SB Nation User Blog: bmaxw

Good Advice for Mr. Potts from MotoGP

bmaxw — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:50:18 -0000

I love MOTO GP which is to ultimate form motorcycle road racing

I convert dollars into euros to pay for online access, I stay up until 3am to watch live online broadcast in languages I do not understand, I bablefish online magazines to get decent coverage of races..... you get the picture.

I found this quote from a Spanish team manager who specializes in rejuvenating the careers of riders who are having competitive issues. This is paraphrased from a Italian translation.

"You rode motorcycles because it was fun, and you were fast. Now it is difficult for you because MotoGP is serious business. We will give you a bike to ride at the track, and you can ride as you like until it is fun again.

Then you will also be fast! You will see!"

If I was to sum up the biggest difference between Potts and Sticks It would be that Sticks seemed to be having more fun playing the game. Lets hope Mr Potts learns how to have fun playing the game again.

By the way Texas' own Colin Edwards finished the MotoGP season this past week end Fifth over all.

He was 3 /10 of a second off first place pace on average for the season! And ya'll think D1 football is competitive.

via www.motorcycle-usa.com

Why you Boo the players of your own team

bmaxw — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:32:57 -0000

From Ernest Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon" chapter two..

"..Domingo Hernandorena, a short, thick-ankled, graceless Basque with a pale face who looked nervous and incompletely fed in a cheap rented suit...."

"Hernandorena could not control the nervousness of his feet. He wanted to stand quietly and play the bull with the cape with a slow movement of his arms, but when he tried to stand still as the bull charged his feet jumped away in short, nervous jerks. His feet were obviously not under his personal control and his effort to be statuesque while his feet jittered him away out of danger was very funny to the crowd. It was funny to them because many of them knew that was how their own feet would behave if they saw the horns coming toward them, and as always, they resented any one else being in there in the ring, making money, who had the same physical defects which barred them, the spectators, from that supposedly highly paid way of making a living."

We see their failings on the field as an affront to our since of self, I could wrap up that tackle, I could read that defense, I could kick that ball, and then reality sets in and we realize that no we could not. So rather than admit that, we boo to punish the player for being too much like us.

I really have no problem booing professional athletes who fail to give at least their best effort.

I did not understand Green Bay fans booing Brett Farve, after all it was the Packers who divorced him for a younger QB.

I do not understand booing a collage player who is doing his best, but failing due to a lack of experience or simply being physically out matched. Booing in this instance is arrogance at its worst.

Adversity and Potts / Keenum

bmaxw — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:04:35 -0000

The A&M game made me sit back and think about the process of going from HS football to D-1

It has been hard for me understand the struggles that Taylor has had this year, he was a stellar QB on a great Abilene High Football team. I then came to this realization; the AHS team was one of the top 4 teams in Texas 5A football while Taylor was leading the team. He had an OL that averaged 275 and were multiyear starters. AHS also had a very good D. AHS is storied program with a rich history. You will note that being an elite 5A program limits their ability to play quality opponents during predistrict games.

2004
	Season (12-1) District (5-0) Coach: Steve Warren
ABI		OPP
56	Lubbock Monterey	0
59	San Angelo Central	6
63	Brownwood	14
44	Belton	0
19	Shreveport (LA) Evangel	14
59	Odessa*	14
52	Midland*	14
35	Odessa Permian*	7
35	Abilene Cooper*	14
20	Midland Lee*	17
45	North Crowley - Bi District 5A-II	21
35	EP Montwood - Area 5A-II	18
30	Southlake Carroll - Regional 5A-II	35
552	TOTALS	174

	2005
	Season (12-1) District (5-0) Coach: Steve Warren
ABI		OPP
37	Lubbock Monterey	14
48	San Angelo Central	7
17	Brownwood	15
24	Belton	17
33	Kansas City (MO) Rockhurst	14
28	Odessa*	7
31	Midland*	20
45	Odessa Permian*	21
40	Abilene Cooper*	0
49	Midland Lee*	27
49	Weatherford - Bi-District 5A-II	14
28	Lub Monterey - Area 5A-II	21
0	Southlake Carroll - Reg 5A-II	52
430	TOTALS	229

You can see that he faced very little adversity until running into Southlake Carroll. There is no doubt that Taylor has the physical gifts and the intelligence to be a D-1 QB but his HS experience did not give him the chance to develop the mental skills needed to make something out of a bad situation.

Case Keenum Played at 3A Abilene Wylie. Once again a storied program that is always a playoff contender. The difference here is that Wylie almost always plays 4A schools in predistrict, if not, then it is a 3A school of equal or better talent. They never schedule an opponent from 2A . They will face Adversity and some times lose. The year that Case lead Wylie to a state championship they lost to an outstanding Decatur team in predistrict and then beat them in the playoffs. At Houston Case has been forced to face adversity from the start, high levels of competition with in the program, coaching changes, ect....

Adversity must be experience to be over come, and having the confidence to overcome it on a regular basis can only come from repeated failure.

"Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure" Soichiro Honda.

Unfortunately for Taylor this year is his time to face adversity and the unforgiving nature of D1 will not allow a long learning curve. None of us know if he has the mental skills to read Ds faster and see where openings are about to happen instead of seeing what is happening right now. I would not bet against him.
This also brings into question the way D1 teams recruit. Case was over looked due to his size and the fact that he played 3A. I have no doubt that of the three Taylor County D1 QB's (Potts, McCoy, Keenum) Keenum is the best. Texas's struggles on offence this year are largely rooted in McCoy's inability to deal with pressure well.
So what qualities should be most valued in a D1 QB?
Does a Tech QB need different talents than QBs at other programs?
Does a QB of equal physical talent but who played at a less successful program have a advantage?

Season Review

bmaxw — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:30:46 -0000

Since we have reached the halfway mark in the season I decided to give each team a movie rating. Each team will be rated by the movie or TV show that best exemplifies where they are at this point. You guys are better at stats and figures than I will ever be so this is a different perspective.

In no piticular order

The University of Texas ---- The Hallmark Channel---

The Hallmark channel can take the Holocaust, the Donner Party, the Massacre at Wounded Knee, ect.... Film it with beautiful people and stunning cinematography turning them into a charming love storys. Mack and his Tea sipper followers can do the same with any team they field. The up side is if Colt fails to make the NFL he has a long career as a Christian romance novel cover model waiting.

Baylor ---Joel Osteen ---

Friends no matter how bad it gets just flash those pearly whites and know that God has a plan for the Battli'n Baptist. Hopefully it includes some Mean Methodist.

Oklahoma --- Kiss Me Deadly----

The definitive, apocalyptic, nihilistic, science fiction film noir. Ralph Meeker plays the baddest ass Mike Hammer ever. He gets his butt kicked a lot but when he puts the beat down on people it is so sever they won't let you see it. Cool guy, cool dames, cool cars, but in the end he only gets to survive.

Oklahoma State --- The Andy Griffith Show----

Andy once said, "Why is it that I always keep catching my pants with my own pitch fork". Mayberry a nice place to visit, but would you really want to put up with Barney?

Texas A&M ---The Titanic ----

I really hated this movie, I was never so glad to see 1500 people die. The only people in the movie that had any redeeming value were the Band members that played until they slid into the Atlantic. The Jones is that big Ice Berg waiting in the dark, but I will still respect the fighting Aggie Band.

Kansas ---Star Wars VI Return of the Jedi---

Mangino the hut and his pal Boba Fet Reesing think they have the upper hand in the north but I think a scantly clad Huskerettt will choke the life out of them.

Kansas State ---The Wizard of Oz ---

There's no place like home.....Yes Bill Snyder made it back home, but he found everything was in black and white and he is surrounded by flying monkeys.

Colorado --- The Big Lebowski ----

Dude, lot of pot, lots of beer, bouncing topless chicks, and Slackers.

Lots and Lots of Slackers.

Missouri ----The Great Escape ----

Lots of action, great plans, and macho men. In the end, not even Steve McQueen's motorcycle can keep him out of the cooler.

At least he didn't get shot.

Iowa State ----Survivor----

I have never watched this show and never will, most likely for the same reasons Iowa is struggling.

Nebraska ----Casino Royale----

Is 007 really back? Could it be that Daniel Craig has found the magic that Sean Connery used to make the franchise? The question? Is Bo the kind of guy who cares if his martini is shaken or stirred.

Texas Tech ----Wild at Heart-----

I have no doubt that David Lynch and Mike Leach were fraternal twins separated at birth by a wise old midwife. Wild at heart is kind of sexy but filled with carnage, bizarre, almost supernatural events,off-kilter violence, Elvis songs and some strange people. Sounds like our year so far. In the end despite it all Sailor still loves Lula just like we still love Tech.

The Elf in Saskatchewan

bmaxw — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:28:32 -0000

Eric Morris (No. 19): The 5-foot-8, 174-pounder is easy to miss in a crowd, but much more conspicuous one-on-one. He made one of Wednesday's best moves, eluding 197-pound defensive back/linebacker Jerron Wishom on a post-corner-post route. At Texas Tech, Morris was a frequent collaborator with star quarterback Graham Harrell, who is on the Roughriders' negotiation list. The undrafted Harrell was fourth in Heisman Trophy voting last season. He had a tryout with the Cleveland Browns in early May.

I found that at the Regina Leader-Post.

Regina is the home town Saskatchewan Roughriders, the team has been around since 1910, starting out as a rugby club.

Found these two comments at riderfans.com

Day 1

Morris- Quick but doesn't have top end speed. Catches the ball well and runs well after the catch. Need more time with this guy.

Day 2

Morris had a good day. Ran much better routes and really seems to have gotten a feel for the space of our field. Sat down a lot in coverage today which seems to be how they'll use him if he does make the team. A possession guy with quickness after the catch is fine by me.

The Elf kind of grows on you like that. What do you bet that by day three this guy will love the Elf?

They are also in need of a punt returner

The pay scale in the CFL starts at 40K for a rookie, goes up to 70K in your second year. Star players can make over 100k

This posting on the Roughriders official site is a very interesting read. I gather from it that the CFL player union is not nearly as strong as the NFL's. It also seems that players from the USA are not payed as much Canadian citizens.

They really seem to love their Roughriders, I have no boubt they will love The Elf.

Mr Harrell in the UFL?

bmaxw — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:23:25 -0000

Not much info here but it sounds interesting.

I searched the TV stations web site but did not come up with any thing.

http://uflaccess.com/uflaccess/rex-grossman-graham-harrell-to-the-ufl/

I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.

A man's only as old as the woman he feels.

Wives are people who feel they don't dance enough

and last but not least

Women should be obscene and not heard
Groucho Marx

Mississipi VS. LSU & UA

bmaxw — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:15:12 -0000

CBSCHD will be airing two Ole Miss football games this week.

Mississippi vs.LSU starting at 5:00pm on Thursday the 18th followed by the Miss. vs Alabama game at 8:00. If your like me and did not see Ole Miss play any this year, here is your chance. The UA game will show again at midnight.

I have Direct TV and CBSHD is channel 613. I tried to find a web link for CBSCHD, but came up with nothing.