DUKE-ING-IT-OUT

Start waving those orange towels

2010-10-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight the World Series that Fox TV didn’t want begins in San Francisco. I heard the network execs crying all the way here in Kansas City when both the Yankees and Phillies went down. All they could think about was all those TV households on the east coast that couldn’t care less about any team west of the Alleghenies.

Despite that, this works out to be a fascinating series. The undermanned, Giants against the upstart new kids on the block from Texas. A marquee pitching match-up to start things off, but featuring some other outstanding pitchers who are capable of great games in their own right. I’m expecting big things from Jonathan Sanchez.

On the surface, you have to go with the Rangers. They have the invincible Cliff Lee on the hill for three games if necessary, plus a powerful lineup led by Josh Hamilton. They also have the better defense going in, but the same could be said for the Phillies and look who’s home for the winter.

The Giants come at you with pitching depth, a versatile lineup that doesn’t scare you, but can hurt you in many ways and they’ve got the home field advantage. It’s not like the Rangers have been there before.

In the end, I think this series will go down to the bullpens. Brian Wilson can scare you to death as a closer and may blow one or two games under this kind of pressure, but the same could be said for rookie Neftali Feliz who really hasn’t been tested so far in the post season. If it comes down to bullpen depth, I like the Giants and don’t San Fran fans finally deserve a pennant of their own? I’ll take’em in seven.

NFL rule changes coming from the wrong direction

2010-10-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

For years the NFL ignored the repercussions of concussions. Players got their bells rung and team doctors and coaches sent them back on the field and laughed about the fact the player was in another area code for a while. Finally, they came around to the fact that players needed to be held out of games until their brain function and cognition had fully returned. Helmet to helmet hits were outlawed and those committing the crime have been fined and punished.

Now following a weekend of numerous player concussions, they league is ready to change the rules and really bring down the hammer on players for vicious hits. But is this really a step in the right direction? I’m all for the rule changes regarding keeping players off the field until they’ve been fully cleared after suffering a concussion, but I think they’re attacking this new issue from the wrong direction.

Sunday DeSean Jackson suffered a severe concussion as a result of a violent hit from Dunta Robinson. But it wasn’t a helmet to helmet hit. It was a form tackle. Shoulder to sternum. It was the speed at which the blow was delivered that caused the whiplash and concussion. It occurred on a crossing pattern where Jackson was left open to the possibility of a hard hit.

NFL Operations Executive Ray Anderson says the league wants to eliminate hits with the head, forearm or shoulder to the shoulder or head areas. You might as well say let’s play flag football. Now you’re asking defenders to lower their heads where they risk serious injury by exposing themselves to neck injuries and concussions from contact with knees.

The only way the NFL is going to eliminate the ferocity of the hits is to eliminate the extent of the armor the players wear. Shoulder pads need to be brought back to the size they were in the 60’s. Players have little fear about launching themselves into another player because they’re so well protected and because of the speed at which they game is now played. Coaching has to change as well. No one really teaches wrapping up a player with your arms anymore. Most tackles you see today are from a player just trying to deliver a shoulder blow. Lessen their protective gear, lessen the ability to deliver the blow. That should even go for helmets.

Players use their helmets and lead with their heads because the helmet is now a weapon. Protecting the players is important, but I believe making rash rule changes in mid season doesn’t solve the problem. Football is a violent sport and that violence is what made it popular. The NFL promotes that violence at every turn. The players can change in time, but this doesn’t solve that issue. Change the equipment.

This one should really hurt

2010-10-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is one that got away for Kansas City and when the season comes to the close, it could be the difference between going to the playoffs and sitting home for another year. For the first time this season the culprit was the defense. The offense did everything it could do to win this one, but when your defense gives up three fourth quarter touchdowns, it’s not often you win.

The Chiefs offense was everything you could hope for. It rushed for a season high 228 yards, Thomas Jones getting 100 and Jamaal Charles 93. Matt Cassel was 20 of 29 with 3 TD’s, no interceptions and a 122 passer rating. Dwayne Bowe...yes, Dwayne Bowe had six catches for 108 yards and two scores. KC scored 17 second half points after leading by 7 at halftime and yet they lost.

The Texans scored TD’s on their final four possessions, the last two on drives of 80 yards or more in the final four minutes. They never led until the last score in the final 28 seconds of the game. You could point to several factors but the lack of pressure on Texans QB Matt Schaub in the second half and the failure to force a turnover were critical in my book.

Throw in a bad interference call on the final drive and a rookie mistake by Eric Berry on Andre Johnson’s game winning catch and you have a loss that shouldn’t have been a loss. How the Chiefs bounce back from this defeat next week at home against Jacksonville will say everything about how far Todd Haley’s team has truly progressed.

Do we really care who Favre is texting?

2010-10-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

As the Minnesota Vikings prepared for Monday night’s game against the New York Jets there was more talk about Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger than there was on the effect having Randy Moss in the Vikings lineup was going to have on the game. Isn’t it amazing that a story that has been percolating on the internet for months now suddenly became a big story just days before the Vikings and Favre were headed to the Big Apple for a game?

I’m not quite sure when covering the world of sports suddenly crossed over into the porn beat, but I’m really sick of it. First of all, if Favre was sexting and making passes at Jets female employees when he played there two years ago, he was an idiot. But sexual harassment aside, I’m not quite sure where the public and NFL comes in here.

In the case of Sterger, she’s apparently said all along she had no intent of pursuing the matter, she just happened to let a few friends know what was going on, allegedly and word got out. In the case of the other two Jets female masseuses, they sound like bandwagon jumpers.

One claims Favre stared at her ass while he was getting a massage from another woman. Really? If it’s a sexual harassment issue, wouldn’t it be something that would have been taken care of privately by his employer, the Jets?

If true, as I said, Favre is giving his good old boy Mississippi background brand name a beat down. But does America really care? Do NFL fans really care? And by the way, if the NFL is fast tracking their investigation with a possibility of suspending him, don’t they need to start suspending all players involved in infidelity? And if they’re going to suspend players for that, they damn well better suspend them for DUI’s.

If this was sexual banter between two consenting adults, why does everyone else have to get involved? It’s Brett’s problem and an issue he and his wife have to deal with. I could really care less.

It's a great start, but it's only a start

2010-09-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Chiefs head into their bye week probably wishing they didn’t have the time off right now. The team has a lot of momentum following their 31-10 demolition of San Francisco. KC is now the surprise team in the NFL sitting at 3-0 and they didn’t win this one ugly.

Kansas City dominated the 49’ers in all phases. Defensively they shut down the San Fran running attack and pressured QB Alex Smith into five sacks and an interception. Offensively, Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles each had over 95 yards rushing and combined with Dexter McCluster accounted for 310 yards in offense.

I've got no problem with how the Chiefs used Charles, who had 154 yards in total offense. In fact, you can understand the philosophy of limiting his touches early in the year if possible. I puts less of a strain on the shoulder he had surgery on in the off season and leaves him fresher for the later part of the year when the run game often times becomes more important. As long as they win, it's tough to argue with it.

Matt Cassel threw for 250 yards and three TD’s, his best performance by far this season. Rookie tight end Tony Moeaki made a phenomenal one handed grab for one of the scores. He continues to impress me with his athleticism. With the exception of a missed 38 yard FG by Ryan Succup, not much went wrong in this game for KC whose offense totaled 447 yards.

Head coach Todd Haley was thrilled with the win, but kept an even keel after the game, talking first about being 3-0 in the first quarter of the season, but also about having a week off to work on the things they need to improve on since they’re a team that hasn’t had much success in recent years. It was a response really meant more for his players than the media.

Haley knows 3-0 guarantees a team nothing when it comes to making the playoffs, but it certainly improves the odds. In fact, 75% of teams that start 3-0 make the playoffs. But Kansas City shouldn't start making plans just yet. Last season the Broncos started off 6-2 and led the division by two games, but they didn't make the playoffs. In 2008 Buffalo started 3-0 but they were sitting at home in front of their fires when playoff time came around.

Cat's Coffman is key to KSU being a factor in Big 12 North

2010-09-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Wildcats return to the non conference part of their schedule this week after picking up a hard fought win over Iowa State in their conference opener. Kansas State showed themselves to be resilient in their win as they battle back from behind, but a breakdown in the secondary in the final minute nearly cost them the game.

Daniel Thomas needs to be a part of the Heisman conversation. The senior is leading all of the nation’s running backs by averaging 184 yards per game. He’ll continue to be the focus of the Wildcats offensive attack as coach Bill Snyder looks to Carson Coffman to be his game manager. This team could take a dramatic step forward if their passing game with Coffman could improve.

The emphasis on the running game is well founded. A veteran line leads the way for Thomas and backup William Powell, who was also Big 12 special teams player of the week against the Cyclones, to move the ball on the ground effectively.

This week’s opponent Central Florida is 2-1 with their only loss a seven point defeat by N.C.State. They have the 15th rated defense in the country and have allowed an average of just 15 points per game. George O’Leary has named freshman Jeff Godfrey his QB, ending an early season controversy. Godfrey ran and passed for 174 yards in the Golden Knights win over Buffalo last week. Let’s see what the Cats defense can do to pressure Godfrey into mistakes this week.

KC can take huge step with win at home

2010-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

As the Chiefs prepare for Sunday’s home game against the 49‘ers, KC sits in an unfamiliar position. At 2-0, they lead the division and are off to their best start since 2005, but a loss at home this weekend would negate a lot of the early season excitement generated by the club.

San Francisco will come into town as a desperate team already. The pre-season favorite to win the NFC West is sitting at 0-2 after their last second loss to the New Orleans Saints Monday night. Coach Mike Singletary knows that an 0-3 start would almost doom their playoff chances. Despite the loss, the 49‘ers played impressively at times against the defending world champs and QB Alex Smith showed flashes of being the quarterback they’ve been waiting for since they drafted him.

San Fran faces the same challenges KC faced a week ago. Go on the road on a short week after playing Monday night. The Chiefs showed they could do it and win. Now we’ll see it they can keep the 49‘ers from doing the same.

A trophy in the hand worth two in the Bush?

2010-09-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Read the headline anyway you want. Reggie Bush, depending on who you want to believe, gave back his Heisman trophy because he was told he was about to have it taken away, decided to beat the Heisman Trust to the punch. was tired of all the controversy and wanted to put it behind him or finally developed a conscience. Whatever. It was as I talked about last week, a bad decision by Bush, the Heisman Trust, everyone involved.

I’m just waiting for the other Heisman trophy recipients to start turning over their hardware, because Reggie isn’t the only cheater in the bunch. We’ve all known for a long time that Bush took money from an agent, or agent wannabe and didn’t pay him back. College football isn’t an amateur sport no matter how you slice it. It’s never been. And it’s everyone’s fault for it being that way. But it isn’t changing anytime soon.

I’ve told the story involving Heisman winner John David Crow. I promise you it’s not the only story like that involving a Heisman winner. That doesn’t make what Bush did right. That’s not the point. But it’s interesting that the other Heisman winners will watch him burn at the stake and no one will step forward acknowledge their wrongdoings. It’s not like I expect it. It’s just an observation.

What do you think Bush should have done? Should the Heisman Trust have said thanks but no thanks, Reggie. You keep it. All I know is that as a former Heisman voter, the award has taken another step toward irrelevancy.

Sexy women and naked men in a locker room

2010-09-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days everyone has wanted to get their two cents in on the controversy regarding female reporter Inez Sainz being sexually harassed in the New York Jets locker room. Wow, that’s a new story, athletes behaving like pigs around women?

There’s the contingent that wants to blame Sainz for wearing inappropriate sexy clothing to her workplace, led by none other than prescription drug addict and Mr. Sports himself Rush Limbaugh who’ll jump on any story with his large girth that might bring him listeners. Throw in the Fox News hypocrites whose women dress in low cut sexy attire on the set.

Then there’s the women’s groups that want to argue about a woman’s right to do her job in her workplace dressed in whatever clothing she wants to wear. That’s what the law says.

Hey, I’m the first to agree that Sainz has every right to be there and wear what she wants. If it causes people to stare and make comments so be it. It’s likely that’s what she wanted as well, or at least she's comfortable with it. She is after all a former Miss Universe contestant in addition to being a sports reporter who has covered major events before dressed in a similar fashion. She isn't even the person who filed the complaint.

This is as much an argument about cultures and our expectations of women’s dress in this country as it is about anything else.

The other issue that has become a part of the story that is just as interesting to me is access to the locker room. Many male reporters believe they have to have access to the locker room to get the real story because they’ve always had it. I disagree. There’s little to be gleaned from the locker room that you can’t get outside the door in interviews conducted in a separate room or sitting on the bench or around the batting cage before a game.

Have all interviews done it a separate room and you wouldn’t have to stand around waiting for naked men to come out of the shower and talk with you while they rub deodorant under their arms or sit naked on a chair with ten other reporters with mics and tape recorders shoved in their face. I’ve wasted way too much of my life waiting for sullen players to come out of training rooms and showers just to have them say they weren’t talking today.

Just keep all of the reporters, men and women, out of the locker room and this issue would be settled. Make players come to an interview room. Make it mandatory, a part of their contracts. Good reporters don’t need the locker room to get the story. Do business reporters get to sit in on company staff meetings to find out information about the business deal that was just done?

A few decades ago I would have felt differently. Back then athletes tended to hang around the locker room forever and you could sit and have long conversations and sometimes drink a beer with them. Back then you could glean really good information about the game and their personalities from those conversations. That doesn’t happen anymore. Those conversations happen elsewhere now. The rules have changed for everyone, not just women. We need to change with them.

Chiefs jump in the hot tub time machine for win over the Chargers

2010-09-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

There was little pretty about it, but last night’s game between the Chiefs and Chargers is why the NFL is so popular. The late Monday night game, played for much of the contest in a downpour was like jumping in the hot tub time machine with the Chiefs surprising the four time Western Division champs 21-14 holding off a furious last minute rally by Philip Rivers and San Diego.

After falling behind early, the Chiefs swamped the Chargers with big plays, starting with Jamaal Charles 56 yard touchdown run. He now has 5 TD runs of over 40 yards since the start of last season, second only to Chris Johnson. In the second quarter, linebacker Derrick Johnson who had an outstanding game, forced a Ryan Mathews fumble and KC struck with a Matt Cassel to rookie tight end Tony Moeaki TD pass.

Finally, rookie Dexter McCluster electrified the crowd with a Chiefs record 94 yard punt return with less than two minutes to go in the half. It was a scene reminiscent of the mid 90’s Chiefs of Marty Schottenheimer. The newly renovated Arrowhead stadium thundered with a sound not heard in the last decade.

The Chiefs offense behind Matt Cassel did little to support the defense, which looked totally different under Romeo Crenell’s leadership. Cassel threw for just 68 yards in the game. Despite breakdowns, such as leaving Legadu Naanee totally uncovered for a 59 yard third quarter score, the Chiefs defense swarmed to the ball and pressured Rivers much of the night. Former first round pick Glenn Dorsey played his best game as a Chief by far.

The crowd noise frustrated the Chargers and Rivers much of the night as San Diego was called numerous times for delay of game, but San Diego had one last shot when they drove to the KC 4 with 1:12 to go. But the Chiefs defense held, something they’ve failed at every time in recent years.

The 21-14 win puts the Chiefs in an unfamiliar spot. Sitting alone atop the AFC West after week one.

On the hunt for Hesiman trophy criminals

2010-09-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

So the folks who give away the Heisman trophy are talking about sneaking into Reggie Bush’s house and taking back their trophy. They haven’t made up their minds yet but they’re talking about it publicly. Testing the waters if you will. This is a bad idea. As much as we’d all love to, we can’t rewrite history.

Take back the trophy and you open up a giant can of worms. Are you telling me there’s not another member of the Hesiman trophy club that didn’t receive some sort of under the table help when they were a collegiate player? Only a fool and an idiot would believe that to be true. Any college kid who went to a major university and watched sports knows better.

Let me tell you a little story. I can’t tell you for sure if it’s true, but I believed the man when he told me because he would know. He knew where all the bones were buried. Back in the late 80’s I was the radio voice of Texas A&M. Football is of course king in the state of Texas and basketball was and still is the bastard step-child.

The late Shelby Metcalf was the basketball coach of the Aggies or 27 years and a good one. He first came to College Station in 1958, a year after John David Crow won the Heisman trophy and became a legend at A&M. In 1988 Crow was named Athletic Director at A&M. Sitting in Metcalf’s office a few months after Crow took over, Shelby said to me in his slow southwestern drawl, “John David says he’s going to clean up college athletics, that’s funny coming out of the mouth of a guy who was bought and paid for to come to A&M.”

Like I said, I can’t say the statement’s true, but I believe him knowing what I do about football at A&M. Now is the Heisman committee going to go back and investigate Crow? No. Nor should they. He was voted the best player in the country that year and nothing will change that. Nothing will change the fact Bush was given the Heisman either. Hey if you want to pull a Heisman, go get O.J.’s.

As a former Heisman voter I just want to tell the Hesiman trust to stand down. You can’t change the past. That’s something only the NCAA thinks is possible.

Pelini QB quandary not a good sign

2010-08-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is just a small observation about the importance of the quarterback to winning football games. Most coaches will tell you there is no more important player on the field. The statistics will also show the following statement is true. Teams that play multiple quarterbacks are typically not very good teams.

In fact, most coaches will tell you when you can’t pick a starting quarterback it’s because none of them are any good. All that said, we’re just a few days away from the opening of the college football season and Bo Pelini still hasn’t named his starting QB at Nebraska. This is a team ranked in the top ten and picked to win the Big 12 North easily. I don’t get it.

I just read through the first game preview notes provided by the Nebraska sports information department. As you might expect, it’s quite lengthy. Fourteen pages to be exact. But one thing you won’t find in there is any mention of the quarterback. They go on and on about the Blackshirt defense for several pages, but I can find only two references to the quarterback position. One is a statement that all three quarterbacks who took snaps last year are back and a note that Taylor Martinez is in the battle for the job.

That’s it. The most important position on the field and that’s all you get on the Nebraska quarterbacks. That tells me two things. One, none of them are really any good and two, Nebraska is overrated. I refuse to believe the defense can match the sensational season they had a year ago and until they prove they have an offense run by a legitimate quarterback, they’re nowhere near the elite team they and their fans think they are.

Dooley makes poor choice to try and control media

2010-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

The other day I happened to come across a blog post from the Knoxville News discussing Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley’s decision to allow only certain reporters who had met his criteria to cover the Volunteers mock game a little over a week ago.

Dooley allowed six area reporters who met his criteria of showing up for the vast majority of their practices and being respectful in their questions and reporting to attend the mock game. I don’t know if any national media were allowed, I would assume not since they didn’t meet criteria. Admittedly, Dooley was fair in in the fact that his list of reporters covered radio, tv, print and the internet, but I found a comment he made that those allowed to attend the game were being given access with the understanding that “with abuse brings control” a bit disturbing.

Now as reporters we all understand that coaches don’t like us there because they’re afraid we’ll give away their secrets before game day. You always have to be aware that you don’t talk about the special plays they may have run. That’s fair and understood.

The question I have is what is abuse in Dooley’s mind? Is it investigating the program because of reports of NCAA violations? Is it asking questions about a player that may have had a run-in with the law? Or is abuse to ask why a young man looking to transfer to another school isn’t being given his release?

Coaches can and will choose not to answer questions. Sports information offices will try and steer reporters to cover the stories they want covered, but trying to dictate and control what a reporter decides to write about crosses the line.

Most of the comments to the blog criticized the writer and supported Dooley. And there were a lot of them. Of course they were rabid Volunteer fans as well. Nobody really likes to hear someone else complain about having trouble doing their job, I get that. But the responses are just as troubling as Dooley’s ambiguous criteria.

I remember Watergate, which makes me two things, old and smarter than a lot of America. I’m actually not very proud in making the smart statement. It’s more of a damning statement regarding American education than it is about my intelligence. But in remembering Watergate, I think about the number of people who didn’t want to know and didn’t care what was going on until the President had to resign.

Now I’m not comparing this to Watergate. Don’t be a fool and say I am. This is only a little football we’re talking about. It’s the coaches and rabid fans that want to make it into a life and death struggle against evil. What I am saying is that when you do that, don’t be surprised when reporters want to know what’s going on behind all those closed doors.

Krizz kaliko-Game On

2010-08-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a chance to listen to the song that will be the Jayhawk basketball anthem for 2010-11.

How much pressure is Pavin getting to name Woods to Ryder Cup team?

2010-08-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I did a What Do You Think? commentary for www.lexy.com about Tiger Woods and how he should just say no to the Ryder Cup this year. His game isn’t up to par and he’s likely to prove a more of a distraction than provide a positive impact.

Since then Woods has stated publicly that he wants to play and would accept a captain’s pick selection by Corey Pavin. Earlier this week it was announced that Woods had become officially divorced from wife Elin Nordgren, putting that part of his life behind him and maybe leaving him better able to focus on golf.

Now comes the hard part for Pavin who will announce his selections September 7th. Woods has not played well at all the last couple of months and hasn’t won a tournament in nine starts this year, but he is still the number one ranked player in the world. Can he leave him off the team?

This week a friend of mine brought up the question of pressure being put on Pavin to select Woods. How much pressure might he be getting from the PGA? Or what about NBC which will televise the event? Ratings are always higher when Tiger’s in the field and they’d probably be through the roof this time around for no other reason than to see what will happen.

Would the fans in Wales be particularly harsh in their cries from the crowd? Would Tiger rise to the occasion and lead the US to a surprising victory or would he be a divisive force and a mess on the golf course for his team?

Fans will watch just like they slow down for a wreck. While it may not be the best for the team, it could end up being great theatre.

A fond farewell to Sweet Lou

2010-08-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Lou Piniella bid a tearful farewell to baseball Sunday afternoon after spending over 41 years in a major league baseball uniform. He’ll likely end up in the Hall of Fame for his managerial career, but I'd like to look back on the player he was.

He first broke into the majors with one at bat with Baltimore in 1964 when he was 21. But it wasn't until five years later he came to the show to stay with the Kansas City Royals, after being acquired in a trade just days before the opening of the 1969 season. Kansas City was an expansion club in their first year at the time and Lou was a rookie who was plugged into the lineup in centerfield on opening day and as the Royals first hitter, doubled. He went 4 for 5 that day and was an instant star in KC. He won the A.L. Rookie of the Year award hitting .282 that year.

Four seasons later he was traded to the Yankees where he became a contributor in their lineup for more than a decade, playing on five playoff teams and two World Series champs. He hit .313 in four World Series with 10 RBI’s in 72 at bats. He was old school. What you call a professional hitter, with a .291 lifetime average and seven .300 seasons. But what I liked about him the most was he hated to lose and he gave the game his all, despite not having great speed or talent.

That didn’t change when he became a manager. He was temperamental, combative with players at times, but he won. Eight times his teams won over 90 games. He won a World Series in his first year with Cincinnati. His Mariners team in 2001 won 116 games. Can you imagine that today?

He managed for 23 years, won three manager of the year awards and is one of just two men to amass over 1700 hits as a player and 1700 wins as a manger. Joe Torre’s the other. He’s a Hall of Famer in my book. He gets there for his managing, but I loved him as a player.

Clemens mess won't accomplish anything

2010-08-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

So Roger Clemens has been indicted for perjury by the feds for making false statements to Congress. The move comes two and a half years after he testified under oath at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and directly contradicted trainer Brian McNamee over whether Clemens had used banned substances. A hearing he asked for.

It’s a sad point in a great players lifetime, but what does it accomplish?

He’s been defiant to this point so it’s doubtful he’ll plea bargain. We’ll likely see a trial and who knows what the outcome will be.

Congressmen will gives speeches over the fact they are taking a stand on stopping drug use. Oh really? Then why haven’t we stepped up enforcement along our borders to stop the drug cartels? Why aren’t we destroying all of the poppy fields we find in Afghanistan? Why aren’t we funding more cops on the streets? Because that’s taking real action. This is just grandstanding. Elections are coming up. Need I say more.

You think popping another ballplayer for lying about performance enhancing drugs is going to put a stop to it?

I’m not condoning drug use in sports, but this going after the big names and leaving the rest who used PED’s unscathed does nothing other than tarnish a man’s reputation. No matter what occurs going forward, a vast majority of fans will assume Clemens is guilty. Guilty of lying and guilty of taking PED’s. He’s been branded for life.

I can tell you from personal experience that Clemens was always one of the hardest workers in the game and followed the type of conditioning program Nolan Ryan did. That doesn’t mean he didn’t use PED’s, but no one ever accused Ryan and he was still pitching effectively at 46.

I’m not covering my eyes and denying many players have used PED’s, they have. But what is dragging these guys in front of Congress years later to talk about their playing days doing to help curtail use today? Absolutely nothing. That’s what bothers me.

We’ll all make our own judgements about Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa who are up for vote to the Hall of Fame in 2013. They’re not the first guys to ever cheat in the game, but it looks like it’s going to be an empty class three years from now.

BYU the Fighting Irish of the west?

2010-08-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just a month ago, college football was on the verge of monumental upheaval. Instead, there was an earthquake, but not massive damage. The Big 12 survived with a flesh wound and it appeared all would settle down until next summer.

Then word came out Wednesday that BYU was looking to become a football independent and would leave the Mountain West Conference. Suddenly the ground began shifting again. While this isn’t a seismic shift, it does indicate how fragile college football’s footing is.

If the Cougars become an independent in football and move back to the WAC for all other sports, suddenly the Mountain West could fold. Boise State is said to be ready to back out of joining the Mountain West and come back to the WAC.

Just a month ago, BYU thought they might get invited to join the Pac-10. Instead, Utah got the offer, but the Mountain West was still on the verge of possibly becoming a BCS conference if the Big 12 had folded.

In short order the Mountain West could be totally irrelevant while BYU tries to become the Notre Dame of the west with their own TV network. Something they can easily do considering the Morman church, which owns the school, already has BYU-TV and it is set to go HD, making it possible to expand their brand as an independent and make much more than the $1.5 million in TV rights they’d get in the Mountain West.

The Cougars won’t likely get the preferred path to BCS bowl games that Notre Dame gets, but it looks like they’ve made the decision it’s worth the risk to go it alone.

Favre return an elaborate PR move?

2010-08-17T14:50:00.001-07:00

As if anybody really doubted it would happen. Brett Favre reported to camp with the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday. Now I’ll be the first to tell you that I’ve never had issues with players who struggle with the decision to retire.

You can only play most professional sports when you’re relatively young and once you step away from the game, it’s almost always for good, so the fact Favre has wavered back and forth doesn’t bother me in the least. If his team is good with it, why shouldn’t we be?

But there’s this little voice in the back of my head that wonders if this isn’t all an elaborate promotional campaign by the Vikings and the NFL. Do you really think it took sending three players, Jared Allen, Ryan Longwell and Steve Hutchinson to Hattiesburg get Brett to return? And do you think he just suddenly told wife Deanna that he was leaving for Minnesota, you and the kids catch up with me in a few weeks.

I’m not into conspiracy theories, but come on, they convinced him to pack his bag and jump on the plane with them. If healthy, the Vikes are a better team with Favre than without him. Everybody knows that including his teammates, but what better way to hype the season than this drama?

Vikings coach Brad Childress is fine with the timing of it all and the story has kept the NFL at the forefront of the sports headlines throughout the summer. That’s worth the salary increase that Minnesota has reportedly offered Favre. Hell, every team in the league should pitch in some cash for the pub they got from this.

But finally, it’s time to play ball.

Going Hog wild over a Gator hat

2010-08-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

So you think coaches aren’t paranoid lunatics who like to throw their weight around whenever they want and that the media that covers them doesn’t bend over for them whenever asked? Have you heard the story of Renee Gork, a radio personality with KAKS-FM in northwest Arkansas?

It appears Renee made the mistake of wearing a Florida Gators hat to a news conference Saturday for Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino. After answering a question from Gork, Petrino informed her he wouldn’t answer anymore questions until she removed the hat. Gork happens to be a Florida grad and said she grabbed the hat to wear because it was raining when she left home.

Monday, she used Twitter to announce she’d been fired by the sports station she worked for, which by the way, goes by the nickname “The Hog”. The station's general manager, Dan Storrs, who’ll never be confused with someone who stands up for his principles, confirmed the firing with The Associated Press, saying, "This radio station is Hog Sports Radio. We are very biased. We support the Razorbacks 100 percent."

What are you saying Dan? You fired someone for wearing a college hat?

Gork tweeted that she’d hoped to apologize for the mistake on the air Monday but was canned instead. She actually thought she needed to apologize? To whom? Petrino? This guy walked out on the Atlanta Falcons without so much as a goodbye. He doesn’t deserve an apology and there was nothing to apologize for.

Gork probably made about $20,000 a year, if that, in her job. Maybe Petrino will volunteer to pay her salary until she finds a new job, presumably in another state. Why should the rest of us be forced to pay unemployment for someone who was fired because a pretentious millionaire football coach got his panties in a wad because someone wore a Florida hat.

Petrino, KAKS and Arkansas fans who complained about Gork deserve each other. Gork deserves much better.

Rookie corps looks strong for KC

2010-08-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

If there was a bright spot to take from last Friday’s 20-10 exhibition loss to Atlanta it had to be the performance of the rookie corps. The problem with that is that it just highlights the lack of production the Chiefs received from the year one draft of general Manager Scott Pioli.

Players up and down the 2010 draft class performed admirably in their first game action. Standouts included Dexter McCluster, Javier Arenas and Kendrick Lewis. Each provided glimpses of players who could be significant contributors to the club in their first season. Top draft choice Eric Berry played as expected as well. The real questions come from the veterans.

Will last year’s top pick, Tyson Jackson, start playing like one? For that matter, will 2008 top pick Glenn Dorsey, join him by playing up to expectations? Can QB Matt Cassel make significant progress in his second season? He’s yet to prove he’s got a firm grasp on playing the position.

McCluster, Arenas and Lewis bring something to the Chiefs they haven’t had, speed. Pioli and coach Todd Haley have said the Chiefs have to get faster. They’ve done that and that should make them a better squad this fall. But the NFL is won in the trenches and KC has still yet to prove they can compete on the line of scrimmage, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

A controversy that could have been avoided at the PGA

2010-08-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

This year’s PGA Championship had more twists and turns than a Tom Clancy spy novel. We had the tournament leader bomb out with an 81 in the final round, a former champion with a chance to become the second oldest player to ever win a major. Dustin Johnson lost a shot at a playoff with a penalty on the final hole and a guy named Bubba saw his chances to win a major disappear in a creek on the final playoff hole.

In a scene that will be remembered for a long time to come. Johnson, who collapsed the way Nick Whatney did at Whistling Straits back in June in the final round of the U.S. Open saw a stellar final round spoiled by a 2 stroke penalty for grounding his club in one of the thousand plus bunkers on the course after a wayward drive on 18. He said he didn’t even realized he was in a bunker. Easy to believe considering the fans were standing in it. The problem for Johnson was the players were warned before the tourney began that everything that was sand was a hazard. He was hitting out of sand. It was a painful mistake.

Almost forgotten was the steady and spectacular clutch play from eventual champion Martin Kaymer of Germany. The 25 year old drilled a 15 foot par putt on 18 to get into the playoff with Bubba Watson and then hit another clutch 15 foot birdie on 17 to tie Watson and set up the climatic final playoff hole.

The tournament continued the surge of young players dominating the tour. Kaymer, Watson, and Johnson are just the tip of the iceberg. 21 year old Rory McIlroy had a birdie chance at 18 to be a part of the playoff as well. Youth has been served.

But getting back to the penalty. While the letter of the law was followed and Johnson suffered the penalty, should it have come to that? Should spectators have been allowed to walk through and stand in the bunkers? Shouldn’t the official who was standing there with Johnson have made sure he knew his ball was in a hazard considering the crowd was packed around them? Not remind him of the rules, just let him know the facts he was in a hazard? If that had happened there may not have been the controversy that followed.

Reds learn not to poke a sleeping bear

2010-08-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Cardinals have no intention of letting their Nationally League Central Division title go easily. Tuesday nights brawl in Cincinnati is a perfect indication of that and served notice that the pennant chase is firmly underway.

If the Reds thought they were going to take a firm grasp of the division lead this week, they didn’t come into the series with the intensity and professionalism necessary. Brandon Phillips poor choice of words on Monday about his hate for the Cards did nothing more than fuel the fire of a Cards team that knows how to play when the pressure is on.

There’s an old song by the late Jim Croce that says you don’t tug on Superman’s cape. The Cards may not be Superman, but St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina was more like a bear that Phillips chose to poke while hibernating when he tapped him with his bat and set off a pregame brawl. Not a good idea.

The Reds are a team that hasn’t visited the playoffs since ’99 when they lost a one game playoff to the Mets for the wild card berth. Manager Dusty Baker is a guy who understands what the months of August and September are like when you’re playing under the focus of a pennant chase. He also understands when to pick your battles. I don’t think he’s happy with the choice Phillips made against the Cards.

If the Reds are going to win the Central, they need to prove they can beat St. Louis. There’s still a lot of time left in the season, but Cincinnati has stubbed their toe this week.

Tiger Should Just Say No

2010-08-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

As the PGA Championship prepares to tee off this week at Whistling Straits, most of the discussion doesn’t center around who will win, but will and should Tiger Woods be on this year’s Ryder Cup squad.

Based on his 18 over par performance at the Firestone Country Club last week even Woods said he wouldn’t be a good candidate to help the team. But the world’s number one ranked player also said there’s still time between now and the Ryder Cup for his game to turn around.

I’m in agreement with former 2-Time U.S. Open champ Curtis Strange when he said yesterday, there was little chance in that happening. Even if you’re Tiger Woods, you don’t turn around your game enough to compete for the PGA Championship a week after playing like a duffer. And with all of his personal problems still dangling over his head, it’s unlikely he’ll have the focus needed to return to good golf in the next two months.

Corey Pavin is in a tough situation as Ryder Cup captain. How do you say no to having the number one ranked player in the world on your team? Just looking at the way Woods carried himself last week is enough for me. He looked like a man lost in a crowd.

Tiger needs to do what’s best for him and for the team and tell Pavin he doesn’t want to play this year. There are more important things in his life. I won’t hold it against him and no one else should either.

Pac 10 about to rob the Big 12?

2010-06-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Let’s say you’re a college athletic director of a major conference BCS school right now. If you’re a school that’s having their name tossed around in conference realignment discussions you probably feel pretty good. You know your school is wanted by someone.

But what if you’re school isn’t being mentioned? These have to be troubling times. A major shakeup is coming and it appears to be coming sooner than later.

Just yesterday there was a report that the Pac 10 is ready to offer six Big 12 schools, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado a chance to join their conference. Big 12 officials meeting in Kansas City seemed caught off guard. While they’re trying to hold their conference together, apparently more than half the conference is trying to cut deals elsewhere.

While the Big 12 looks to be in a death spiral, it’s just the beginning. When it all shakes out, we’ll likely have four super conferences out there, but who and how the teams are aligned is still a huge question mark.

Would you rather see conference alignments stay the same or is it time for a major shakeup? It could be dicey for some schools.

I know I went to Kansas and at the moment things don’t look good for the Jayhawks. They have a ticket scalping scandal investigation going on and they come from a state with a small TV market. They do have a premier basketball program and that’s their saving grace, but where they’ll end up is anyone’s guess right now.

Big 12 meetings importance can't be understated

2010-06-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks of quiet time it’s getting down to the nitty gritty for the Big 12 conference. Just a couple of weeks ago rumors and speculation had the Big 12 crumbling from a raid by the Big Ten with Missouri and Nebraska possibly headed to the Big Ten and speculation that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney was even after Texas.

While Delaney indicated the league was sticking to its timetable of 12 to 18 months before a decision would be made, the Big 12 has been scurrying around trying to figure out what their next move will be.

With the conference’s annual meetings being held in Kansas City this week, you can expect a lot of talk and maybe some action. Commissioner Don Bebe says it’s time for the conference and their member schools to have a frank discussion about who’s in and who’s out. It’s kind of like your girl friend asking you just how committed you are to the relationship. Just what kind of answer Bebe gets from some members remains to be seen.

This is a money issue and Bebe says the league is looking hard at how they can beef up TV revenues and get all of their football games on television. He points to the ACC’s recent deal with ESPN for a reported 12 years and over $1.8 billion dollars as a good sign for the Big 12 since that deal was done in a down economy. But it’s how the Big 12 splits their money and how they can elevate each schools earnings by 10 to 15 million a year that will be the big question.

If they can’t, there’s no question schools will leave for greener pastures if given the opportunity. While each school is planning a what if scenario for how they can best take care of themselves if the league collapses, much of what happens depends on what the Big Ten decides to do and when they do it.

The Big 12 could unite with the Pac 10, but those discussions are in the infant stage. After a week of meetings in Kansas City, that conversation could quickly heat up. One thing is certain. Monumental change is coming to the college conference structure. Just how and when it happens remains to be seen.

Gonzalez won't put up with Ramirez lack of hustle

2010-05-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Monday night Florida Marlins star shortstop Hanley Ramirez was removed from the game in the second inning by his manager Fredi Gonzalez for failing to hustle after a pop-up that he’d booted down the left field line...allowing 2 runners to score.

Tuesday afternoon he was left out of the lineup against the DiamondBacks and Gonzalez said Ramirez would remain out of it until he apologized to his teammates. Prior to the game, Ramirez blasted his manager saying he’d never played in the major leagues and didn’t know what it was like to play hurt.

In the first inning of the game on Monday Ramirez had fouled a 93 mile per hour fastball off his ankle. Gonzalez responded by saying Ramirez was right....he hadn’t played in the majors...but he knew what it took and the effort it took.

Before he was removed from the game..it appeared Gonzalez asked Ramirez if his ankle was bothering him. It also appeared Ramirez indicated it wasn’t. That’s when Gonzalez sent him to the clubhouse.

The defending National League batting champ didn’t seem to have the support of his teammates over the incident either. Wes Helms told reporter Joe Capozzi, “ I can’t overlook it. I know people say that’s just the way he is. But, you know what? That’s not the way the game is played.”

When asked if he should apologize Helms said “It would be good.”

When asked about apologizing before today’s game, Ramirez responded, “For what?”

Gonzalez told reporters that other players were playing hurt Monday night and it didn’t effect their effort. Singling out Cody Ross, Gonzalez said he was hit on the knee by a 95 mile per hour pitch but played the whole game and made a diving catch and drove in a run.

Did Gonzalez do the right thing in pulling Ramirez during the game and embarrassing him? I think so, but what do you think?

Day two is huge for the Chiefs future

2010-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

As I’ve said before, the Chiefs had several options in the first round and almost couldn’t go bad on any of them and they didn’t last night. While taking a safety as high as the number five overall pick is a rarity in the draft, Kansas City took one of the highest rated athletes and players in the draft when they plucked Tennessee’s Eric Berry in the first round.

It fills a position of desperate need on the defensive side of the ball, gives them a player that everyone feels should come in and start from the beginning and gives them a player who has been universally described as a leader on and off the field. Those are all things the Chiefs needed.

Now come the bigger questions. With three picks coming up in the next 36 selections, KC has the opportunity to make a deal if they want, or to just grab three quality players who should be able to help them this coming season. But round one has thrown a possible wrench into the engine of the direction the Chiefs were looking.

The biggest needs that still remain are help at the linebacker spot, depth along the defensive line and wide receiver, but with quarterbacks Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy still available, there’s a decent chance Clausen could be sitting there when the Chiefs pick at number 36. Is Charlie Weis beating the drum to draft Clausen despite having Matt Cassll? No one knows for sure, but we’ll find out tonight.

A better option for the Chiefs might be Texas’ Sergio Kindle, who would fit the 3-4 defense and give them a speed rusher, but reports are out that he has a medical issue with a knee and teams are dropping him off their board. So, do you pass on a QB if you believe he could be the one, whether it’s Clausen or McCoy? Personally, I like McCoy better, but the Chiefs need a lot of help across the board and they have a quarterback, or at least they think they do.

Kansas City needs to get multiple starters from this draft and taking a QB doesn’t fit that mold, but picking up an extra pick for sliding down a few spots so someone else can pick either Clausen or McCoy could be a possibility. Then KC could look at receivers such as Golden Tate or Marty Gilyard with their 2nd or 3rd round picks while still adding a offensive lineman and a linebacker.

This second and third round may be more important to the future of the Chiefs than their number one choice. Kansas City is in a numbers game and they need more quality players who can contribute this season.

Winners and losers in round one

2010-04-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Round one of the NFL draft has concluded and now it’s time to cast judgement on the winners and losers, before any of the players have even taken the field for their respective teams, but hey, isn’t that why it’s called Monday morning quarterbacking?

Who’s the biggest first round winner? I really like what the Detroit Lions did. First they bolstered their defensive line with the player I think was the best in the draft, Ndamakong Suh. Then they made a deal to move up and get a second first rounder and choose Jahvid Best, giving young QB Matt Stafford some offensive help.

The top six teams really did what was expected and all should benefit from their choices. The Big 12 has to be puffing out it’s chest. The first four picks were out of their league and five of the first six. The lone exception was Eric Berry of Tennessee going to the Chiefs. He should start immediately.

Other winners are Buffalo with C. J. Spiller, San Diego trading up to get running back Ryan Matthews to replace Ladainian Tomlinson, the Seahawks moving up to get Safety Earl Thomas and Dallas trading up to get Dez Bryant after he slid down the board. I also like Indy’s pick up of speed rusher Jerry Hughes from TCU at the bottom of the round.

The losers? Well, you have to wonder what the Jaguars were thinking when they took D-tackle Tyson Alualu with the 10th pick when there were several other higher ranked linemen on the board.

Denver had one of the most interesting first days, skipping over Bryant for Georgia Tech receiver Demaryius Thomas. Coach Josh McDaniels said Thomas reminded him of Brandon Marshall. You mean the guy you just traded away? Then the Broncos took the biggest gamble of the first round by selecting Tim Tebow with a second pick acquired from Baltimore. Tebow could turn out to be the biggest bust or biggest steal of the draft. who knows at this point, but McDaniels is putting his job on the line with the pick.

This means both Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy are still available, but it’s doubtful for long. The early question in the second round will be whether the Chiefs jump at Clausen with Charlie Weis now on board as offensive coordinator, despite having paid big money to Matt Cassell last year.

Expect a lot of wheeling and dealing in the second and third round tonight, but until these players hit the field, it’s all a crap shoot.

Options abound for the Chiefs

2010-04-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

We’re just a little over two days away from the NFL draft and no one is really quite sure what the Chiefs will do with the fifth overall pick. They actually have several options and all of them appear to be good.

While General Manager Scott Pioli professes to have a conservative nature when it comes to first round picks, he certainly reached a little when he took Tyson Jackson last year with the 3rd pick overall. Jackson wasn’t a bust, but his impact was limited at the defensive tackle position.

This year, the Chiefs could go in one of several directions. The best likely player available according to many observers is Tennessee safety Eric Berry. But most GM’s don’t like spending that kind of draft money on a safety and Pioli has indicated he leans to that thinking.

So the safe pick for the Chiefs is an offensive tackle, of which there are several good ones to choose from. KC appears to like Ryan Bulaga of Iowa. But what if Detroit decides to take offensive tackle Russell Okung with the second pick, Tampa chooses defensive tackle Gerald McCoy with the 3rd pick and Washington takes offensive tackle Trent Williams with the fourth pick, leaving one Ndamakong Suh available to the Chiefs?

Would they pass on the possible game changing defensive lineman? I wouldn’t.

If that scenario doesn’t occur and Detroit takes Suh, would the Chiefs pass on taking Bulaga or Berry and trade down? I think yes, given the correct circumstances and offer. The Browns are said to covet Berry and sitting just two spots back at the 7th slot, they could be willing to swap number one’s and add in a third rounder. KC would like extra picks because they have none in the 6th and 7th round, even though they have eight picks overall.

KC, like a lot of other teams, also appear to like safety Earl Thomas of Texas nearly as much as Berry. If that’s the case and they can trade down and still get a safety they covet, I’d say go for it. If, on the other hand, Suh is available for the taking and they Chiefs want to live up to their statement of building with high character, team players, you can do no better than Suh and the defense needs A LOT of help.

At their spring game Saturday, Nebraska announced Suh will be making 2.6 million dollars in donations to the school and he hasn’t even signed his pro contract yet! It’s the largest gift ever from a Husker football player. If he’s somehow available, that’s the guy I want.

The good guy wore black

2010-04-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s victory by Phil Mickelson at the Master’s was a feel good story for a lot of people. The now three time winner at Augusta celebrated with his wife Amy, who came to the course for the first time since she was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly a year ago. It was to say the least an emotional finish to a tournament that began with a circus like atmosphere thanks to Tiger Woods return to the game.

The win by the popular Mickelson was also a dramatic contrast to the storyline created by Woods. If you want draw the lines between good and evil on the course, right now you couldn’t do better than contrasting and comparing Phil the Thrill and Woods. Mickelson is everything Tiger isn’t. Comfortable with the media and the fans, a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve in a different way than Tiger. There aren’t the outbursts on the course when things go bad, but his emotions are read in his face and body language.

And then of course there’s the contrast off the course. Mickelson as the ultimate family man who talks about taking his children for ice cream after victories compared to Woods sexcapades splashed all over every tabloid.

Phil may have been wearing all black on the course on Sunday, but he clearly has taken on the mantel of the good guy wearing the white hat compared to Woods gunslinger in black image.

Golf may not have cared for the publicity that Woods last five months has brought them, but they are probably elated over the fact that Mickelson has upped the ante with Woods and the game has a new hero.... and a new villain to root for.

You want tough? Try this tournament

2010-03-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday the Madness that is the NCAA Tournament will continue with Sweet 16 games, but I just finished witnessing college basketball’s toughest tournament. The NAIA wrapped up last with Oklahoma Baptist defeating Azusa Pacific 84-83 for their first national crown since 1966, Thanks to A.J. Hawkins last minute 3 pointer. National Player of the Year Nate Brumfield made the shot possible with an offensive rebound and an assist.

The NAIA tournament is called college’s toughest tournament because it is. To claim the crown a team has to win five games in seven days. The first three days of this 32 team tourney there are eight games a day. The first contest tips off at 9am and the last game of the night usually gets going about 10:30 or 11 at night depending on how many overtime games occur earlier in the day.

This is a tournament of both mental and physical stamina. Depending on the schedule, you might get a day off between your first and second round games and you might not, so you could be playing five games in six days to win the whole thing. Azusa Pacific lost two starters during the tournament to injury and still managed to come within a last second shot to win it all.

Played in Kansas City’s historic Municipal Auditorium, the site of more NCAA tournament finals than any other venue, the NAIA tourney has featured such great players as Willis Reed, Lucious Jackson, Travis Grant, Dennis Rodman and Terry Porter. Grant, who along with Elmore Smith led Kentucky State to three straight titles in the early 70’s, once poured in 60 points in a tournament game and averaged over 42 a game for the week.

Last night as he was honored on the 40 year anniversary of Kentucky State’s first title, Grant, who was nicknamed “Machine” told me he still has found memories of the historic building, but wished people would talk more of his 20 rebound game and defensive abilities.

You want to talk about powerhouse programs? Azusa Pacific was making it’s fifteenth straight trip to the tournament and Oklahoma Baptist coach Doug Tolin had his team there for the tenth time in ten years. Despite the heartbreaking loss, Azusa coach Justin Leslie, who has played and coached in 42 tournament games, said one game doesn’t define their program. That one day they’ll win it all, but his real job is turning these players into men who will contribute in the real world.

Now that’s a great tournament tradition.

Can Northern Iowa handle the role of favorite?

2010-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

When you’re a giant killer like Northern Iowa, you become everyone’s darling in the NCAA tournament. But now you’re looking down the barrel of the second weekend of this month long party and the tables have started to turn. How’re you supposed to deal with that?

A week ago, hardly anyone outside of the Missouri Valley Conference had ever heard the name Ali Faroukmanesh. Suddenly, he’s a household word. Everybody seems to be rolling it off their tongue. Faroukmanesh! For a play-by-play guy it’s a great name to call out after he buries a long trey.

First he took down UNLV with a last trey. Then he did the unthinkable and what we’ve all come to expect from college kids in this grand tournament.....don’t think just do it. When he should have been running out the clock, he fires up a three and seals an Upset over top ranked Kansas. Can he and his Panther teammates keep it up?

They’ve already gotten a break in the Sweet 16. Kalin Lucas, the former Big 10 Player of the year is down and out for Michigan State, victim of a torn achilles. The Spartans are the wounded dog in this Friday night fight in St. Louis. Can they rise to the occasion again under coach Tom Izzo? Or will Panther coach Ben Jacobson have the game plan to get Northern Iowa to the Elite Eight?

Can seven footer Jordan Eglesder shake up the Spartans with a pair of three’s as he did against Kansas? Will Adam Koch come up big against their Big 10 opponent? When you’re the little guy with nothing to lose you play with a chip on your shoulder, but what does Michigan State have to lose? They’ve already lost their best player and not many people predicted they’d get this far.

It’s an intriguing matchup. Can Korie Lucious fill Lucas’ shoes for Sparty? No one knows for sure. But he was confident enough to want to take the final shot against Maryland and hit it. I you love the tournament, this is a game that you’ll want to watch. If you’re not an alum, just pick a side and start cheering.

In March Madness you have to take losses with a sense of humor

2010-03-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've been tied up broadcasting NAIA tournament games all week, but I did get to see most of the NCAA tourney as well, including KU's loss to Northern Iowa. I'm a Jayhawk fan but can't help but laugh my ass off at this parody of Kansas.

NCAA preview and upset picks

2010-03-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

In a year where there is a lot of talk about the lack of quality depth in the field of 65 for the NCAA tournament you would think there will be a lot of upsets in the first two rounds by lower seeded teams. Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen.

What we do know is that the unquestioned favorite to win the national title is Kansas. They have dominated the top spot in the rankings for most of the year and have the best overall talent and depth of any team. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll win, but I like their chances.

While many observers believe Kansas received the toughest regional despite their top seed, I think it’s just fine. You never know who you’ll face. Often times teams look at their brackets and begin to look ahead to who they’ll face and find those teams are no longer around when they get to that point in the tournament.

I think Georgetown is a difficult team in the Midwest bracket, because their offensive style is difficult to prepare for on short notice. But they may not make it by the Tennessee-San Diego State winner. Ohio State has outstanding guard play and Evan Turner, but they could run into a problem with Oklahoma State and Big 12 Player of the Year James Anderson and mad bomber Keiton Page.

In the East, Texas is in the same bracket as Kentucky. The one time number one team has struggled mightily down the stretch and seemed to be mailing it in the past few games. If they can regroup, they have the physical talent to upset the young Wildcats, although I’m not betting on it.

Marquette is a team that I think can make a move in the bottom half of that bracket and a matchup with New Mexico in the second round could be a great one. In the South, Duke may have gotten a good regional draw, but watch out for Texas A&M, they play stingy defense make you work for every basket.

In the West, Syracuse will apparently be without center Arinze Onauku in the first and second round. They should manage anyway the first weekend but the next weekend in Salt Lake City could feature a matchup against BYU or Kansas State. It wouldn’t be a neutral court with BYU in the game and K-State can play with anybody.

I’m never great at picking the upsets, but here’s mine for the first round. Cornell over Temple, Northern Iowa over UNLV and St. Mary’s over Richmond

Please don't expand the tourney field to 96

2010-03-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here’s why I’m against expanding the NCAA tourney field. Da’Sean Butler banks in a three at the buzzer last night to give West Virginia a win over Cincinnati. Ohio State’s Evan Turner drains a 35 footer at the buzzer to give the Buckeye’s a heart stopping quarterfinal win against a desperate Michigan team this afternoon.

Neither one of those two games would have had any meaning whatsoever to the teams involved if the NCAA field was raised to 96. The conference tourney’s allow any team to win their way into the big tournament. It’s what makes conference tournaments exciting.

Arizona State saw their tourney dreams evaporate last night with a stunning loss to Stanford in the Pac 10 quarterfinals. That loss and losses by Memphis and UAB opened the door for other teams to possibly make it in and keep pushing in their tournaments this weekend.

Even a loss by Syracuse yesterday in the quarters of the Big East carries a likely consequence. No team has ever lost in their conference quarterfinals and gone on to win the national title. Expanding the field to 96 dilutes the importance of the season, conference tourney’s and rewards mediocrity. It doesn’t improve the Big Dance.

Alabama gave Kentucky a fight this afternoon but fell in the end. This game would have likely meant nothing in an expanded field. The Tide might have already secured a tourney spot with a 17-14 overall record. Illinois had to beat Wisconsin and did today to keep their hopes alive. Rhode Island did the same against St. Louis this afternoon but they’re still on the bubble. Virginia Tech’s surprise loss to Miami today could bounce them out. But with an expanded field they’re already in. Woo Hoo.

I’m looking forward to a possible rematch of top ranked Kansas and Kansas State in the Big 12 final. The Wildcats were devastating last night against Oklahoma State. I want to see if they can keep the run going first against a very good and hot Baylor team tonight and next versus KU. With an expanded field tournament, who would really care?

How much is Tebow worth?

2010-03-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

No one’s quite sure where Tim Tebow will go in the NFL draft, but one thing’s for certain, the former Heisman Trophy winner is a valuable commodity no matter what his draft position. Witness the autograph signing session he held last Saturday in Jacksonville, FL.

Tebow signed 500 autographs at $160 per pop and 500 photos at $75 each at a Jacksonville mall, for a total of almost $120,000. An undisclosed amount of the money due Tebow is going to Tebow’s charitable foundation and Palm Beach Autographs, the company running the signing is also directing a portion of their proceeds to his foundation.

It’s not the only session that Tebow has scheduled this spring and it is a sizable figure, but for anyone who wants to complain about the money Tebow will be making, remember this, people are willing to pay the price. He’s never made money from all the jersey sales with his name on it that Florida has piled up over the past four years and has been as good a university spokesman that anyone could ever expect.

He’s getting what he’s worth. I’ve never been a huge Tebow fan, but he deserves whatever the market will bear as long as it will bear it.

Chiefs signing of Jones a big first step

2010-03-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

The Chiefs signing of former Jets running back Thomas Jones wasn’t exactly earth shattering news from the financial standpoint, but it was an indication that the Chiefs are serious about upgrading their offense in 2010.

Bringing Jones into the fold, not only gives them a back that can take a share of the load off of Jamaal Charles, it gives them a back that provides competition for who will get the bulk of the carries. Competition is good.

One of the biggest problems the Chiefs have had in recent seasons has been the quality of depth on the roster meant there was little competition for starting jobs. For the most part, you had to really stink to lose your starting spot.

Charles is coming off a spectacular half season after taking over for the departed Larry Johnson, but despite his game breaking ability, questions remain over his durability and his ability to perform over the long haul. Not to mention the fact, in the NFL every team needs two quality backs.

In Jones, the Chiefs have the kind of back they hoped LJ could be. Consistent, versatile in the sense he can catch passes and block and a player who you don’t have to worry about off the field. He’s got 10 seasons in the league and last year was his career best in terms of carries (331), rushing yards (1,402) and TD’s (14). He gives the Chiefs a tandem they can build off of.

With the receiving corps still a huge question mark, Todd Haley and Charlie Weis know they can build their offense around a ground attack that has speed and power. if the line can do their job on first and second downs, Matt Cassel shouldn’t be faced with so many third and long situations, giving Weis more flexibility in his play calling.

Now if the Chiefs can find a quality receiver in the draft, the offense might be a threat next season.

Hope springs eternal for teams in the spring

2010-03-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

After the winter we’ve been having, this would be the perfect year to be going to spring training, but I’m not. I’m staying back home in the midwest, watching as the ice and snow slowly melt away and preparing to watch a lot of basketball in the coming weeks.

At the same time, with opening day barely a month away, I can’t help but let my thoughts drift south to green grass, the smell of a new ball glove and the crack of bats from the cages and the practice fields. This is without question, the best month in sports.

In the coming weeks, we will live and die with our college teams as they fight to get into the NCAA tournament, or battle through each round of the tourney in search of the elusive national title.

We’ll raise our expectations and hopes for our baseball teams that really don’t have a chance, but hey it’s spring and that rookie sure looks good at second base and this is the year our veteran starting pitcher who’s never been more than a .500 pitcher is going to have that breakout season on the hill.

Many of us will listen closely to analysts as they try and tell us who is going to be our favorite NFL’s teams top pick in the upcoming draft and we’ll lament the release of a veteran player who’d been one of our favorites.

Yes, flowers will start popping up and trees will have buds on them getting ready to bust out and just like the crocus that blooms when there’s still snow on the ground, we each believe that this is the year for us and our team. Considering the hard winter most of us have experienced and the hard economic times that have met many across this country, it’s a great time to see spring and all the hope it brings with it.

You see, I’m a glass half full kind of guy. Even when the facts are pointing elsewhere, I have to believe my team is going to be better, my life is going to be better. That’s who we are as Americans. Eternal optimists. Even when our politicians are taking a dump on us, I can always find hope in sports and in spring.

KU and K-State ready to make a statement in the NCAA's

2010-03-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kansas was all about Sherron Collins, the winningest player in KU history playing his final game in Allen Field House. But it was also about Kansas finding their way to the form that’s makes them one of the top favorites to win the national title.

Just four days after delivering their worst performance of the season against a fired up Oklahoma State squad, the Jayhawks came back to slap down their in-state rival Kansas State in the biggest game between the two since their meeting in the regional finals in 1988.

With a deafening home crowd behind them, Kansas shook off a tough and talented Wildcat team and won going away 82-65. While the margin was a large one in the end, I still came away very impressed with K-State’s team and their ability to go deep into the NCAA tourney.

Guard play will usually take you a long way in the tourney, which is one reason both KU and K-State have a chance to go far. On a night when Collins went 1-9 in the first half and had the teams only two turnovers, the Jayhawks managed to win in large part because guards Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar and Tyrell Reed stepped up big. Morningstar made the biggest shot in the game when he hit a three after K-State had tied it in the second half. Kansas has the depth to overcome an off night from one of their guards.

K-State doesn’t. But Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente are a one two scoring punch from the guard spot that’s about as good as anyone in the country. When they’re hot, they can be devastating. But what Kansas exposed in the Wildcats was their failure sometimes to distribute the ball, as evidenced by just 4 assists in the game. K-State has the talent to put points on the board from the inside as well, but their guards have to distribute the ball and not just shoot.

The two schools have proven they’re the best in the Big 12 this season. Soon they’ll get the chance to show the rest of the nation just how good they are.

Gold medal hockey game was everything and more

2010-02-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

I don’t think there’s much more to add after watching the men’s gold medal hockey final. It was simply one of the greatest sporting events ever and while the U.S. fell in overtime, it could be a seminal moment in the history of the sport.

The victory by Canada was a culmination of a tremendous two plus weeks of Olympic action. It was also simply put, a great hockey game and considering that it could be seen live all over the world may have more impact the any previous game in the sport.

Sidney Crosby was already a Canadian superstar, but he’s now reached icon status thanks to his overtime goal. Much as Americans who are old enough remember where they were thirty years ago and the name Mike Eruzione from the Miracle on Ice team of 1980, Canadians will always remember where they were today and the name of Sidney Crosby. It will go down as the most important sporting event in Canadian history.

It was an awesome game, played to the level you want to see any sporting event played. If you weren’t a hockey fan before today and saw this contest, I can’t believe you didn’t become one.

Gold medal podium memories still fresh for Phil Mahre

2010-02-26T17:33:00.000-08:00

This has been the best Winter Olympics for the United States since the 1932 Games in Lake Placid, New York, when just 17 countries competed. The Gold medal count has reached 9 at the moment and could go higher.

When I watch an athlete stand atop the Olympic podium and receive their gold medal and then listen as their national anthem is played, I often times wonder what is going through their minds at that very moment.

Former gold medalist Phil Mahre, who along with his twin brother, Steve, became world class alpine skiers and for all intents and purposes Phil was the greatest American skier until Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn came along, winning 27 World Cup races and three overall World Cup’s from 1981-83. He won a silver medal in the ‘80 games in Lake Placid and a gold in the slalom in Sarajevo in 1984.

He recently was speaking with a colleague of mine, Matt Fulks about what happened to him when he stepped onto the podium and received his gold medal.

“That’s one that really changed my whole career”, said Mahre, “Prior to that I always thought it was about me.”

"Sports are pretty selfish, you don’t do them for anybody but yourself, really in the grand scheme of things. When I won my medal in Sarajevo I thought that was going to be my moment. I was going to get up on the victory stand and it was all about me.

Then they start to play your national anthem and you realize that it’s not just yours, it’s America’s. A lot of thoughts go through your mind and for me all lot of people were standing up on that podium with me. Family, friends, coaches, servicemen, everybody who ever donated money to the Olympic movement, everybody that ever wished me luck and it became very emotional. It was a situation where my Olympic dreams would have never come true had it not been for America.”

Then Phil Mahre cracked up. “I’ve never listened to the national anthem the same since then....whew...sorry....touching.....a lot of people to thank.”

You listen to the emotion in his voice and you know there is something good at the heart of sports and the Olympics. They are worth it. For everyone involved. The athletes, coaches, volunteers and the families.

Put a Cherry on it

2010-02-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Canadians win over Russia and in anticipation of a rematch between the U.S. and Canada in the gold medal game at the Olympics, here’s a tribute to Canadian hockey analyst and fashionista Don Cherry.

Now this man has a schtick and knows how to work it. Dickie V can’t compare.

Farewell to a friend

2010-02-26T08:41:00.001-08:00

I found out yesterday that I’d lost a friend. He was a cameraman and editor who worked for a company I once co-owned. His name was Scott Parrish. When our little company was growing and the work was becoming more than what my partner Mickey and I could do, we hired Scott. It was a great decision.

He was a funny guy who was talented and loved what he did. Mickey, Scott and I, often times sat around after shoots of the golf show I hosted at the time, Par for the Course and drank beer, talked sports and told jokes. We had a lot of fun together in those years.

I’d heard he’d been sick the past couple of years, but I was off doing other things and we hadn’t crossed paths much. I’m sorry I didn’t take the time to look in on him. He was a quiet soul who was easy to be around and I considered him a friend. He will be missed.

Why I love Olympic hockey

2010-02-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

Every four years I’m reminded why even though I didn’t grow up in a hockey town and as a big fan of the game, that international hockey is one of the best sports in the world played by some of the best and toughest athletes anywhere.

The game between Canada and the USA a few nights ago was a perfect example of what makes sports great. Passion and great play on the ice and passion in the stands. It was also a great example of why the international game is better.

The international game has bigger ice to skate on, although in Vancouver and North America they’re on an NHL sized rink. It has physical play, but without the fights and other subtle rule differences that make the game more fluid and more enjoyable to watch. It’s what the NHL should be.

Just a couple of days ago the world nearly came to an end for Canada when they fell to the US, but the Canadians have rebounded and beaten Germany and then Wednesday night exploding for four first period goals on their way to a crushing 7-3 defeat of Russia. Their first win over the Soviets in 50 years at the Olympics.

When Rick Nash made it 3-0 in the opening period, you could almost hear the roof get blown off the arena. If Canada plays with the passion and agressiveness they played with in this game, they’ll be hard to beat for the gold, but the US has beaten them once already and are one game away from a possible gold medal rematch.

If you thought the first game had the attention of much of North America, wait and see what happens if they play again for gold. There won’t be a TV in Canada that isn’t tuned the ice of Vancouver, eh?

Self is college basketball's best coach

2010-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Top ranked Kansas captured their sixth straight Big 12 basketball title last night with an 81-68 victory over Oklahoma. In addition, the Jayhawks are now 27-1 overall, 13-0 in the conference and ran their nation’s best home winning streak to 58 in a row. For head coach Bill Self, it’s his 6th title in just seven years since taking over for the departed Roy Williams. He’s also got a national championship notch on his belt as well.

If you ask me, the best coach in college basketball right now is Self. Consider the fact that the Jayhawks just became only the third team in the past 50 years to win at least six straight major conference roundball titles. The others were UCLA with their string of 13 straight and Kentucky from 1968-1973. To pull off the feat in today’s environment is nothing short of incredible.

Before leaving Illinoi s for Kansas, Self won the Big 10 title two of the three years he coached there and in the year his team didn’t win the conference crown, it won the post season tourney. Oh yeah, the team he recruited and left at Illinois went to the national championship game the next season. In his past 12 seasons as a head coach he’s won 10 conference titles and finished second twice.

I’ve watched him coach since he was at Tulsa, where he took a team that didn’t have a starter over 6-6 and led them to the Elite Eight with a high paced offense and pressure defense. He won at Illinois by recruiting physical bruisers out of the Chicago area who could run, but also handle the physical more slowed down styles in the Big 10.

At Kansas, he’s blended the best of both styles, taking over Williams run and gun offensive players and creating a more balanced attack that can still run with the best, but can pound you with the high low post and will lock you down defensively.

There are coaches such as Williams, Krzyzewski and Calipari, who may have more NCAA titles or recruit better NBA players, but for my money today, Bill Self is without question the best college basketball coach in America. He can recruit with the best, is a tremendous motivator and gets players to buy in and sacrifice for the team. His Jayhawks may win their second NCAA title in the last three years, but even if they don’t, he’s my choice.

Of course, Self and Kansas are about as perfect a fit as you can find and he’s not going anywhere soon. But if I was looking to hire a new coach, he’d be my first call and I’d have a big checkbook ready as well.

Who would you pick for your coach?

Tiger, did we really need to be subjected to this?

2010-02-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods apologized to the nation last Friday. It was a speech that was delivered in front of a small audience of friends and family and broadcast on network TV. His wife Elin wasn’t present, but his mom was and boy did she look pissed off. Before I even take time to discuss what he said, let me first address the issue of the major networks carrying the so called “news conference” live.

What made this an event worth coverage equal to the State of the Union address? With everything we’re dealing with in this country, two wars, a crushing debt, a fragile economy, a congress that doesn’t have a clue what it means to work together and compromise, we got to hear a golfer spend thirteen minutes on national TV saying he was sorry for having sex with a bunch of women who weren’t his wife. Are you kidding me?

I’m not sure if this was step one of his 12 step sex addiction rehab program or what, but the nation didn’t have to be subjected to this live national broadcast. At least the Golf Writers Association boycotted the event on grounds it’s not a news conference if no one can ask questions. Look, I get it that ESPN or the Golf Channel would carry this, but NBC, CBS and ABC?

As for the apology itself, for those in the media who wanted to call it heartfelt, I think they must have been drinking before the show. For anyone who thought he looked wooden and very matter of fact in reading his statement, they’ve apparently never really watched him much. He’s not very comfortable in front of cameras and in this situation I don’t blame him, but he also revealed why he’s really a social misfit and had to pay women to be with him. He doesn’t have real people skills.

What does all this mean for the future of his golf game? It’s hard to say. His personal family problems are his own as far as I’m concerned. We still don’t know when he’s actually going to come back to the game. But I’ll guarantee you this. He will get heckled, many times over and it’s going to be very interesting to see if he ever returns to being the type of golfer he was before his house of cards began to collapse.

Tiger Talk

2010-02-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

So Tiger Woods is finally going to speak. Of course being Tiger, he’s going to speak under his terms, which means speaking to a small group of friends and a handful of selected reporters. Presumably making a statement of contrition and answering no questions.

This is all big news of course because no one has seen or heard from Tiger since his Thanksgiving night run in with a fire hydrant outside his house and the laundry list of sexual partners who have come out with announcements of escapades with the world’s best golfer.

The cynic in me thinks the timing of his public mea culpa is interesting. While everyone in Norway is paying attention to the Winter Olympics, he’s going to admit he cheated on his beautiful Norwegian wife.

Maybe we’ll hear him say he’s sorry, maybe we won’t. Tom Watson, one of golf’s all time greats says he needs to show contrition, tell the public he’s sorry. He says he owes them that.

I’ll be honest with you. He doesn’t owe anybody an explanation, with the exception of his wife and family. If he wants to continue to be perceived in the same fashion he is at this point in time, he can stay hid out for as long as he’d like. He can even try and play golf and not answer the press‘ questions.

It wouldn’t be easy and he’s sure to be heckled by fans either way but he doesn’t owe us an explanation or an apology. He can just go on with his life. That doesn’t mean he’ll have sponsors lining up to give him millions, but hey, he’s Tiger Woods, he’s already made hundreds of millions of dollars and apparently doesn’t listen to anyone when it comes to life advice, so what does he care about the rest of us?

I could care less if he apologizes or not. Just don’t expect me to care about him playing golf if he doesn’t. He’s already become tabloid freak and no matter what he does on Friday, it’s going to be a long time before that picture begins to fade.

The emotions of being a sports parent

2010-02-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

I always get a little moist eyed when watching the Olympics. It seems to happen more the older I’ve gotten. It doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter, if the athlete is from the U.S. or some other country, I see a great performance and I get emotional.

I can find a lot to get worked up over at the Winter Games and I’m not talking about the fence around the Olympic flame or the ice machine problems at the speed skating track.

I get excited watching cross country skiers from Norway and Sweden battle it out to shear exhaustion at the finish. Seeing snowboarders like Shaun White get unbelievable air and perform tricks you can’t even imagine.

Watching short track skaters slingshotting like NASCAR drivers into the lead or luge racers fly down the world’s fastest track only hours after watching a fellow competitor lose his life in a practice run.

But nothing gets to me more than watching the shear joy of an athlete when they know they’ve just come up with the best performance of their life when everything is on the line.

I have three girls, all adults now, who all competed in sports, so when I watched Lindsey Vonn win the women’s downhill and then cry through a post-race interview when discussing all the training and all the sacrifices she and her family had made over the years, I thought first of my girls.

None of them have competed at anywhere near the Olympic level, but all still compete, running marathons, taking part in long distance 60 mile walks. Like millions of us, they get out there push themselves to limits they didn’t know they could reach. Their stories aren’t told on network television, but that’s OK. Just like Vonn’s husband and parents waiting at the bottom as she raced to victory, I still get emotional seeing my kids achieve their sporting goals.

That’s what being a parent is all about.

Separation beginning in NCAA field

2010-02-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

It’s the time of the college basketball season where the outstanding teams begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Heading into the week, Most observers would have told you that the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament were going to be Kansas, Syracuse, Villanova and Kentucky. They were beginning to show that separation. Then Sunday came.

First, Syracuse took it on the chin as they fell at home to Louisville 66-60. The Orange gave up an 11 point first half lead in the process. Not the sign of a championship caliber team, particularly at home.

Then Monday night, Villanova watched as a struggling UConn team beat them in the Wachovia Center 84-75 handing the Wildcats their third loss of the season. It was a contest where the Huskies managed to beat Nova on the boards and at the stripe on their home court.

Later that night, top ranked Kansas was outplayed most of the night by a fired up Texas A&M squad, but somehow in the final five minutes managed to pull out a 59-54 win over the Aggies. It was a game that coach Bill Self described as muddy. His team was beaten on the offensive boards, his All-America guard Sherron Collins was cold as ice from the field, but when the game was on the line, Collins made a couple of clutch shots, Xavier Henry played tough inside and Cole Aldrich came up with a key block.

Tough teams win tough games on the road when they aren’t playing well and Kansas managed to do that.

Last night, Kentucky pulled off the same feet on the road. After withstanding a 13-2 second half run by Mississippi State, the Wildcats took the game to overtime with 7-0 run of their own. Freshman sensation John Wall led Kentucky to an 81-75 overtime win by nearly pulling off a triple-double. The John Calipari led squad showed the same toughness on the road as the Jayhawks.

The losses by Syracuse and Villanova have opened the door for others to grab a number one seed in the coming weeks, but this is beginning to look like it could be a rematch of 2008 with Self and Calipari facing off in a coaching matchup again. Only this time it’s with Calipari at the helm of the Wildcats.

Other conference's looking to poach the Big 12

2010-02-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

What is it about Big 12 schools that make them so desirable to other conferences? For the second time in the past few months a Big 12 school has been mentioned as a primary target for a conference looking to expand.

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has announced that his conference is interested in expanding as their television contract expires in 2012. The first school being mentioned for a possible move is Colorado. The Buffs were asked to join back in 1994, but chose to stay with the then brand new Big 12.

In addition, Kevin Weiberg, former Big 12 Commissioner and the man who helped put together the Big Ten’s new TV network has just joined the Pac-10. Can you say shot across the bow?

Only a couple of months ago the Big 10 started talking expansion and Missouri hiked up their skirt to see how much interest they could attract. In fact, Missouri’s Governor, Jay Nixon came out in favor of the move while taking pot shots at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the process. Nebraska and Iowa State have also been mentioned as possible Big Ten candidates.

You could also expect the Pac-10 to send flowers Texas way to see what kind of interest they might receive from the Longhorns. What’s all this mean for the Big 12? Commissioner Don Beebe and his staff better get their act together and start figuring out how to make more money for the teams in the conference or they could be looking to plug some holes in the future. Their shortsightedness in making a deal with ESPN instead of creating their own network has proven to cost the league millions for each team.

If you’re a fan of the conferences eyeing who to pick off to further their expansion appetite’s, who would you want for your league?

Pain isn't as cool as it's made out to be

2010-02-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks have been a series of minor mishaps for me. First, I got up early one morning and was walking down the dark hall toward the kitchen while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and proceeded to walk straight into the linen closet door, which had somehow been left partially open.

No big deal really, except for the part where my right foot slammed into the door and apparently broke my little toe. Now anyone who’s broken a toe knows there’s not much reason to go to the doctor over it. Just ice it down and tape it to the next one. It was three times bigger than normal, black and blue and I could only wear certain shoes, but other than that, fine.

Then just as it got around to healing up and I could walk normal, I hurt my back shoveling the driveway from the latest snowstorm. It sucks getting old. So while my back was going through spasms and I let the drugs do their work, I’ve been pretty useless for about five days.

I know, you don’t care. I only bring this up because when it comes to our athletes we seem to be constantly amazed when they have to sit out a game for an ankle injury and can’t show enough toughness to make it through one lousy contest. Yet when we get hurt for the most ridiculous of reasons, we tell stories about it and our friends laugh at us.

Truth is, while most of us are fans because we didn’t have the athletic gifts that the men and women we cheer on do, the other big reason is that we don’t have near the tolerance for pain that they do. How well would you have played in the Super Bowl if you’d had a torn ankle ligament? Oh yeah, you weren’t good enough to play in the first place.

It really is amazing that Cal Ripken played in 2,632 straight games or that Brett Favre has started 287 in a row. I couldn’t bend down and tie a pair of shoes earlier this week and I hadn’t had to swing a bat or get up from being hit by a 350 pound lineman. It just goes to show that great athletes are a different breed. It doesn’t make them better people, they prove that every day. But it is why we love to watch them play.

NCAA has a heart made of greenbacks

2010-02-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last week, word leaked out that the NCAA wants to expand the basketball tournament field to 96. Why tamper with the golden goose? Why money of course.

The NCAA has a six billion dollar contract with CBS which gives the NCAA an opportunity to opt out of the deal before August 31st in hopes of making even more money. Nothing like riding on the backs of 18 to 22 year olds to make a living is there?

While not exactly sweat shop conditions, it is interesting that old men and women in the name of education have no problem tasting caviar and champagne thanks to others who can do what they can’t.

Those who see the field of 64 as three weeks of sporting perfection can’t fathom the tournament any other way than it is now. But once upon a time, it was just a sixteen team tournament, not that anybody but hard core basketball fans really cared back then.

A 96 team tourney wouldn’t be that hard to pull off. All it would mean is one more opening round of games while the top16 teams get a bye. Simple right? Yeah, but who really thinks there are 96 teams that fans want to see play in the tourney? How many sub .500 teams would find there way in? These wouldn’t be Cinderella’s, they’d be sacrificial lambs.

Would a 96 team tourney totally devalue the league conference tournaments, that are already play-in games to the big dance? Yes. Not to mention it would be a hit to the pocketbooks of the conference coffers. League tournaments can be huge moneymakers.

With a 96 team field the NCAA would make more money. The NCAA would be more powerful. The men and women who work there would probably end up with better paying jobs with better perks, but what about the players? Elite programs have it great already, but how is this going to help the small Division One programs and their players? And don’t give me the line they’d be able to look back one day and say, “I played in the Big Dance.”. Every school can say that now thanks to conference tournaments.

This is nothing but pure greed. It’s amazing the NCAA won’t get behind a football playoff system that could make them billions, but they’ll suck the blood out of the basketball tournament like a vampire on a drinking binge.

TV’s involved, so in the end it’ll probably happen. That doesn’t mean they won’t have ruined the best event in sports.

The party won't stop for another eight weeks in New Orleans

2010-02-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I was wrong, but hey it’s not the first time. The Saints played a near picture perfect game and now Mardi Gras has an early start in New Orleans.

Credit goes to Drew Brees for an almost flawless performance, Sean Payton for some gutsy play calling, particularly his decision to onside kick to open the second half. A tip of the cap goes to defensive coordinator Greg Williams and the rest of the New Orleans defense who gave up over 400 yards in total offense, but came up with the big play when they needed it late in the game.

Peyton Manning comes up short in his quest for a second title and his interception that turned the tide in favor of the Saints leaves some people doubting his credentials for quarterbacking immortality. They said the same thing about John Elway untilthe last two years of his career.

The Saints played like the riverboat gambler’s that once patrolled the Mississippi, playing like a team that had nothing to lose. That attitude that Sean Payton brought to his team paid off in their performance, no turnovers, only three penalties and a defensive touchdown.

Saints play-by-play announcer Jim Henderson told me this morning that you can’t begin to measure the impact this win will have on the entire Gulf Coast region. There is a waiting list of over 50,000 for season tickets and that was before last night’s win.

The Big Easy is back and the party is on.

Why the Colts will win

2010-02-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

We’re just hours away from kickoff so it’s finally time to make my selection. No need letting the cat out of the bag early. When the Colts and the Saints won their respective conference title games, Indianapolis quickly became the favorite for most people. That all changed when we learned about Dwight Freeney’s ankle injury.

In the two weeks since, all we’ve really learned about Freeney is he has a torn ligament and hasn’t practiced but will try and give it a go today. Whether he plays or not, his effectiveness has to be lessened and that is a point in the Saints favor. Unless the Colts find other ways to apply pressure on Drew Brees, they could be in for trouble.

That said, the odds are in Indy’s favor. Teams who are making a return trip to the Super Bowl hold a 19-4 advantage over squads making their first appearance. Having four Time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning on your side along with four different playmaking receivers improves the Colts odds greatly, even without a significant running attack.

The X factor could be Reggie Bush. Are we going to see the Reggie who dazzeled us all with his play against the Arizona Cardinals or will we see the Reggie that disappears into the woodwork and doesn’t make an impact on the game? No one knows for sure.

Then there’s the kicking game. Garrett Hartley won the NFC title game with his overtime field goal, but he’s still a second year player. Matt Stover is the most experienced kicker in the game and one of the most accurate in history.

New Orleans is a great story, but even with karma and voodoo on their side, I’m going with the odds. I’ll take Manning and the Colts. 31-27.

Blood is thicker than water for the Manning family

2010-02-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks he’s been the focus of attention as the Super Bowl draws near. Reporters from across the world have wanted to hear what he has to say about playing against the New Orleans Saints, the team he grew up as a part of. No, I’m not talking about Peyton Manning, I’m talking about his dad, Archie.

There’s no reason to feel sorry for Archie. He had a great NFL career for a young franchise in New Orleans, married the homecoming queen, is father to two sons who have Super Bowl Championship rings and is one of the faces of the city of New Olreans, but he’ll be in the tough position tomorrow, faced with loyalty to his son and the Colts and and loyalty to a city and region that he and his family love so much.

In fact his son, Cooper, who is a successful businessman in New Orleans is one of Saints Quarterback Drew Brees’ best friends. Their families hang out together. Their wives and Cooper’s mom workout together. You get the idea. Who do you choose to root for?

Well, blood is thicker than water,even the thick muddy water of the Mississippi delta as it spreads around New Orleans. Archie, Olivia, Cooper and Eli will all be pulling for the Colts. But even if things go bad for Peyton and his teammates tomorrow, you have a feeling the Manning family will still have a slight smile on their face, knowing that Peyton’s loss is the city of New Orleans gain and that can’t be a bad thing considering the pain and suffering New Orleans residents have face over the past five years.

All eyes on Freeney's ankle as Colts Defense prepares for Saints

2010-02-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

The biggest concern facing the Indianapolis Colts defense isn’t Drew Brees. It’s will Dwight Freeney be available Sunday and if so how effective can he be?

Freeney has been walking in the sand along the beach outside of the team’s hotel and says his injured left ankle is improving. It’s possible he’ll try to practice on Friday, but even if he doesn’t, don’t rule him out of Sunday’s Super Bowl. The bigger question is how effective can he be?

Freeney’s game relies on his speed and quickness. His ability to use his spin move against offensive lineman has to be significantly diminished no matter how much improvement there is between now and Sunday. You know he’ll go if he can and he’ll be taped tighter than Beyonce at the Grammy’s, but he won’t be at his best.

That means left end Robert Mathis will be faced with the challenge of carrying a bigger load as far as putting pressure on Brees is concerned. And even if Freeney plays Raheem Brock will see a lot of playing time spelling Freeney.

The Colts also have rookie cornerback Jerraud Powers battling a left foot injury, but he says he’ll be ready to go. Don’t be surprised to see Brees take his shots at Powers on the opening couple of series of the game. A rookie with an foot injury in a big game is just too inviting of a target.

What does the Indy defense need most to help their team beat New Orleans? How about an early 10 pt. lead from Peyton Manning and the offense. If they can play with a lead, they get to play with a more aggressive style and the absence or diminished capabilities of Freeney will mean less.

Make no mistake, with a healthy Freeney the Colts are a much bigger favorite to take home their second Super Bowl title. The pressure now falls on the offense to come up big and the defense to hold it’s own against the Saints.

Colts line is unheralded but Manning knows their value

2010-02-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

When the Super Bowl kicks off late Sunday afternoon in Miami, everyone is expecting a lot of offensive fireworks from both teams. The Saints come into the game with the highest scoring offense in the league and the Colts enter the contest with Peyton Manning at the helm. ‘Nuff said.

While the four time MVP is lauded for his ability to read defenses, make pinpoint accurate throws and perform at his best when the game is on the line, he couldn’t do all those things without the stellar play of his offensive line.

The Colts front five, featuring Pro Bowl Center Jeff Saturday, guards Ryan Lilja and Kyle DeVan along with tackles Ryan Diem and Charlie Johnson have provided Manning with protection few NFL quarterbacks are afforded. They’ve allowed just 10 sacks all season and four in the playoffs.

This is not a monster sized wall of human flesh, but rather a group of athletic quick footed pit bulls who battle with their opponents to give Manning that extra fraction of a second to find an open receiver downfield. And in the NFL, that extra fraction can be the difference between the Super Bowl and being 6-10.

The line has allowed Manning and his receiver corps of Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Pierre Garcon, and Austin Collie to take center stage while they do the dirty work that no one sees but is indispensable. Garcon has become a big play receiver after just four catches in his rookie year a season ago and Collie stepped in as a rookie with 60 receptions and 11 more in two playoff games. Wayne and Clark are both 100 catch receivers this season. That’s a lethal combination.

There may not be much of a running game in the Colts attack, but only three times this season has Joseph Addai even carried the ball 20 times. Combine his pass receiving and he averages 4.3 yards per touch. Good enough for Indy.

The Saints are a defense built on speed and blitzing. Defensive coordinator Greg Williams has publicly stated he intends to have his players put the hurt on Manning and pressure bad throws. The Jets tried the same strategy and look where it got them.

A final note about the Colts offensive line, proving as well as they’ve drafted over the years, building your team isn’t all about the draft. Three of the starters were undrafted, the other two were fourth and sixth round selections. You think Peyton Manning will care as he lines up behind center on Sunday?

Draft success key to Colts winning ways

2010-02-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

This Super Bowl is the first time since 1993 that both top seeded teams from their respective conferences have made it to the Big Game, but for the Indianapolis Colts having a shot at getting there has been an almost yearly occurrence ever since Bill Polian took over as the team’s General Manager in 1998.

Step back two more years to 1996 and you can begin to understand where much of the Colts success comes from. Unlike most NFL teams, they rarely miss when it comes to selecting first round draft talent. Now to be successful, you have to be able to hit on more than just your first pick each year, but making the most of your top choice is a key indicator of how you’ll do in the rest of the draft.

Beginning in ’96, the Colts drafted Marvin Harrison, in ’97 it was Tarik Glenn, then it was Peyton Manning in Polian’s first year. Next it was Edgerrin James, then Rob Morris. In 2001 through 2003 the Colts hit home runs with Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney and Dallas Clark in succession. In ’04 it was Bob Sanders followed by Marlin Jackson.

Joseph Addai came along in 2006 and Anthony Gonzalez in 2007. Mike Pollack was drafted in ’08 and Donald Brown in ’09. While Brown hasn’t made a big contribution this year, third round pick Jerraud Powers has been a starter at cornerback most of the season. We should also point out that Sanders and Pollak were actually second round picks, but were the teams first choice that year.

In the last fourteen seasons, the Colts have drafted 10 players with their top pick who you could say have made significant impact on their team. With Brown and even the injured Gonzalez it’s too early to judge what they’ll do long haul. Oh yeah, they’ve also drafted possibly the best quarterback in NFL history. That’s a pretty good percentage. Throw in finds such as Pierre Garcon with their 4th pick in the sixth round of 2008 and you can see why they’re consistently a threat to win the Super Bowl every year.

You want your team to go to the Super Bowl? Hope they find a top caliber quarterback and learn how to consistently score with their top draft choices. That’s been the Colts secret.

Prop bets of all kinds available

2010-02-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

There are prop bets of all kinds available for the Super Bowl but the most unique bet for this one may be the over/under on how manny times Archie Manning appears on camera during the game broadcast.

The original figure was two and a half times based on the same bet that was offered last year by Bodog.com on Brenda Warner. But this year the heavy betting has been on the over, so the number has risen to four.

The payoff is $10 for every $16 bet for the over and $10 for every $13 bet on the under. This way Bodog gets more two-way action.

Haley putting together championship staff

2010-02-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

While two teams are getting ready for this weekend’s Super Bowl the rest of the NFL is trying to figure out how to get there next season. The Chiefs aren’t adding any players at the moment, but they are adding coaches right and left.

This week they announced the addition of former Chief and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Thomas as defensive back coach and mentor to assistant Ronnie Bradford. With three Super Bowl rings to his credit and experience as interim head coach of the Falcons, not to mention his years under Joe Gibbs at Washington, Thomas brings more championship pedigree to Todd Haley’s staff.

Now if they can only add players of this caliber.

Bernie Parmalee comes in and takes over the tight ends after assisting Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Pat Perles is now the offensive line coach and Anthony Pleasant has been promoted to defensive line coach, a job that comes with its share of pressure considering all the money the Chiefs have sunk into the the D-line.

Haley has repeatedly stated getting his coaching staff lined up would be a two year process. If so, he’s done a pretty darn good job, with a lot of coaches coming from the Bill Parcells coaching tree. Now all these new coaches get to spend their off season figuring out what they’ve got on the roster and how they can get the most out of them.

Last season there was criticism of Haley that his ego was getting in the way of his ability to attract good coaches. The staff that has now been put together certainly leads you to believe that he’s comfortable with surrounding himself with smart people who are more accomplished than he is.

Haley said this process has been about getting the best coaching minds with the most experience together so that they can get the most out of their players and produce a championship team. Step one may have been accomplished. It just took a full season to get there.

Caldwell stays calm while following Dungy's path

2010-02-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Jim Caldwell’s rise to head coach of the Colts came slowly and quietly. After serving as head coach at Wake Forest from 1993 to 2000 with a very unremarkable record of 26-63 he joined up with Tony Dungy in his final year in Tampa as quarterback coach where Brad Johnson had a record setting year at QB.

When Dungy made the move to Indianapolis, Caldwell tagged along and helped guide Peyton Manning and the Colts offense. While the face of the offense as far as coaching was concerned, has been Tom Moore for the past 12 seasons, Caldwell, quietly worked behind the scenes with Manning and the receiving corps.

While it was no real surprise that he was named to replace Dungy when the veteran coach decided to retire after last season, a glance at his only other head coaching stint back at Wake Forest had a lot of people wondering just what Jim Irsay was thinking when he made the announcement last January 21st.

But Caldwell has been just what he’s always been, a quiet worker who doesn’t seek the limelight. He’s been decisive, cutting lose defensive coordinator Ron Meeks and replacing him with Larry Coyer and a more aggressive style. Taking the heat for pulling players against the Jets when his team was 14-0, saying the goal is to win the Super Bowl and not go unbeaten.

As a coach, he’s not an observer on a high tower, he’s a guy who talks to his players individually and gets to know them. By doing so he says he has a better understanding of what they can and can’t do for their team at any particular time. It’s probably why he stepped off the gas against the Jets, he felt his team needed some rest for the stretch run.

And now they’re in Miami with a chance at another Super Bowl title in his rookie season. Others may be surprised, but I think Caldwell is looking around and saying to himself, this is where I expected to be.

Unbeaten basketball seasons go the way of the dinosaur

2010-01-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this season after spending nearly two months atop the national polls, Kansas was toppled by Tennessee for their first loss of the season. At the time, Jayhawk coach Bill Self made the statement that anybody who thought they were going to go undefeated, was kidding themselves.

One week after taking over the top spot, unbeaten Texas had two losses under there belt and had turned the number one position over to Kentucky and their new head coach John Calipari. Kentucky was 19-0 for the first time since the 1960’s and a day after celebrating their return to the top of the polls, the Wildcats were watching South Carolina fans storm the court following an upset win.

And suddenly there were no more undefeated teams. The days of a major college team going unbeaten and winning the title seem to be long gone. Yes, St. Joe’s finished the regular season with a perfect record six years ago, but they weren’t playing in a major conference and they didn’t make it through their own conference tournament unbeaten.

Today there are just too many good players at too many schools. Example, the Gamecocks may have beaten Kentucky, but they’ve also lost to Wofford. With so many of the power conference teams unable to keep top flight upperclassmen from moving on to the NBA, coaches are too often left with teams that don’t have the experience to battle through a full season unbeaten.

When you’ve got a senior laden lineup, they can often times find ways to battle through a night when they should have lost and pull out a close win instead. Problem is, coaches don’t have that anymore. Will we ever see another unbeaten season? It’s unlikely given today’s circumstances.

How Social Media Can Power Your Business

2010-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with sports, but I find it extremely interesting. While Twitter itself hasn't really figured out how it will make money other than when it sells out to someone, businesses are finding ways in this economy to use Twitter to create a business platform built solely from Twitter. How Social Media Can Power Your Business – Kitchen Table Talks

Posted using ShareThis

Coaching matchup is one to watch at the Super Bowl

2010-01-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Now that New Orleans has had a couple of days to celebrate and can now start focusing on getting their bloodshot eyes cleared up and tracking down their wallets and other personal belongings lost somewhere along Bourbon Street, the real preparation by the Saints begins for their Super Bowl matchup with the Colts.

The elation of the fans was nearly matched by the players, many who said they never went to bed Sunday night. Most could relate to the words of Saints play-by-play man Jim Henderson, who as Garret Hartley’s game winning field goal went through the uprights, exclaimed, “Pigs have flown and Hell has frozen over.”

First impression is that fans and players are just happy to get to the Super Bowl and the game itself will be anticlimactic. While the players will tell you otherwise, their admission to being out partying all night after winning the NFC Championship gives credence to the thought that they won’t be mentally ready for the game even though it’s still a week and a half away.

While this matchup features the two teams with the best records from the regular season and two of the best quarterbacks in the game, the matchup I’m very interested in watching is the two first time Super Bowl coaches, Jim Caldwell of the Colts and Sean Payton of the Saints.

Caldwell is of course the first year head coach in Indy and his quiet demeanor draws comparisons to Tony Dungy. Last week when the Jets jumped to a 11pt lead over the Colts, he didn’t lose his cool. Of course he’s got Peyton Manning as his QB.

Sean Payton on the other hand nearly blew the game with the Vikings by taking his high powered offense and turning ultra conservative in the final minutes when his team had taken a 28-21 lead. Mistakes and poor decisions by Minnesota are the only reason the Saints had a chance to win in overtime.

Coaching decisions at critical junctures of the Super Bowl may prove as interesting to watch as the plays on the field.

Martin proving to be great hire for K-State

2010-01-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

When Kansas State hired basketball coach Frank Martin following the one and done season of Bob Huggins, school officials and fans really had little clue what they were getting other than a man known as a good recruiter with a fiery temper.

Three years in and they know they like what they’ve got. Monday night Martin and his Wildcats knocked off number one ranked Texas on K-State’s home court and served notice that they are a team to contend with for the Big 12 title and a trip to the Final Four.

The amazing thing about the 71-62 victory over the Longhorns was that the Wildcats didn’t really play that well. Outstanding guard tandem Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen were a combined 4 of 24 from the field but were bailed out by the stellar play on the inside of UConn transfer Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, who had 17 and 20 respectively.

After a first half where the Wildcats overpowered Texas big front line, beat them up defensively and raced to a 10 point lead, they worked to blow it all in the opening minutes of the second half. But Martin stayed calm and his team weathered the storm even though they did fall behind with just under 12 minutes to play.

Just when it appeared K-State might fold, it was the Longhorns who cracked under the pressure. While the Cats spent much of the second half taking questionable shots and mishandling the ball, they kept hustling on defense and played hard. Most coaches will tell you, that will over overcome a lot of problems.

In the end, Martin’s club recorded possibly the biggest win in school history and assured his club of moving up from the 10th spot in the national rankings. Lofty territory for a school who has struggled to return to relevancy after years in the basketball wilderness. Credit Martin for the basketball version of the Miracle in Manhattan. Who knows where they’ll go from here.