach Chan Gailey punted. He punted in the opposing teams territory. Grow some stones and try to win the game, Chan! It took Kansas City just two plays to reach the 40 (where they would have started their possession had Gailey gone for it and failed), and they predictably won. In Los Angeles this Saturday, Lane Kiffin and USC were taking on the number one offense in the country against Oregon. With the game still close, Kiffin twice chose to punt on 4th and 1. How can you really expect to win a game against the best offense in the country by punting! After the first punt, it took the Ducks just two plays to pass the original line of scrimmage, and the second punt was returned past the line of scrimmage. USC was later forced to attempt a 4th and 9 as the route was on. Failing to go for 4th and 1s in a close game but going for 4th and 9 in a blowout? That's gutsy Coach.
(Despite his faults, Les Miles never has and likely never will fall in the same category as the coaches above. He may not form complete sentences or know how to use timeouts properly, but he isn't afraid to win a game, instead of hoping not to lose it.)
At the top of the list is Mike Shanahan. The Redskins coach benched Donovan McNabb for the wildly successful Rex Grossman for the final 2 minutes of the Redskins loss to the Lions on Sunday. Grossman promptly fumbled and Ndamukong Suh returned it for a game sealing touchdown. Originally, Shanahan claimed Grossman had a better handle of the 2-minute offense (although McNabb was the QB for the final 2 minutes of the first half), but then changed his tone and said McNabb wasn't enough good enough shape to handle the 2-minute offense. Isn't it Shanahan's job to make sure his players are in proper shape? Missing from his explanations is the fact that Shanahan's offensive coordinator is his own son, who was having problems with McNabb. Benching a player who is not getting along with your son in the final minutes of 6 point football game? Sounds like someone playing a father and not a coach. If he can't prioritize his responsibilities as a coach ahead of being a father, perhaps he shouldn't employ his family.
Our second coach is Brad Childress. As a Vikings fan, reaching the NFC Championship game was very enjoyable. The season was bittersweet though, as I suspected Childress would be given credit for the success and an extension to his contract. Brad Childress has done a terrible job as the Coach of the Vikings, even during last years success. This season, "Chilly" has begun to show his flaws. He ripped his Hall of Fame QB, then traded draft picks for a player he would cut weeks later. Was it really a surprise to anyone who has followed football this decade that Moss would only play when he wanted to and create drama off the field? No? Well apparently it caught the leader of the Vikings off guard. Good usage of next years draft picks Coach!
Our last group of coaches all committed the same crime this weekend: failing to grow a pair and trying to win the game! Buffalo is the only winless team in the NFL. In overtime on Sunday, facing 4th and 7 on the Kansas City 40 yard line, rather than attempt a game willing field goal or a fourth down conversion, Coach Chan Gailey punted. He punted in the opposing teams territory. Grow some stones and try to win the game, Chan! It took Kansas City just two plays to reach the 40 (where they would have started their possession had Gailey gone for it and failed), and they predictably won. In Los Angeles this Saturday, Lane Kiffin and USC were taking on the number one offense in the country against Oregon. With the game still close, Kiffin twice chose to punt on 4th and 1. How can you really expect to win a game against the best offense in the country by punting! After the first punt, it took the Ducks just two plays to pass the original line of scrimmage, and the second punt was returned past the line of scrimmage. USC was later forced to attempt a 4th and 9 as the route was on. Failing to go for 4th and 1s in a close game but going for 4th and 9 in a blowout? That's gutsy Coach.
(Despite his faults, Les Miles never has and likely never will fall in the same category as the coaches above. He may not form complete sentences or know how to use timeouts properly, but he isn't afraid to win a game, instead of hoping not to lose it.)
Best Halloween Costume by an Athlete
3rd place: Shaq as "Shaqeeta"
2nd place: Cam Newton as a fairy
And the winner: Rajon Rondo as Tiger Woods (also pictured are the "Big 3" and Big Papi)
2nd place: Cam Newton as a fairy
And the winner: Rajon Rondo as Tiger Woods (also pictured are the "Big 3" and Big Papi)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Giants over Rangers in 5
The San Francisco giants made quick work of the Texas Rangers, meaning we are already on to the baseball offseason. Lets have a look at a few interesting storylines coming up in the following months.
- Repeats: Can the Rangers or Giants duplicate their success? The Rangers certainly have a roster capable of returning to the playoffs again next year, especially if they are able to sign Cliff Lee. The Giants appear to be a one-hit wonder. Its hard to imagine a team anchored on offense by Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, and Juan Uribe winning back to back World Series', but with a great pitching staff they are likely to compete in a weak NL West.
- How much will the Yankees spend? Supporting a line up with Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, and Tex, the Yankees still fell in the ALCS. They will be in the market for both Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee this offseason, but both will be pricey. New York will also have to sign Jeter, whom they will likely overpay for his career body of work, despite his sharp decline last season.
- Big players on the more: In addition to Crawford and Lee, several big names players will be in the market for new contracts. Due to the big money they spent on Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, the Phillies will be unable to resign Jayson Werth. He could also land in New York if Crawford goes elsewhere. Two of the best first baseman in the NL could be on the trading block. Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez are both upcoming free agents. The Brewers and Padres will likely be unable to resign either player and may be looking to make a deal while their players have maximum value.
English is Les Miles' second language
The LSU Tigers are face Alabama Saturday coming off their bye week. In addition to giving the Tigers an extra week to prepare, the off week also gave Coach Miles an extra week to prepare for this weeks news conference. Given the extra week to prepare, Les opened with this 2-sentence gem:
"We had a nice open week, but it created great anxiety. As a coach when you sit there and watch a football Saturday, and you don't have a game to play, you wonder where you are at.?
Later, when asked about the poor blocking by his receivers, Les gave us this incoherent rambling:
"I guess what I'm saying is I'm in the key piece of my season where the big plays have yet to have been made. As I go into the next game, I look for those plays to be more important than anything that we've done in the past, and to say that I have any opinion to this point that would be finite would not. Really, I'm expecting this receiving corps to do the things that they've done in the past, and that is rebound and play like hell and play well. If they do that, that's just what I want to see them do. In many instances there is some developing going on, and there are some guys, in my opinion, who are a little bit nicked and will probably be playing with greatest health this Saturday."
"We had a nice open week, but it created great anxiety. As a coach when you sit there and watch a football Saturday, and you don't have a game to play, you wonder where you are at.?
Later, when asked about the poor blocking by his receivers, Les gave us this incoherent rambling:
"I guess what I'm saying is I'm in the key piece of my season where the big plays have yet to have been made. As I go into the next game, I look for those plays to be more important than anything that we've done in the past, and to say that I have any opinion to this point that would be finite would not. Really, I'm expecting this receiving corps to do the things that they've done in the past, and that is rebound and play like hell and play well. If they do that, that's just what I want to see them do. In many instances there is some developing going on, and there are some guys, in my opinion, who are a little bit nicked and will probably be playing with greatest health this Saturday."
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