A Tale of Two Seasons: A Review Preview

So many of us have no idea what to expect out of this season (and those who claim to know are lying). While many of us may be cautiously optimistic, or choose to take the “let’s just sit back and watch and see how it plays out” approach, some of us seem to be a bit pessimistic, with the whole “the sky is falling” narrative. No matter how you slice it, entering the 4th year of Neuheisel’s tenure, we are all thoroughly confused and have no idea what to expect. What is it that we will be looking for that will tell us how the season will break for us? Simply put, the play of the O-line and QB will tell the entire story of our season. More specifically, with our schedule being what it is, if our O-line is at least serviceable at pass blocking and our QB can make decent reads (he doesn’t need to be a world-beater) which will keep offensive mistakes down, we will have a successful season. If they don’t, we won’t. It’s as simple as that really.



So what happens if neither improves? Our QB continues to throw into coverage, the play calling continues to be conservative, with little to no shots taken down the field? Let’s take a look into the future, shall we? With the use of a Delorean, I was able to grab this season recap from a late November 2011 posting on BN.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… Blah, blah, blah

The Worst of Times“…Dan Guerrero’s news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday morning. We all expect that he will announce the firing of coach Rick Neuheisel, but we could only hope that Guerrero takes himself out of the equation as well. This would heal all of Bruins Nation more than the removal of any coach. Honestly though, after looking back at Neuheisel’s tenure, specifically this season, he had to go. Let’s dissect the season that was, beginning with the QB position. We came into the summer camp with a quarterback controversy, and the play during camp settled nothing. Neither QB stepped up. Prince didn’t seem to be as mobile as he once was, no doubt hampered by his knee injury. There seemed to be little growth out of Brehaut. We all see now that summer baseball was a failed experiment. And let’s not even mention the total mismanagement of Brett Hundley. Neuheisel really should have redshirted the kid instead of bringing him in for 4 or 5 plays a game to get killed behind that suspect O-line. He looked like a deer in headlights out there all season, reminiscent of Chris Forcier when he got in against ASU in ’08.
Despite Prince’s lack of mobility, he was named the starter at the beginning of the season. And what an ugly start it was. We opened up the season at Houston, but it looked as if we left the playbook back in Westwood. We stayed pretty vanilla during the 1st half, running Franklin, Coleman, & Co. up the middle several times for little to no gain each time. I think they set a record for the number of 3 and outs in one half. Our defense was able to hold off Keenum in the 1st half, but whatever adjustments Sumlin made at the half definitely worked as UCLA was blown out in the 2nd half to lose the season opener 31-6.




The Bruins followed that up with a win at home vs. San Jose St., but Prince’s knee gave him some problems, so Brehaut played the 2nd half. The running game was what got us through, but there was less room for Jet Ski to operate because opponents were putting 8 in the box constantly, daring us to pass over the top…and we didn’t. The few times that we tried, the ball was either thrown into coverage, or the passes sailed far overhead.
It got ugly after San Jose St. The Bruins went on to lose three straight vs Texas, Oregon St., and Stanford. UCLA stayed in the game early against Texas, but again, let down in the 2nd half (Fans in the half-empty Rose Bowl were seen throwing up into their “Passion Buckets”). The second half against Texas was what ruined their confidence heading into that Oregon State debacle. Washington St. was next on the schedule, and although the Tuel to Wilson combination accounted for 3 Tds, the Bruins were able to pull it out in overtime. They took this energy into Arizona, who was operating without a couple key players to win in the desert on national TV. This was followed up by a win over Cal at home. On a side note, Tedford might bump into CRN in line down at the unemployment office this week. The momentum of their 3-game winning streak was not enough to take down ASU, as Osweiler torched the Bruins for the second year in a row, once again displaying the talent that shows why everyone has him on their short list for Heisman next year (2012).
It was perhaps the last 3 games of the season though that sealed CRNs fate, losing badly to Utah, with Chow’s offense looking rather surgical (both in the game and in the season as a whole), squeaking by Colorado, and getting embarrassed by $C. The $C players kept talking in the media about this being their bowl game, and they definitely took to the field with that mentality. There is absolutely no reason to be shut out in a rivalry game, and Rick & co. ought to be ashamed…”

The Best of Times
There are far less specifics in this narrative. We all know how a bad season will play out, but a good season could take so many different avenues. But here is a vague glimpse at our successful season...
A hard fought battle in August gives birth to a clear-cut starter (Brehaut or Prince, it doesn’t matter). Said starter stays relatively injury free and leads us to a victory in our season opener at Houston. While some of the rust of it being a first game is apparent, it is clear that this isn’t the same team that we saw last year. The playcalling is balanced, keeping defenders from keying in on any specific tendencies. The O-line continues to get a good push up front clearing the way for Jet Ski & Co. The most exciting part though was the amount of time the QB had to throw! And when he did, he made it count. No interceptions were thrown by the Bruin QB in the opener, Rosario aggressively went after balls in the air, Harkey didn’t drop a pass, and Carroll’s route running has drastically improved. He just seemed to be open all of the time.
This season opening victory was followed up by a victory vs. San Jose St. Those 1st two victories served as not only a confidence booster that led to the success of the rest of the season, but served as a live game opportunity where the kinks could be worked out heading into conference. Starting off 2-0, we win 2 out of our next three games ( vs. Texas, at Oregon St., at Stanford), surprising the nation and the talking heads @ BSPN by taking down ____________(Fill in the blank yourself) when no one thought we had a chance. This was followed up by a win vs. Washington St. in which our defense dominated and our offense could do no wrong. The Bruins then go on to win at least 2 of the next 4 games (at Arizona, vs. Cal, vs. Arizona St., at Utah).

This is followed up by a victory over Colorado where Neuheisel takes his old team to the woodshed in front of 90,000 at the Rose Bowl, leading into Beat$C week. The atmosphere on campus was at a level that we hadn’t seen in recent years. The Bonfire was electric, with students and alumni giddy with excitement about the game. And what a game it was…

RobbStarzz

Bring Your Playbook Chuck Bullough, Coach Needs To See You

Although he is not the only one that needs to be served his walking papers(SEE Chow, Norm), he is the larger part of the overall issue. You can't just look at the score of the $C game [28 pts allowed, 2nd lowest point total scored by the "trogans" (SEE Ambles, Markeith for spelling) in a Pac-10 game this season, but allowed 212 yards to Bradford] and say that CB has done a decent job overall.

I will say this, we are young on defense, no one can deny that. Any time you have 3 true freshman starting in your front seven, there are going to be problems. As highly recruited as they are, they are still only 18 years old with 18 year old muscles and an 18 year old understanding of the game. With that being said, you need to coach accordingly.

We all know that it is IMPOSSIBLE to win a game, let alone be competitive if you don't get pressure on the QB (the reason why Mario Williams was drafted ahead of Bu$h, when, at the time, Bu$h was more accomplished). So if you have 3 frosh in your front seven, you need to bring pressure in creative ways (our only effort was to line up Ayers at DE). But we didn't...all season. Too many times, we tried to get pressure with just our front 4, which I will remind you includes 2 freshmen. To add to that, our corners are playing 10-15 yards off the ball (I'm assuming CB knows there will be no pressure and is protecting against getting beat deep). That is a bad combo. With no pressure at the line of scrimmage, and WRs running free in the secondary, the opponent is essentially running against a skeleton defense. It might as well be practice for the opposition. To add insult to injury, we can't tackle!

Why is this a coaching problem? Simple. The scheme just isn't working. Period. 8 losses, 6 coming in the last 7 games, countless blowouts (giving up 31, 35, 35, 60, 29, 24, 55, 28 in 8 losses and 28 in a victory to the doormat of the conference). Don't be delusional and think that $C scoring 28 points had anything to do with CB. It was a rivalry game. That's what happens in rivalry games. That had everything to do with the players reaching down trying to make something happen, in spite of having CB as a coordinator.

Plus, Barkley was a shell of himself hobbling around on one leg and running a fever last night. Not to mention, they had a SR walk-on as their kicker (just earned a scholarship this season because they had no one else) who has only made one FG over 40 yards his whole career (only 4 other kicks over 30 yards). If they had a serviceable kicker at their disposal who could kick field goals and not snatch away their offense's momentum after each failed attempt of a 4th down conversion, it would have been a lot uglier. I give our coaching staff very little credit for Saturday night.

So next year will be better because our team will be more experienced and CB will loosen the reigns a little, right? Wrong! The product that we are seeing on the field is who CB is. It's what he does. It's his MO. Bend but don't break, umbrella-using, keep everything in front of you, we'll let them catch it, but lets hope they don't run too far defense.

Compare his calls with this year's "young" team to last year's veteran-laden team. Siewierski & Price at DT (Sr & Jr respectively), Bosworth & Stokes/Jones at DE (Sr & Jr/So). Akeem Ayers, Reggie Carter, & Kyle Bosworth at Linebacker (So, Sr, Sr.). ATV, Price, Dye, & Moore (Sr, Fr, So, So). Lots of vets, SOS. Send 4 (which actually worked when Price was in the game because he was such a force), 10 yard cushion, and don't get beat deep. You can really only point to one weak link in that entire unit (Fr CB Sheldon Price). Everywhere else, we were either solid or All-American. Sure, the Bosworth bros might have been a little short on talent, but someone tell that to the two NFL teams that they are a part of right now (practice squad or not).

We had the makings of being a dynamic defense last year, and still nothing. Statswise, we were decent. I believe finished near the top of the Pac 10 (only because there weren't many dominant defenses) and in the top 40 in the nation. But we were better than that, way better. So if CB can have ATV playing 10 yards off the ball (he doesn't even do that in the NFL!), and be using a vanilla, protective scheme with those horses in the fold, what makes us think he will change. He won't, and that's why he needs to go. End of story.



Rick, You're next...

Do Real Kings Ever Switch Cities?

WOW! I thought this whole summer free agent frenzy would be pure hype, ultimately ending with most of the major pieces staying where they were. That was not the case. In efforts of saving time, let me first begin by saying, I agree with pretty much everything that Dan Gilbert has been saying, including the bit about self-promotion, crowning himself "King", and him quitting on the team in the playoffs. I will say though that an owner can't come out and make that kind of statement. Your level of class should be above that of trash-talking your former star. Moreover, I find fault with two other pieces that he mentioned. One, this event shouldn't have been able to motivate him more, as he said in his statement. If there was room for more motivation & effort, and he wasn't doing everything in his power to improve the team, then LeBron was well within his right to leave. Two, he is delusional if he thinks he will bring a championship to Cleveland sans LeBron. He couldn't lure anyone there with one of the best and least selfish guys on the court, how are you going to get anyone there without all of this?

Now listen to how he released the news. "This fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach to play with the Miami Heat." Please understand gentlemen that we are dealing with a big, big, BIG, kid. Being a follower of of College football recruiting, I immediately had thoughts of National signing day in February and kids all across America holding pressers because this is the only thing significant that has positively happened with their families. It was complete with the same corny line of, "I will be taking my talents to...". I'm just surprised he didn't have 3 hats on the table, pretend to pick up the Cavs hat, and then grab the Miami hat (I promise you all that when Mohsin chooses to be the 2nd coming of Maurice Jones Drew and go to UCLA as a 5 star rb recruit, there will be no press conference or hats or whatnot. I digress. The only difference between the two situations is, he is a 25 year old man pulling the same act as 17 year olds! How sad is that?

His next statement that I love: "I gave alot to that organization and taken them places where they have never been before." Where exactly did he take them? What has he accomplished? He has done nothing and he left them with nothing. All that he accomplished were individual awards (MVPs, etc.). I think that he is too self-absorbed to realize that though. He went on to commit the cardinal sin of self-absorbed athletes, speaking in third person. "LeBron's gotta do what is best for LeBron!" M#$%*$F%$%(* , you ARE LeBron!

Okay, let me land this plane. LeBron made his bed, and now must lie in it. Him painting himself as a hometown boy, the whole "Witness" campaign ($5 says that building has been painted over already!), the two year-long speculation, the press conference, the going to Miami to be DWades bitch, etc. LeBron was well within his right to leave. Thats his choice. People do it all of the time. What he did wrong though, was to make a huge spectacle of it. I think we all would have respected him a lot more if he simply ended his time in Cleveland and said he wasn't coming back. Then quietly went about finding a new team. No primetime specials. No recruiting process. No team LeBron holding interviews in basketball shorts and t-shirts with business execs. No pretending that, "this is a hard decision...". No "I woke up this morning and felt that this is the right thing to do." None of this. The only thing that he did accomplish was, he made us all "Witness" the real LeBron. A self-centered little boy who desperately needs to grow up. He's that same kid who preened and posed with his teammates before every game. He's the same guy who refused to shake hands with the Celtics ('08) and Magic ('09) because he "doesn't shake the hands of people who beat" him. He's the same guy who in high school, selfishly took jerseys and lost his eligibility as an amateur (ultimately being reinstated) and let down his teammates. He is the same guy who in High School, after creating the controversy of tooling around in a new Hummer as a high school student with no J-O-B (nor did his mom), decided it would be good form to sit under the basket while his team was warming up for a game being shown on ESPN, and drove around his remote control replica Hummer as an in your face move. He is who we thought he was.

An Angel in the Defensive Backfield

Hopefully, this post will serve as a bit of therapy to close out a horrible week.

My wife and I are having our first child in January. A baby boy. My big sis is having her first child in February. A little baby girl. Both would be my mom's first grandchildren. You can't imagine how excited she has been. She'd been wanting grandchildren for so long, and now, two in two months! Imagine the excitement. So much so that, even on her limited budget, she decided that she would be the one to throw the tandem shower for both my wife and my sister. She planned everything, with a little assistance from my Aunt Jean (her little sister) and my little sister, Courtney. It was set to be amazing, and the festivities would take place on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 11 am. I figured I'd take in the UCLA vs. Washington football game since I was in town while the women were at the shower pinning things on the pregnant bellies!

Let me rewind a bit to explain why my mom's planning seemed so amazing to me. On July 29, 2001, I found my 52-year old mom sitting in her car in a Ralph's parking lot (local grocery store) in 90 degree weather, baking under the hot Northridge sun. My father, ever the clairvoyant, felt that it was taking my mom a bit too long to return from the store after having worked an overnight shift at the hospital (she was an R.N. nurse). He just knew that something wasn't right. "Go retrace her steps and see if you see her car. Check the store first." I pulled into the parking lot and drove around a bit, and sure enough, there was her car. "She's in the store", I thought, without any worries. But when I got out of the car and stepped into the hot sun, there she was in the car, sleep. I quickly opened the door and noticed she was drenched in sweat. I shook her to wake her. After a while, she awoke, but was extremely groggy. I called my dad and my older sister down to help me, and when they arrived, we placed her in my car and drove home. We did not know what was wrong. After we got her home, her condition quickly deteriorated and we realized how serious the situation had become. We rushed her to the hospital (we were home no more than 5 minutes) and found out that she had suffered a major stroke in the Basal Ganglia region of her brain. The nurse said that her prognosis was grim and that we should get in touch with our minister as soon as possible.

Long story short, she somehow made a miraculous recovery from the stroke. She never returned to her previous state, but she was alive and well, and that's all that mattered. She remained disabled, but, she was here with us. She went through therapy and gained a portion of her strength, and embarked on her new journey as a retired nurse. She was grateful to be alive, and we were thankful to have her back.

Fast forward to 2009. My mom was ecstatic to find out that she was going to have two grandchildren coming into the world! Since I lived in Phoenix and my sister in L.A., we worked out a hectic shared custody plan in which she would be in Phoenix for half of the year taking care of our son and in L.A. the other half, taking care of my niece. It felt good to see her this excited, because the previous year, she was anything but. In February of 2008, my father, her husband of 36 years passed away from brain cancer. The family was devestated. She was strong and made it through. Now, we were bringing joy into all of our lives with the soon-to-be new additions.

October 31, 2009, 2:04 a.m. My little sister Courtney calls me in a very calm but panicked voice (I know, that doesn't seem to make sense) to tell me that she found my mom in the livingroom not breathing and no heartbeat. The paramedics were working on her now, and would soon transport her to the hospital. I could not believe it. In just an instant, my world came crashing down...again. I paced the house calling relatives to rush by her side, waiting for one of my sisters to call me back with an update. Erika did. At 2:35 a.m. and cried into the phone with the two words that continue to echo in my head. "She's gone."








My mom was only 60 years old. She had just gotten over the death of her husband and now was rebuilding her life. She was expecting two grandchildren. She was so proud about planning the baby shower that was to take place just a week after her passing. She was so happy about the gifts that she had bought her grandchildren. Me being the UCLA fanatic/alumni (my wife and little sister are both alums, and my father attended for a few years as well), she bought our son tons of UCLA gear. A football. A bruin bear. A towel. A onesie, and much more. She couldn't wait to show it to me. She had called me earlier that week to give me a hint as to what she had purchased. Now, she wasn't aroud to see him use any of it.

I drove to L.A. immediately after getting off the phone with my sister. We spent the entire week planning the Friday funeral, and with the help of family and friends, we made it through. The day after was the day of the would be shower. 11:30 a.m. had come, and I couldn't help but think about the fact that everyone would be at the shower right now, having tons of fun, while I would be on my way to Pasadena, taking in what I had hoped would be a Bruin victory (despite the 5-game losing streak). Then I decided, why not go to the game? There was no shower, and we couldn't bring her back, but we didn't need to sit around the house being depressed. She wouldn't have wanted that for us. I talked my sisters into going with me, and we headed down to Pasadena. We made it in by the beginning of the 2nd quarter, and were surprised by a Bruin lead, however narrow (14-13). We sat there watching the Bruins battle back and forth. Fumbles galore, Kevin Prince with yet another injury from leading head first into a defender. The Bruins battled back from a 23-14 deficit to take a 23-24 lead. Then, the Huskies were quickly moving down the field with only a couple minutes remaining. Locker was slicing through the D with ease, and then, it happened. Rahim Moore picked off a Locker pass after the ball being deflected by another "bruin". UCLA football was on its way to their first victory since September.

There is no Hollywood ending here. No ressurections. No ghost sightings. None of that here. But what did happen though is, for the first time in a while, we felt normal again. There we were in the Rose Bowl cheering the Bruins to victory. Drinking lemonade. Eating nachos and garlic fries. Wondering how many times the wave would actually make it around the stadium ( I think I counted 5). Thinking that Prince will never learn his lesson (Slide man, slide!). Telling people that Kevin Craft entering the game did not mean the end of the game for us. Enjoying the game as the Bruins made their run. Wrenching in pain as Jet Ski Franklin dropped the ball on the Rose Bowl field yet again. Cheering Rahim Moore as he made his nation-leading 8th pick of the year. Yeah, normal again, if only for a little while. I'd like to think that they did it for my momma. I'd like to think that she helped them out a bit. Maybe it was her that tipped that ball to Rahim. She always knew how much the Bruins meant to me. Thanks UCLA. Thanks Momma. We love you and will miss you always.

83-0 route. Bad Sportsmanship? No!

Before I defend that, lets first outline the job of a head coach in high school football. Lets first remember that most high school football seasons consist of 10 games in which you would hope that you give all students an opportunity to enjoy success, to develop, and have lifetime learning lessons. Because of the violent nature of the sport, a head coach must utilize every opportunity during this short season to allow his charges to develop and grow as athletes and as men (or women, depending on your team make up). To further defend my point, let me also let you know that I am not a proponent of fathers or any other role models letting their young children beat them at anything, simply to build their confidence. In losing, lessons are learned. I don't believe that said role model should "take them to the woodshed" either. It is possible to ease up on the accelerator and still maintain control of the game. It is the job of the other party to maintain intensity to keep the affair somewhat balanced.

Now as far as this story is concerned, we are not dealing with a 3 year old playing hoops in the driveway with his father who is still in his work clothes. Not at all. We are talking about young men who have spent their winters and springs developing their bodies, and their summers preparing for the upcoming season. This is true on both sides of the equation. Now as mentioned earlier, a coach must use his opportunities wisely, preparing his boys for future games, allowing all students to get exposure to the game, and also maintaining the dignity of the game. In my opinion, coach Tim Tyrell of Chaminade-Madonna football in Hollywood, Fla., did all three. If anyone, it is the losing coach (Pomano Beach) that has something to explain. Before your start responding to this article, hear me out. Listen to the circumstances of the victory (a game in which a 58 year old margin of victory record was broken) before you judge.

"We did not go into the game looking to score that many points,'' Tyrell said, "and a lot of them came in bunches and off big plays...We only had one real drive; the rest came on short fields." Three of the touchdowns were scored on special teams returns (1 was a 99 yard return to open up the 2nd half). The defense forced 4 turnovers, two of which were interceptions that provided a short field for the Chaminade-Madonna offense. Tyrell pulled all starters at half after having a 42 point 2nd quarter. As a result of the huge half time lead, a manditory running clock was used in the 2nd half. A blocked punt in the 4th quarter led to short field position for a late touchdown to wrap up the evening. With all of the events that occurred that evening, I find it difficult to fault what happened on the field that night. Coach Tyrell obviously brought his boys ready to play that night (Pompano Beach won this very matchup just last season), and the other coach simply did not. Short of kneeling the ball each time Pompano gave the ball back to Chaminade, I struggle to think of what other recourse coach Tyrell could have taken. One league official saw it differently. Senior director of athletics for the Florida High School Gary Pigott points out, "What goes around comes around." For the sake of the student athletes, I hope the losing coach isn't using this as a rallying cry for his troops. They were outplayed and outcoached. Period. He would be doing his kids a disservice if he wasted his post game speech pointing out how classless he believed the other coach was instead of pointing out the lack of effort from his boys and his own coaching staff. This should serve as a learning lesson for everyone on that team, coaches included. It should be a lesson to all of us. Always show up. Always give your all, because no one is ever going to give you anything in life that you haven't earned. And if you are expecting someone to do so, then you are a fool and will be embarrassed, similar to Pompano Beach.

My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, a boy, and I will be doing my best Jake Shuttlesworth impression (of course, only as far as teaching sports is concerned!) to ensure that my child has a love for the game (basketball, football, life, checkers, tidly winks, whatever) and a healthy respect for competition. No victory is ever earned without hard word and persistance; giving up is never an option. Hopefully, life lessons will be learned and he will pass them on to his son, as my father did for me.

RobbStarzz

The Wrong Guy

Let me just cut to the end of Notre Dame's season right now...on November 29th, the day after the Irish beat Stanford, they will release a statement confirming the firing of one Charles Joseph Weis. After their defeat at the hands of a Michigan team that was clearly not as talented and couldn't match up against Golden Tate or Michael Floyd it became obvious that Charlie isn't the right guy for the job. He has brought in top 10 recruiting classes for the last 3 or 4 years, including 2007 top recruit Jimmy Clausen. And while Clausen has shown some real promise this year (although I want to see him against USC) and has lived up to the "Golden Boy" stature that comes with being a Notre dame quarterback, the rest of the team, in particular the defense just hasn't improved. Now don't get me wrong, he has added some nice pieces to the puzzle with Tate, Floyd, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and running back Armando Allen, but where's the defense? They still can't stop anyone except a terrible Nevada team and gave up 38 to true freshman Tate Forcier (although no one can tell me that he isn't the real deal. Some kids just have IT, and he's one of them)! You can argue that he hasn't improved Notre Dame's talent level since Tyrone Willingham (for the record, Ty got a raw deal, but he wasn't right for Notre Dame either) left. If you remember, he left good ol' Charlie some future NFL kids named Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, Darius Walker, Anthony Fasano, and John Carlson. Coincidentally, they are all offensive players! Charlie was able to turn that into two good seasons of BCS bowl games, although they were over matched by Ohio State and LSU. Since then he has been in rebuilding mode and Notre Dame and their fans have been patient long enough. This was suppose to be the season when they got to the magical 10 win plateau or maybe even 11. With the loss to Michigan they have now dropped out of the top 25 and have revealed some serious flaws. They still have a few dangerous games like Michigan State, Purdue, Washington, and Pittsburg. Not including the automatic loss to USC. It's going to be hard to get to a BCS game with their light schedule on paper and the fact that they aren't in the top 25 now. Not to mention they don't have a conference affiliation so they would have to be an at-large team (at the moment I think BYU and Boise St take those two spots).

The Notre Dame job should go to an established coach with a great track record or a young, up and coming coach. It's arguably the most high profile job in college football (name two better jobs in the land with all things being equal...I dare you...ok USC is one, another one?). Notre Dame made the mistake of hiring Willingham in the first place and fell in love with an old, out of shape career assistant coach with no personality and the worst sound bites outside of Bill Belichick (but somehow they work for him. they are actually so dry that they are funny. Does anyone else besides me think that all of Belichick's assistants try too hard to be just like him? Do they dress up like him for Halloween or wear his pjs to bed?). Weis just isn't Notre Dame. And on top of that, they are paying him like he is Pete Carroll! Like he's won a national championship in the past 7 years, Robert!!!

I would argue that the only way he should keep his job is if they can beat USC and get to the 10 win mark. Anything other than that is unacceptable. He had all the stars lined up for him this season. Great offense, his starting line had the mythical 100 combined starts rule behind them, a soft schedule, and USC without an experienced QB. I believe because of his affinity for offense he has neglected his defense and forgot the age old saying that offense wins games but defense wins championships, or at least gets you to a BCS game instead of the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Day.

Notre Dame needs to go in a new direction, bite the expensive bullet and pay his enormous buyout clause. He needs to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL and Notre Dame needs Urban Meyer, Chris Peterson (Boise State), or a dark horse real energetic guy, kind of like Carroll, Jon Gruden (he could actually be perfect, think about it. Control freak, high energy, thinks football 24/7, and doesn't sleep. Kids would come and play for him. And unlike Weis, he has a Super Bowl ring as a head coach. Although Dungy made the dinner and Gruden just served it). Start the interview process now!


Leo

Pete Carroll: Great Coach, Great Recruiter, or Great Steaming Pile of ...

College football starts in less than a week! I can't wait! I was out in LA a few weekends ago visiting family and hanging out at some of my old stomping grounds, including the mighty University of California at Los Angeles! As I stood there reminiscing on Bruin Walk at about 9pm on a Friday night, with the Bruin Bear in front of me, Ackerman Student Union behind, and the Wooden Center to my right, a nice wonderful breeeze came through - you've got to understand, living in Phoenix, I haven't felt one of those in a while- and Rod, if you're reading, I still hold that the Valley is just as miserable heatwise as Phoenix; a few degrees here or there doesn't make much of a difference! I digress. Ahem (clearing my throat), where was I? Yes, the breeze. Standing on that beautiful campus had me wondering how this school wasn't a powerhouse in ... everything! Lets see. Undergrad education? Check. Graduate schools? Check. School of Engineering? Check. Anderson Business School of Management? Check. School of Law? Check. School of Medicine and the UCLA Medical Center? Check. Perinnial contenders in Softball, Baseball, Track, Golf, Tennis, Gymnastics, Soccer, Rowing, Water Polo, Volleyball, Swimming, Cross Country? Hey, first university to 100 championships- definite check. Basketball? Check. Football? Che- uh, wait a second, you said football, right? Well, hmm, not really, not anymore. But we used to be dominant, always in the National Championship hunt every year, right? So what happened-or didn't happen? Or better yet, lets look at the flipside of that coin. How did a "University" that was nestled in the heart of one of LA's worst crime ridden, drug infested areas (was a vibrant area throughout the history of Los Angeles, but since the 70's, has been the poster child for urban decay. The 80's crack epidemic did little to help the situation. Back to my rant.) become such a powerhouse in football, when a University steeped in tradition, offering one of the best educations in the world, sandwiched between some of the best neighborhoods in world- Bel Air, Beverly Hills, West LA, & Brentwood (Even OJ, the most notorious Trojan in the world, made it out to that side of town eventually!) did not. What makes recruits want to go there instead of here? How did the University of South Central, er, that is, the University of Second Choice, oops I did it again, sorry, The University of Spoiled Children (sorry, I couldn't resist!- for those who are not natives and do not know, USC is a private school whose tuition is somewhere in the neighborhood of a trillion dollars has an interesting student body mixture, comprised of rich kids whose parents money was able to get them into schools when their grades could not, smart kids there on scholarship, and athletes), how did USC become such a powerhouse? The answer to that question is quite loaded, so lets just stick to the sports side of things. In short, the answer would seem to be Pete Carroll (more on that in a minute). Let me first remind everyone that, as an alumni of the only real university in Los Angeles, my opinion might be slightly biased. Now, on with the show. I don't need to remind anyone of all the success that Petey has enjoyed, but I must say, I'm not impressed...well not entirely. While I am impressed with the empire that he has built in such a short period of time, I still say that he has, dare I say it, UNDERACHIEVED! Pete Carroll is a great recruiter, not a great coach...and a little lucky, too. Let's look into his meteoric rise to fame and power in Los Angeles as I attempt to prove my point. In 2001, Carroll took over an average USC program (they initially tried for Dennis Erickson, Mike Belotti, & Mike Riley, but could not land any of them) that was floundering under the leadership of Paul Hackett. He assembled an excellent coaching staff which included Norm Chow, the former BYU offensive coordinator who was responsible for mentoring college football greats in his earlier years including Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, and Heisman winner Ty Detmer, and in later years, Philip Rivers, and Heisman winners Carson Palmer & Matt Leinart. His record speaks for itself. In addition, Carroll brought with him his affable personality which heightened his amazing talent for recruiting. Having these two weapons on their side (Chow's ability teamed with Carroll's recruiting), USC was poised for greatness. From 2001- 2003, Carroll brought in the likes of Reggie Bush and Tequila swilling LenDale White & Matt Leinart(Carson Palmer was already in the fold). His ability in recruiting speaks for itself. Just take a look at the recruiting classes he has hauled in over the years (according to rivals.com): #3 in 2003 #1 in 2004 #1 in 2005 #1 in 2006 #2 in 2007 #8 in 2008 #1 in 2009 With classes filled with Blue chippers like these, it is difficult to criticize his mojo in that arena. But with all of that mojo, where are all of the "real" championships?
Before we continue our discussion on the legacy and greatness of Mr. Carroll, lets first look back into the NCAA history books. In 1998, a defining moment happened for the NCAA: two national champions were crowned. the Michigan Wolverines were deemed the champs by the Associated press (AP), and Nebraska held the title given by the USA Today/ESPN poll (for the record, Michigan would have won that matchup if it were to have ever happened). As a result of the confusion, the BCS, for better or for worse, was born. It was brought forth to eliminate any and all confusion, so that only one team can call themselves national champions (this was agreed to by all of the major conferences, including the Pac-10) at seasons end. Now back to Pete.
Mr. Carroll began coaching at USC during the 2001 college football season, coming off of two seasons of dormancy because he could not regain employment in the pro arena after a lackluster stint with the New England Patriots during which he was criticized for not working hard enough, at least as far as NFL head coaching is concerned. While he has been amazing at recruiting at SC, his coaching resume remains average. During this time of greatness, a time according to many in the media is unrivaled by any other program in history, USC earned ONE national championship. If you didn't hear me the first time, I'll repeat it for you, ONE national championship! If you let them tell the story, you would think that the Trojans are gearing up for their 8th title defense! Some of you might be saying to yourselves, I'm sure they've won more than that? Well, lets look into the record books, shall we. Here's how the National title count shapes up this decade:
Since 2000, Bob Stoops and Oklahoma have taken home a title, LSU 2, one with Nick Saban and one with Les Miles. Florida and Urban Meyer have 2 BCS trophies to polish when they see fit. Miami & Larry Coker have 1, Ohio State & Jim Tressel have one, Texas has one with Mack Brown (over USC), and yes, USC and Pete Carroll have 1...from 5 seasons ago! In addition, all of these programs are perennially in the Top 10 at seasons beginning and end. So why all of the love for SC & Carroll? Well for starters, despite the agreement with the BCS, USC and their followers have tried to horn in on the parties of both Ohio State (2002 BCS champions- FYI, Ohio State was undefeated while USC had 2 losses) and LSU (2003), despite not actually making it to the BSC National Championship Bowl games in either year. They would have tried the same last year, but certain publications couldn't justify moving them back up to the top of the list after losing to Oregon State and tumbling in the rankings while other heavyweights remained strong. In addition, despite the losses to lesser teams, Pete Carroll & his biased media cronies who have all been drinking that special brand of Jim Jones-flavored Kool-Aid, without fail, proclaim the Trojans as the best team in all the land! Well if all it takes is to simply say it and people believe it to be true, then, UCLA too has been the best program of the decade and we were robbed last year by not getting a shot at the 'chip last season despite our 4-8 record!
Now that we have settled the National Championship discussion, lets delve a bit deeper and dissect that lone championship from the Carroll era, or shall I say, the Norm Chow era. There, I've said it! The cat is out of the bag! In spite of his ability to field a NCAA all-star team year in and year out, Carroll has been unable to take his boys back to the promised land since Norm Chow left town (Carroll's ego got in the way of him giving Chow his due credit). When Pete began at USC in '01, he brought with him one of the greatest offensive minds the game has ever known. Coupled with the recruiting efforts of Pete, the Trojans were able to improve quickly. In just two seasons, they found themselves in the National Championship hunt, and by the 2004-2005 season, they landed in the National Championship game. They quickly disassembled the unsuspecting Sooners en route to a 55-19 drubbing, showcasing the perfect marriage between the playcalling/coaching chops of Norm Chow, and the talent on the field assembled by Carroll. Finally, the Trojans had a Championship that they actually earned (if you discount the fact that Reggie Bush was a professional athlete at the time, making more than some NFL rookies) on the field intead of in the media. Shortly after that victory though, because of irreconcilable differences, Pete & Chow divorced. Chow took the brilliance with him, but Pete kept the kids. The following season, with Chow's holdovers (he coached them and taught them everything that they knew, though they were Pete's recruits), despite the Bush-Push fiasco, the Trojans made it back to the National Championship battlefield, but this time, without General Chow (is anyone else getting hungry?!). In the Rose Bowl, just miles away from their home, in a stadium they supposedly own, the Trojans were neither able to come up with an answer for slowing down Vince Young, nor a drive in response to his game winning touchdown. In just one year, they go from a 55-19 victory against Oklahoma on the other side of the country (Miami, Florida), to a 38-41 loss to Texas in their own backyard. Difference? Chow. Since his departure, the Trojans have tried hard fouling up every National Championship opportunity they've had, losing to lesser teams every year (didn't Dorrell lose his job for the same reason?)- Oregon State & UCLA in '06, Oregon & Stanford in '07, & Oregon State in '08 (both Oregon schools had great seasons during the year of their respective victories, but comparing the talent level, neither should have been competition). And of course, at season's end, Pete Carroll and the local LA media crown the Trojans as the best team in the land, despite having 2 losses on their record in two of those seasons. Hmmm, I wonder what happens this season after 3 losses (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Cal)?! I'm sure Pete & Plaschke will find some way to spin it. So where is Mr. Norm Chow now you ask? He's back home in Los Angeles where he belongs, along side a gregarious young head coach with a propensity for recruiting, a talented young quarterback at the helm (Kevin Prince), and a versatile, dynamic, lightning fast running back in Jonathan Franklin. Sound familiar? Not at all. This head guy is capable as both a coach and recruiter, and would never let pride get in the way because he understands the importance/greatness of the Chow. With the new regime in LA, the sky is the limit. Maybe there will be real championships in LA afterall!

Robbstarzz

Just Release The Names Already!!!

Enough is enough. I don't know about you but I'm tired of having a name or two leaked to the media every 2 months about yet another MLB player who tested positive for PEDs in 2003 when the league tested guys to see if they should implement testing. I know that the list was supposed to be kept separate from the results but that didn't happen. The Feds got ahold of both because MLB was lazy and dropped the ball. These tests should have been kept a secret from everyone except the lab conducting them and I'm sure that's what these players like ARod, Sosa, Manny, and Ortiz thought but this obviously hasn't happened.

If the public and MLB want to truly put the Steriod Era behind us (at least until these guys come up for election into the HOF) then the player's association, Selig, owners, and some big whig agents need to get together and decide that releasing all the names at once is in the best interest of everyone involved. Look, I'm not here to vilify those players who have been caught "cheating". I believe that the owners and GMs knew what was going on as far back as 88' when Canseco went 40/40. The players saw that for one, it wasn't illegal in baseball and two, they could prolong their careers and make much more money in the process. It's hard to sit here and say that I feel sorry for the guys who tested positive in 2003, but I kind of do. The reason is that's it's been 6 years since they tested positive and they still have to account for those actions whenever someone in the government or baseball decides to leak a name out.

Today's report of Ortiz couldn't have come at a worse time for him or his team. Which leads me to believe that this was done intentionally to hurt the BoSox. They're struggling as a team and Ortiz has had a terrible year (although he has turned it around a bit). I wonder if the person who leaked this story is a Yankees fan? So now in the middle of a pennant race ortiz has to answer for a test taken 6 years ago and the front office has divert their attention from the trading deadline to deal with this fire storm. Every media outlet will now head to Boston and follow Ortiz and his teammates around for the next 2 weeks and ask every question imaginable.

That's why all the names should be revealed at once. At this rate it will be 2036 and names will still be coming out from 2003. I say that MLB should release the names around late November or early December in dead of winter and around the GM meetings. That way the media can still ask questions to the GMs who will be in one central location and it won't impede the current season. It will also allow for these guys to deal with it away from their ball clubs and on their own. They won't have to deal with every media outlet camped out by their lockers after every game. This gives everyone a forum to speak and it makes sure that these guys who tested positive don't get away with a free pass. We could then begin to truly heal as baseball fans and as a sport. Instead of having the wound close and scab a little before someone rips open the Band-Aid. MLB and the MLBPA should finally begin to look out for the welfare of the game and the best interest of its players for once. While the initial shock of having 103 names published will be a blow to all, it won't last forever.

And to the person(s) who are revealing these names every 3 months, can you please start leaking the names of some pitchers who tested positive? I'm tired of everone thinking that only hitters take steriods and that the pitchers are innocent (higher ERAs and WHIPs). Pitchers used them too (higher K/BB, more innings pitched, and look at their salary increases compared to hitters).


L.Glaze

How Much Power does One Man Need?

Oh look Emperor Goodell has finally decided on a punishment for Michael Vick. Congrats! I wonder what took him so long? Maybe he had an NFL player shining his shoes or washing his car because they broke curfew or got a speeding ticket. I understand that he has a league to protect, but why is he Judge Dredd (the judge, jury, and executioner)?

Look, Michael Vick paid his debt to society (regardless of what you think about his crime. If the FBI is satisfied with it then you should be too). He served 23 months in prison, lost out on a $130 Million NFL contract, and embarrassed his name and Momma. And now on top of that he has a suspension of around 6 weeks? Goodell could very well extend this suspension all season long if he sees fit. All he promised was that after the 6th week of the season he will review Vick's progress. Not even our legal system works like this. Imagine being convicted of a crime and at sentencing the judge says "I'll review your case in 6yrs, if all is well you can get out, and if not I can sentence you to whatever I deem to be appropriate. Now it could be another year OR it could be life in jail". And that punishment would be basically for the same crime that you were convicted of!

Goodell is in a position where his power can't be checked by anyone, and that's scary. We live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. If that is the case, then how is it that Goodell has been able to suspend Pac Man Jones and Plaxico Burress indefinitely without either of them EVER being convicted of a crime? Not to mention this is without pay as well. I'm not here saying that Pac Man or Plax are great guys or that either of them won't be convicted at some point in time, but what if they weren't convicted? Wouldn't that mean that Goodell has taken away their ability to make a living over an incident(s) that they were proven innocent of? I don't know about you but I would be on the phone to my lawyer after that verdict came in to see if we had a case against the NFL and name Roger Goodell in it personally.

No one man should have complete authority over an entire league that consist of 32 teams. Not even our President has that type of power over the 50 states (it's an interesting similarity if you think about it). Our country was founded because we wanted to escape the tyrannical powers of kings in Europe and now these millionaire football players have to deal with one. I completely agree if the team that owns the rights to Plax, Vick, or Pac Man want to suspend them (with pay) while they are being investigated by the proper authorities, but Goodell shouldn't be able to supercede the owner's ability to carry this out by just suspending them indefinitely. And if the team decides to waive the player then it should be up the other owners to decide if that player is a good fit for their ball club. The other owners will need to take into account the economy, their fanbase, other player's feelings, and the what their front office thinks. In this economy I bet that almost all 32 teams would steer clear of Plax (could be headed to jail so why sign him), Pac Man (just as much of a head case as Marbury, and I know you've seen his webcast or at least heard about it), and Vick (can't kill dogs in America, that's a big no-no). This would get Goodell's point across without having to be King George, Suddam, Henry VIII, or the warden from Shawshank. Not only are these players dealing with the potential loss of their freedom but they know that guilty or not they have just volunteered to take a huge paycut. That's penalty enough at least for the 1st offense. After jail time there is no need for an additional suspension. What does Goodell hope to see in the next 2 or 3 months? Does he want to see Vick walking people's dogs and the become the cover boy for Petco? Should Vick go on Larry King Live and cry? Speaking of TV shows, how come Law and Order hasn't done an episode covering an athlete who fights dogs??? Or better yet, what does Vick has to do in order to get his suspension made even longer? Go to a strip club (which while not smart isn't illegal), get a traffic ticket, miss a payment on a credit card, or in a twist of irony, get caught on camera walking a dog? The point is that Goodell isn't going to see anything in the upcoming months that will make him extend Vick's suspension. And if anything were to happen, then with his powers he could just suspend him for another offense. Not fully reinstating Vick was his way showing every player what he can do with his power.

In my opinion, if Goodell is going to flex his muscle he should be consistent and do it across the board with every player who breaks the law. But he doesn't and that's what makes him even more dangerous. Case in point, why is Matt Jones (former Jax Jag WR who was caught with crack in his car in Arkansas) still able to try to find a team and not suspended "forever" while Goodell does his own "investigation"? And to prove my previous point, no owners have stepped up and offered him a contract to date in spite of him not being suspended. Why hasn't he taken a harder stance on athletes who have completely broken the law in the United States as well as a rule in the NFL when they take steroids? Instead he suspends them for only 4 games. Where's the review of those cases, where's the community service, and where is the indefinite suspension???

This is the reason why no one should have complete control over an entity in which they don't own. It's only natural that discrepancies like these will creep up. Protecting the shield of the NFL like protecting the U.S should not be left up to one person. I hope the NFLPA thinks about this when they sit down to hammer out the collective bargaining agreement.


L. Glaze

Favre Overload!

Brett Favre did the NFL a tremendous disservice for the past two off seasons and should be punished. I know we are all tired of everything that is Brett Favre, but humor me for a second and lets recap. Aaron Rodgers was drafted in '05 as a future replacement for an aging veteran who made a yearly routine out of going back and forth on the retirement decision, of course only doing so to stroke his ego by having us say how great he is and how he should stay and how we love him and how he is the ultimate champion (despite having only 1 superbowl to his credit...12 years ago... against an overmatched Patriots team). He didn't retire. Fine. Then, he finally decides to hang it up after a successful season, effectively handing over the keys to Aaron Rodgers. Perfect way to go out, right? Wrong! Taking a page out of the Michael Jordan/Magic Johnson "How To Unretire and Totally Screw Up My Legacy" book, he decides that he wants those keys back and demands that Rodgers scoots over to ride shotgun, because he has one good ride left in him. Packers response, Uh, no! So he throws a pissy fit in the media, making himself, the Packers, and the NFL look like a bunch of idiots. I know many of you are still fuming at my dismissal of his superbowl victory, but lets take a quick look at his Superbowl resume for a second:

Favre played in two Superbowls, favored in both, won one. Here was his journey to that title.

--> In the '96-'97 playoffs, the Packers had Favre throwing for 79 yards in a victory over the 49ers, who were led by an injured Steve Young who missed the last 3 quarters of the previous game game with rib injury. Then, they followed this up with a victory over the "vaunted" Carolina Panthers, who were an expansion team two seasons prior. This earned them a trip to the Superbowl to face the Patriots, who themselves earned the trip by taking down the expansion Jaguars- a very underwhelming postseason, I must say. Dan Marino and Warren Moon could have only hoped for the stars to line up like that!

Now, back to the show. Fast forward past his ugly year with the Jets in which his arm strength was reminiscent of a New Orleans Saints Danny Wuerffel, he retires again, of course promising the Jets that was definitely done, and would not be coming back. Then, he gets the Vikings all hot in the pants about the prospects of him playing again (he gets surgery, we see him on Sportscenter every week with a kid-like smile, throwing the ball to local high schoolers), only to wait until a month before the season begins to decide that he's not mentally into the comeback, and will not come back with the Vikings this year. Before this decision, Vikings players Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen & co. sent Favre several texts telling him how much they needed him and wanted him to come play for them (how did that get out, huh? Hmmm, I wonder...). Then, Vikings coach Brad Childress absolutely ruins his relationship with his current quarterbacks: "uh, honey, sure I love you and want to be with you always, I just want to not be with you for a little while and see if Monica down the street wouldn't mind taking a run at it for a while. Oh what's that Monica, you're no longer interested? Okay baby, I'm back! Just me and you." Could that situation turn out any other way but horrible? But the funniest part about all of this is, Favre says that he still wants to leave the door open in case he decides later that he wants to come back during the season! Classic!

So what to do about all of this? Well, in my opinion, Goodell, who is always on the lookout for athletes who tarnish the image of the NFL, should punish him. How do you punish someone who is already retired? Hall of Fame! Retired players are eligible to be enshrined five years after their last NFL game. As punishment, Favre should serve a 1 year Hall suspension, not allowing him to be eligible for 6 years instead of 5. Not a big penalty, but enough to hopefully let Favre know that his selfish actions have consequences, and to dissuade others from taking similar courses. What do you think?

Robb Starzz