SBNation.com User Blog: chirop1

Retiring Jerseys? For whom and under what circumstance?

chirop1 — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:52:44 -0000

In today's Quickies, Tru links a poll asking if Anthony Davis should have his jersey retired.

It raises a great question as to who should have their jersey retired at Kentucky and under what circumstance. I remember a FanShot several month ago regarding retiring Darius Miller's jersey and indeed, one of the first posts in the comments in the Quickies advocated the retirement for Miller.

Clearly, retiring jerseys or numbers is a very emotional question. So for the purposes of this post, I'm simply going to try to look at it from an objective standpoint.

According to UK Athletics, the last retired "jersey" was Rick Pitino. (I don't know what they consider Bill Keightley's retirement if it isn't listed with Pitino.) The last retired player jersey was Jamal Mashburn. Considering that we have won three championships and been to five Final Fours since the Monster Mash terrorized the hardwood of Rupp... that seems like a humongous gap to me.

There is currently no established criteria that I have been unable to find for retiring jerseys or numbers at UK. Therefore, I borrowed some objective criteria from our closest parallel in college basketball... the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can find the criteria here.

So, since the Mashburn was drafted by the Mavericks... what UK players qualify under the UNC standards for jersey retirement ("honored" as they call it) and what player qualifies to have his number never worn at Kentucky again?!!?

Most Valuable Player of a National Championship winning team: Delk 1996. Sheppard 1998. Davis 2012.

SEC Player of the year: Delk 1996. Mercer 1997. Prince 2001. Bogans 2003. Wall 2010. Davis 2012.

First or Second Team All American: Delk 1996 (AP 2nd). Mercer 1997 (AP 1st). Padgett 1999 (Wooden Award 1st) Prince 2002 (NABC 2nd), 2001 (AP 2nd). Bogans 2003 (NABC 2nd team). Meeks 2009 (AP 2nd team). Cousins 2010 (AP 1st). Wall 2010 (AP 1st). Davis 2012 (AP 1st). MKG 2012 (Sporting News 2nd).

NCAA Tournament MOP: Davis 2012.

Olympic Gold Medalist: Davis 2012. Prince 2008.

National Player of the Year: Davis 2012. And that’s it… by Chapel Hill standards, no one ever wears his number for the Blue and White again.

As I say, according to my best Google-Fu; Kentucky does not have established criteria for honoring jerseys or retiring numbers. So I stole the criteria of the closest comparison we have in college basketball; looking over those benchmarks I see no possible reason to exclude Anthony Davis and I see quite a gap in other players that deserve to be honored as well.

Considering how in touch Cal is with the history of the program and the PR aspects of things like this… I’m surprised that he hasn’t started work on this yet.

In today's Quickies, Tru links a poll asking if Anthony Davis should have his jersey retired.

Clearly, retiring jerseys or numbers is a very emotional question. So for the purposes of this post, I'm simply going to try to look at it from an objective standpoint.

Most Valuable Player of a National Championship winning team: Delk 1996. Sheppard 1998. Davis 2012.

SEC Player of the year: Delk 1996. Mercer 1997. Prince 2001. Bogans 2003. Wall 2010. Davis 2012.

NCAA Tournament MOP: Davis 2012.

Olympic Gold Medalist: Davis 2012. Prince 2008.

National Player of the Year: Davis 2012. And that’s it… by Chapel Hill standards, no one ever wears his number for the Blue and White again.

Considering how in touch Cal is with the history of the program and the PR aspects of things like this… I’m surprised that he hasn’t started work on this yet.

On this rock I will build my house: Offense or defense as a foundation for the future?

chirop1 — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:10:44 -0000

I'll readily admit that I plagiarized that title from Jesus. But just as Jesus had to select a rock solid foundation for the building of his church, so too must Mitch Barnhart select a coach upon which to build the program for the future. Who he selects will say volumes about his philosophy and what is most important in his view for the University of Kentucky. Will he go for an offensive guru (as seems to be the most likely based on the reports out there of who he has contacted) or a defensive stalwart?

We all know the old adage, "defense wins championships." And in today's Quickies, Tru links a discussion with Howard Schnellenberger in which the crusty old coach opines that you either go big or go home and if you aren't shooting for a championship, you're doing it all wrong. With all due respect to the former UK player and UofL coach, there's aspirations... and there's reality. Our first question needs to be, what can Kentucky realistically shoot for? I would argue that a championship in the SEC is currently an unattainable goal in the climate of the slog of slogs that is the SEC schedule. (Soon to be more daunting if the league makes a move to a nine game schedule.)

So if we can agree that a championship is not a reasonable short term goal, then what should our goal be? I would argue that a general attitude shift in the program and in the fanbase is the most important immediate order of business. If we decide that is the most appropriate approach, then what becomes the best way to achieve that?

I would argue that while defense wins championships, offense puts butts in the seats. A gimmick offense would raise the excitement level around Commonwealth stadium. "But chirop," you might say, "Gimmicks don't work in the SEC." Tell that to Urban Meyer who built his entire offense around the philosophy of putting the ball on the far hash mark and then get it to a converted track star in wide open space.

As I said above, Kentucky does not now nor will they in the immediate future have the talent to compete in the SEC on level footing. There's many reasons for that, but we don't need to get into them in depth. What Kentucky needs is excitement from the fanbase to build on. Spread options like Florida. Air Raids like TTU. Tempo like Oregon. Pick your flavor of the week. Any one of them would get fans into the stands.

Additionally, watch the match-up with Bama and Oregon in a couple months (if we're lucky enough to get it.) I fully believe Bama will win that game... and they should, they'll be putting at least 15 guys on the defensive side of the ball into the NFL over the next three years. But Oregon who realistically only has two or three guys on offense who will play in the league will give them fits along the way.

That's the sort of gambling shot that Kentucky will need to take. Get excitement in there. Make it sexy to play in Lexington in a sport other than basketball. Get athletes who want to show their stuff. If you sustain it long enough, then you can start to attract some defensive depth and start to build for the future.

In short, the best way to build for the future is to begin with an attitude change that begins on offense and then build toward a higher profile that will allow you to compete on a more level footing with the big boys in the SEC.

You heard that Mitch: Go find us a Mad Scientist on offense!

The Upcoming Hiring Search: Who's on deck?

chirop1 — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:13:36 -0000

Whether you felt this would be Joker's last season before the year started (like me), after the WKU debacle, or after God took pity on us in Fayetteville and instituted his own version of the Mercy Rule; the fact of the matter is, there will be a coaching search in progress in Lexington this Fall. So, in the interest of familiarizing ourselves with a few of the names that will pop up; I thought I'd gather some stats and other relevant info on a few of the names that I see in the threads most often. And provide my completely unsubstantiated by fact opinion on the likelihood of landing the coach.

This is obviously not a comprehensive list (I think Hoboat has a list that's almost 100 names long at this point!) but i thought it would be a good starting point with ten names. We can add to it as more names are suggested.

Lets start with some "Big Names."

Candidate One

The Coach Who SHALL NOT Be Named. Every discussion must include this coach. We've seen it hashed and rehashed over and over in the threads. So I'll just give you the facts.

Record: University of Louisville 41-9 cumulating in a BCS Bowl win over four years.
University of Arkansas 34-17 cumulating in number 5 national ranking.
His pro record was 3-10 in an abbreviated season with the Atlanta Falcons.

Status: Available

Discussion: From a pure numbers perspective, he is the best coaching candidate available with a relevant comparable record to our situation. However, the negetives at the very least nearly equal the positives from a personal standpoint which has been discussed once or twice here. Additionally, potential openings at Tennessee and Auburn are more likely to draw his interest.

{Whew! Glad that's out of the way!}

Candidate Two
Phil Fulmer

Record: Tennessee 152-52 2 SEC titles and 1 National title. (And a nice cameo in the movie The Blind Side.)

Status: Available. Tennesse fans essentially had lost faith in Fulmer in the last few years of his tenure. They have since learned that the grass is not always greener.

Discussion: Phil Fulmer fits the criteria that many fans seem to want. he is a "big name," is "instantly recognizable," and "has won in the SEC." At 62 years of age, he's no spring chicken but is the same age as Rich Brooks when we hired him. Would he take the job? I have not the faintest clue.

Candidate Three
Jim Tressel (because the name keeps coming up)

Record: Youngstown State 153-57-2 With 4 I-AA National Titles
Ohio State 94-22 With 6 Big Ten titles and 1 BCS Title

Status: Radioactive, but available.

Discussion: Jim Tressel was slapped with a Show Cause penalty by the NCAA as a result of the free tattoos cover-up at tOSU. A school who hires him will be subjected to significant NCAA scrutiny. It won't happen.

Candidate Four
Jon Gruden

Record: 95-81 in 11 NFL seasons with the Raiders and Buccaneers.

Status: Earning $4.3 million/year to sit in a cushy chair and talk football on 17 Monday nights out of the entire year.

Discussion: Gruden's only college coaching background topped out as a Wide Receivers coach at the University of Pittsburgh and his only tie to the SEC was as a graduate assistant at Tennessee. I see nothing in his background that makes me believe that he would be interested in a college job at all, much less a team with no tradition like Kentucky.

Candidate Five
Mike Leach

Record: Texas Tech 84-43
Washington State 2-4 (Current season)

Status: Currently in his first season as Washington State head coach.

Discussion: The offensive coordinator for the vaunted Air Raid attacks of the halcyon days of the Hal Mumme administration at Kentucky. He has somewhat of an oddball reputation, but the biggest hurdle to overcome is the fact that he is in his first year on the job in Pullman. Were he 3-4 years in, the opporunity to come back to where he first made a name for himself could be quite alluring.

Candidate Six
Frank Solich

Record: Nebraska 58-19 with one national title game appearance
Ohio 57-40 in eight seasons

Status: Head coach at Ohio University currently 7-0

Discussion: This is an intriguing pick. He is 68 years old (the same age as Rich Brooks when he retired) so he would not be a longterm solution by any means. He has a strong background with several successful NFL players. He did an admirable job of carrying on after Tom Osborne retired, and much like Tennessee above... Nebraska fans learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. He has built a strong program at Ohio, and frankly its a good thing we had Kent State on our schedule this year instead of the Bobcats!!! Would he take the job in Lexington? I don't know. Does he have the qualifications? Yes. Would he excite the fanbase? I don't know.

The "Up and Comers"
These can come in many flavors. The headcoach at a small school and the OC at a big school.

Candidate Seven
Sonny Dykes

Who is he: Former Kentucky graduate assistant and Tight Ends coach under Hal Mumme with later experience under Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach. Currently head coach of Louisiana Tech.

Record: LaTech 18-13 (Currently 5-1, lost Poinsetta Bowl last year)

Status: Currently employed as noted.

Discussion: Out of all the "up and comers" that get mentioned, this is obviously one that gets the most talk for many reasons. He harkens back to an exciting time in Kentucky football. His school poked into the top 25 only to fall out after losing a heartbreaker to SEC newcomer Texas A&M this weekend 59-57. His team features wins over BCS schools Illinois and Virginia this year. Would he take the job? I have to think so.

Candidate Eight
Kirby Smart

Who is he: Defensive Assistant Coach for Saban's juggernaut in Tuscaloosa.

Record: No relevant head coaching experience.

Status: AC.

Discussion: Another hot commodity in the coaching circles. Smart won the 2009 Broyles Award for the nation's best assistant coach. Alabama is truly a defensive factory for professional football players and he is a major factor in that. Smart considered a move to take the same job at his alma mater Georgia in 2010, but the Bama Board of Trustees voted to double his salary and make him the highest paid Saban assistant. Certainly Smart has all the tools that we would want at UK. Would he take the job? IMHO, Unfortunately not.

Candidate Nine
Willie Taggart

Who is he: WKU head coach who's upset win over Kentucky started this whole avalanche.

Record: 14-16 in three years on the Hilltop after a tough move up a class to FBS. Currently 5-1 with the only loss against the Alabama Juggernaut (and looked better against them than SEC newcomer Missouri)

Current Status: Employed at his alma mater

Discussion: Willie Taggart was a former quarterback in Bowling Green who later coached on Jack Harbaugh's staff during their D1-AA championship year. He later used his Harbaugh connections to land a job at Stanford under current San Francisco 49ers headcoach Jim Harbaugh. His teams at Western feature the same innovative running style, efficient passing offense, and hard-nosed defense that Harbaugh made famous at Stanford and later in the pros. Would he leave Western to coach in Lexington? I have no idea.

Candidate Ten
Garrick McGee

Who is he: UAB head coach. Former offensive coordinator under The Coach Who SHALL NOT Be Named.

Record: 1-5 First year at UAB

Status: Currently employed as noted.

Discussion: Obviously struggling in his first year at UAB. McGee had a strong reputation as a major part of the high flying offenses at Arkansas in recent years. Would he take the job? Dunno.

Its okay son... the Niners sucked when I was born too. Two year update.

chirop1 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:04:11 -0000

I was looking over my SB Nation profile the other day and came across this Fan Post of mine from October 12, 2010:

Its okay son... the Niners sucked when I was born too.

I had just finished watching our team crap the bed in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football and he had been very upset by halftime.

I was looking over my SB Nation profile the other day and came across this Fan Post of mine from October 12, 2010: Its okay son... the Niners sucked when I was born too. I had just finished watching our team crap the bed in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football and he had been very upset by halftime.

via i154.photobucket.com

Comments in that first thread would turn out to be somewhat prophetic:

It looks like he's saying “Good grief Dad, not another 1st down Gore run up the middle!” by riderless on Oct 13, 2010 1:03 PM EDT reply actions

Funny... as much as things have changed, that's still our offense! LOL

Haha That’s awesome. But who is going to be the Bill Walsh in today’s era? by Drew Kerr on Oct 14, 2010 3:25 AM EDT reply actions

Turns out the answer was another Stanford coach...

Lott – Mays Rice- Crabs Montana- we need one by manraj7 on Oct 14, 2010 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions

So the Mays thing hasn't panned out... and it turns out the QB was already on the roster!!!

via i154.photobucket.com

So here he is with his cousin two years later. We celebrated his birthday yesterday and he clebrated a 2-0 start! He's leaned back on the couch and saying "Dad... it took three years for the Niners to win after you were born. Relax, we're doing this in only two for me."

Breaking: Fab Melo to miss tourney

chirop1 — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:59:11 -0000

Syracuse has announced 7-foot center Fab Melo, the anchor of the Orangeman's 2-3 zone defense, is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. Holy cow! Talk about a blow to your chances! Maybe that whole "16 seed never beat a one seed" could come to an end this year! Just kidding about that ... but the second round does start to look like a bad gig for the 'Cuse.

Reportedly, Melo's ineligibility stems from academic issues related to the three-game suspension he received earlier in the year (Syracuse lost its only regular season game while Melo sat).

After a report, based on four sources, that Syracuse has been hiding positive drug tests going back 10 years, Melo's ineligibility is just more terrible news for Jim Boeheim and his ball club. Now, Vanderbilt over Syracuse, a trendy bracket pick before this announcement, suddenly becomes a scenario much more likely to come to fruition.

Reportedly, Melo's ineligibility stems from academic issues related to the three-game suspension he received earlier in the year (Syracuse lost its only regular season game while Melo sat).

How I (almost) had dinner with John Calipari (sorta)

chirop1 — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:11:57 -0000

After the signing, my friends and I decided to hit PF Changs for dinner. As we neared the completion of the meal, I made comment to the waiter about the empty table set for 28 right next to us. He told us "The national team is supposed to be here."
To which we asked "The Dominican National Team?!!?"
"Yes"
"And is their coach supposed to be with them?"
"Yeah, but they're 40 minutes late and we close in 15 minutes."

Needless to say, we all ordered beers/desert and sat back to see if an extra 20 minutes would top the night off perfectly. Unfortunately, it was not to be. (And truth be told, the waiter seemed a bit relieved that they didn't show up at 10:30 at night.)

Thought I was this close [ ] to meeting Coach Cal over some lettuce wraps!

LOL

Last night, I headed to Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington for the George RR Martin signing of A Dance With Dragons. (If you haven't read the series, its the basis for the HBO series A Game of Thrones. Tru and others who enjoy fantasy fiction should definitely pick it up.) After the signing, my friends and I decided to hit PF Changs for dinner. As we neared the completion of the meal, I made comment to the waiter about the empty table set for 28 right next to us. He told us "The national team is supposed to be here." To which we asked "The Dominican National Team?!!?" "Yes" "And is their coach supposed to be with them?" "Yeah, but they're 40 minutes late and we close in 15 minutes." Needless to say, we all ordered beers/desert and sat back to see if an extra 20 minutes would top the night off perfectly. Unfortunately, it was not to be. (And truth be told, the waiter seemed a bit relieved that they didn't show up at 10:30 at night.) Thought I was this close [ ] to meeting Coach Cal over some lettuce wraps! LOL

The Niners are coming to my part of the country

chirop1 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:02:45 -0000

Now that it looks like there will be football this season, I can dare to dream...

The Forty Niners are playing at the Bengals on September 25 for Week 3. I have never been to an NFL game, but would like to see the Niners in person. (Technically... the St. Louis game every year would be an option as well; but its at least two hours further away than Cincy.) So I have no clue how to go about this... do I have some way of getting tickets through the Niners that would put me in an "away" section of some sort? Do I just try to get the best tickets I can from the Bengals? Do I just go StubHub or something like that?

I feel like a complete noob about all this.

Now that it looks like there will be football this season, I can dare to dream... The Forty Niners are playing at the Bengals on September 25 for Week 3. I have never been to an NFL game, but would like to see the Niners in person. (Technically... the St. Louis game every year would be an option as well; but its at least two hours further away than Cincy.) So I have no clue how to go about this... do I have some way of getting tickets through the Niners that would put me in an "away" section of some sort? Do I just try to get the best tickets I can from the Bengals? Do I just go StubHub or something like that? I feel like a complete noob about all this.

Vacating Wins... do you also vacate losses?

chirop1 — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:22:33 -0000

There's been a lot of hullabaloo about this whole "vactated wins" thing lately. My question is this: If the theory is that the game is vacated due to the use of an ineligible player, then shouldn't both wins and losses be wiped off? Why is it entirely okay that the player played if the team loses, but its a major no-no if they win? Shouldn't the game as a whole get wiped out?

Crazy Free Throw hangs on the rim

chirop1 — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 18:53:03 -0000

This is fun to watch.

And now I will need to fill in this section with the requisite word count for this to be a FanPost instead of a FanShot. So I will utilize my time by wishing the very best in the new year to all of my friends and fellow contributors here at A Sea of Blue! Here's to a year full of Big Blue wish fulfillments on both the hardwood and the turf!

This is fun to watch.

Cobb is a finalist for the inaugural Hornung Award

chirop1 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:06:54 -0000

ESPN reports that Cobb is a finalist for this new award. The article says it is being given to the "most versatile" player in college football.

I think its a great award that recognizes the evolution of the game. With more and more players getting involved in Wildcat formations, special teams, etc while still playing the traditional running back/wide receiver role; its hard to recognize them for the special talents that they are.

I'm hoping Randall gets the recognition that he so richly deserves.

ESPN reports that Cobb is a finalist for this new award. The article says it is being given to the "most versatile" player in college football.

I'm hoping Randall gets the recognition that he so richly deserves.

Coach Sing's Status... Observations and Comparisons from a Kentucky Basketball Fan

chirop1 — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:21:02 -0000

Last night I was reading over Ninjames' well written piece about his changing feelings about Mike Singletary's status as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers when I came to some startling revelations. I thought about writing this piece last night, but decided to think on it some more before moving forward. Now that I've gathered my thoughts, I want to lay out for you the comparisons I have now made between Coach Sing and the former coach of my favorite college basketball team: Billy Gillispie.

I know that many around here are football fans first and foremost and likely have very little knowledge of who Billy Gillispie was. Those that do know probably just know the surface of the matter and think that he was fired from college basketball's all time winningest program just because he didn't win enough. Without getting too much into old news, I will lay out the groundwork for my post. First you must understand the situation he was hired into. Over the previous 8 years, Kentucky had slipped from 3 straight title games (with 2 wins) to the point that they were losing in the second round of the NCAA tourney. The program was on the cusp of the longest stretch without a Final Four in school history. In that atmosphere, head coach and all around nice guy Tubby Smith left for Minnesota. The school bungled a coaching search and in an effort to avoid further "no" answers wound up hiring the up and coming head coach from Texas A&M Billy Gillispie. Two years later, he was fired.

Follow me after the jump and I will explain why I see some alarming parallels between the 49ers head coach and this fallen basketball star.

First... both were hired with little real knowledge of their coaching accumen. Gillispie (to his credit) had a reputation for turning around flailing programs and getting them to the NCAA tournament, but he had less than 5 years of experience as a head coach before being picked to sit in the head chair of basketball royalty. Singletary (as mentioned by Ninjames) had a background as a motivational speaker before getting minimal coaching experience as a linebackers coach. In both situations, the hire was made in a near knee jerk reaction without really delving into just what kind of a coach they will be.

Second... both stuck to their outdated gameplan regardless of the personnel they put on the field/court. Billy Gillispie inherited a team without a lot of depth and little athleticism. Despite the fact that he routinely faced teams with quicker and more athletic players, he stubbornly refused to ever consider playing a zone defense to equalize the talent levels. On offense he insisted on forcing the ball into the post to future lottery pick Patrick Patterson despite the fact that he had no point guard (more on that in a bit) to get it there. Coach Singletary has an overmatched defense that he insists on trying to mold into the 85 Bears despite not having the personnel to get it done. On offense, he insists on running all-pro Frank Gore into the middle of the line despite the fact that he has no way of opening holes for him.

Third... the post loss mantra. For Gillispie it was always "Well, we just have to play tougher." For Singletary it is "We have to look at the film." Both tell you absolutely nothing and both leave fans feeling like their coach really doesn't know what the problem was.

Fourth... both lack a playmaker to initiate their offense. For Gillispie he was forced to ask (former California high school star) Michael Porter to play the point guard position when he was really recruited as a back up shooting guard. Despite the fact that Porter had problems with turnovers and eventually became scared to take the open shot, Gillispie never seriously looked at developing other talents or finding new gameplans that utilized Porter's skills. Singletary has Alex Smith. I think I don't have to go much more into it, but Smith was a great talent at the lower level of competition; he also displays turnover problems and often seems scared to pull the trigger on a big play.

Fifth... bizarre locker room antics. Singletary famously mooned his team at halftime of a game (and was somehow lauded for this). Gillispie forced Josh Harrelson to sit in a toilet stall for the entire halftime of a game because he said that's where his game belonged. He also tried to make freshman Darius Miller walk back to the hotel from a game instead of riding the team bus.

Sixth... this is where I started noticing the slide for me. We, as fans, grasp at straws and make inspirational seeming posters online at the Obamicon website. I saw the Troy Smith "Hope" poster and it was eerily reminiscent of this piece I put together:

via i154.photobucket.com

I, like many others, supported Billy Gillispie and kept arguing and arguing and arguing that he just needed another year or two to turn it around and get the team to play with his attitude and passion. What I saw was a team that quit on their coach. No matter how much I wanted Gillispie to be the coach I thought he could be... it quickly became obvious that in the areas of talent evaluation and gametime coaching, he was tragically overmatched. I'm still convinced that he could be a successful coach at a mid level D1 program, but it became tragically obvious to me that he was ill-equipped to lead one of the most storied programs in college basketball history.

Now I am sadly faced with the same quandry. I wanted Singletary to be successful. I wanted his old school toughness and attitude to carry the day. What I am seeing instead is a coach that is in over his head. A coach that is unable to make halftime adjustments. A coach that refuses to mold his gameplan to the talent he has. A coach that is ill-equipped to lead one of the most storied programs in NFL history.

Coach Singletary, I wish you the best... but I think it has come time for me to face the fact that you are just another Billy Gillispie in my life.

Chuck Hayes displays the lost art of post defense on Amar'e Stoudamire. Could somebody remind me...

chirop1 — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:18:22 -0000

Chuck Hayes displays the lost art of post defense on Amar'e Stoudamire.

Could somebody remind me why Amar'e is a max contract player and Chuck is lucky to be on a roster?

Its okay son... the Niners sucked when I was born too

chirop1 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:37:05 -0000

via i154.photobucket.com

My son expresses his displeasure with our favorite football team.

via i154.photobucket.com

My son expresses his displeasure with our favorite football team.

My son was born on September 16, 2010. In the weeks leading up to his delivery, like any good sports dad I purchased some paraphernalia. (The newborn sized onesies would have taken 8 weeks to get here... so I had to settle for some bibs and I'll wait patiently for him to fit into his 3 month sized outfits.)

The above picture was taken during his very first ever Monday Night Football game. He was very unhappy with the halftime results (but was pleasantly sleeping through the end tragedy). The picture I have from the Sunday evening game shows him sound asleep showing utter disinterest.

I talked to my brother about this and then we remembered... the Niners sucked in 1978 when I was born too. So I told my son, three more years and we can expect a Super Bowl!

Well crap... there went our season.

chirop1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:09:14 -0000

I was just listening to Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN radio and Greenberg actually picked the Niners to go to the Super Bowl. (He had them losing to the Ravens.) Considering his track record... we are now officially doomed.

In all seriousness though, it is nice to see the Niners getting some love from the national media. Sure most of it comes with the caveat "best team in the worst division in football" but its been a long road through the wilderness and I'm glad that we finally look to be coming out of it. It will be nice to be able to see a game or two out here in the eastern time zone without forking over the cash for Sunday Ticket.

Terrence Jones has stress fracture in his rib - I blame Billy Gillispie's overly tough practices

chirop1 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:51:53 -0000

Just saw this come across Coach Cal's Facebook feed:

Our medical staff took Terrence to an imaging center in Detroit for an MRI this morning. He has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the rib which has affected the motion in his left arm. We hope to have him back in mid-September when we begin individual workouts

I hate that he won't be able to take full advantage of the learning opportunity that this Canada trip affords the team. On the flip side though, at least he'll be able to rest and should be ready before the season.

(Even as a medical professional though... I gotta wonder how he ended up with a stress fracture in the rib of all places. Has he been breathing to hard?!!? Kind of unusual spot for this type of injury.)

Just saw this come across Coach Cal's Facebook feed:

Our medical staff took Terrence to an imaging center in Detroit for an MRI this morning. He has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the rib which has affected the motion in his left arm. We hope to have him back in mid-September when we begin individual workouts

Wear twins leaving UNC

chirop1 — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:56:57 -0000

Wear twins leaving UNC

"Freshman basketball forwards David and Travis Wear - McDonald's All-Americas and Best in the West selections as seniors at Mater Dei High - will not be returning to the University of North Carolina, their father told the Press-Telegram tonight.

Dave Wear said he discussed the decision with Tar Heels' coach Roy Williams earlier in the evening by telephone and that he hoped that his sons would be released from their scholarship agreements with the school ``as early as Thursday"."

They were definitely overrated coming out of high school, but they were needed to provide any semblance of front court depth for UNC next year. Especially in Zeller pulls another Mr. Glass routine next year, or the twig of a power forward (Henson) can't take the beatings night in and night out... It could be another tough year in Chapel Hill.

Trading Tom Gugliotta for John Wall... don't laugh... it may have already happened

chirop1 — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:31:48 -0000

So in my boredom between appointments, I was perusing nbadraft.net's latest mock draft. I got curious about Utah having a high lottery selection and I hit their link for Outstanding 2010 trades and saw that the pick had been acquired through a 2004 trade involving sending Tom Gugliotta to Utah and Stephon Marbury to New York. Out of all the tomfoolery, Utah obtained two conditional first round picks... one of which was an unprotected pick in this year's draft.

As we all know, the New Jersey Nets have the best chance at landing the number 1 overall pick (25% chance); but the Knicks/Jazz have a 2.2% chance to obtain that pick.

I knew that NBA deals got convoluted, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that a deal from 2004 involving an aging player averaging 2.3 points a game would affect where John Wall plays basketball.

As we all know, the New Jersey Nets have the best chance at landing the number 1 overall pick (25% chance); but the Knicks/Jazz have a 2.2% chance to obtain that pick.

What would a 96 team bracket look like? (A possibility... that I don't like)

chirop1 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:10:40 -0000

ESPN.com says that the NCAA is proposing a bracket that would include 32 more teams and would incorporate a bye for the top 32 teams. Furthermore, they have stated that it would be played in the same timeframe as the current 65 team tourney. I have yet to find an article that explains it further, but from what I've seen the tournament would commence as usual and then play Tuesday - Sunday in the second week. (Which is bizarre to me.)

My question is... how would the seeding work from there? I looked at a standard 16 team region and went from there. Hopefully I can get this to sort itself in a rational way, but I looked at the 1-8 seeds getting a bye and then set up the next 16 teams with a 9 playing 24; 10 playing 23; etc.

I would presume that the current 16th seeds would likely end up as the 24th seeds under this format. (i.e. East Tennessee State et al would end up with lower seeds than the UConns, UNC's, and Arizona's that would have made the tourney this year under a 96 team field.) So essentially, a top seed like Kansas would have played a team like Northern Iowa (if a nine seed) in their very first game instead of the second round. Additionally, look at the Big East tournament this year with their dreaded "double bye" system. 3 of the 4 teams with byes ended up losing their opening game. Many people think that a bye is actually a disadvantage because of the "momentum" that the other team gets playing that opening game. I'm not old enough to remember it, but #1 DePaul famously lost their first tournament game after recieving a bye.

There are plenty of reasons for the NCAA to expand the tournament, unfortunately none of them have to do with basketball.

Autistic teen in Illinois has perfect bracket through 2 rounds

chirop1 — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:34:02 -0000

Teen picks perfect bracket through 2 rounds.

I tried to post this as a FanShot, but it had problems recognizing my link for some reason. So I'll post here instead. Apparently, this teen beat 13 million to 1 odds to pick a perfect bracket through the first two rounds. Something tells me this kid's parents need to book a trip to Vegas!!!

And now the fanpost is giving me grief because its not long enough! I tried to post a FanShot oh programmers of SB Nation, but you denied me!!!! Is this long enough now?!!?

Teen picks perfect bracket through 2 rounds.

And now the fanpost is giving me grief because its not long enough! I tried to post a FanShot oh programmers of SB Nation, but you denied me!!!! Is this long enough now?!!?

WVU starting point guard done for the season

chirop1 — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:44:54 -0000

Bad news for Mountaineers fans, good news for us I suppose.

Its a shame really, Truck Bryant has been solid if not spectacular for them all season long. He's their second leading three point shooter and does an effective job of getting them into their offense. He'll be replaced by the guy he replaced due to injury a couple of years ago, Joe Mazzula. Offensively, Mazzula doesn't bring much to the table (probably due to repeated shoulder injuries).

It'll be interesting to see what Huggy bear does with his defense. Shifting to a 1-3-1 could be effective for him. Washington is red hot right now and I think they could give WVU a run for their money.

Considering that we're still lamenting a Keith Bogans sprained ankle 7 years after the fact, I have some sympathy for Mountaineer fans... but ultimately, anything that weakens the field is good for us and I'll take it.

Bad news for Mountaineers fans, good news for us I suppose.

Does Kentucky have FOUR 2010 lottery picks in on the roster?

chirop1 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:03:23 -0000

Chad Ford's mock draft lottery on ESPN.com seems to think so.

I've run the lotto similuator more than a handful of times, but it generally seems to come up very similar every time. Wall at number 1, Cousins at number 4, Patterson at 11, and Bledsoe at 14. To my knowledge, that's unheard of. I know there have been a handful of teams to get four players drafted in the first round, but four out of the top 14 seems to be an embarassment of riches.

Chad Ford's mock draft lottery on ESPN.com seems to think so.

Kid who skipped senior year of high school to go pro calls it quits

chirop1 — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:52:41 -0000

Kid who skipped senior year of high school to go pro calls it quits

We all knew it was a mistake, but this is truly sad. Like it says in the article:

It's really too bad that Tyler chose to go to Israel. He would have been a highly recruited prospect, then would have attended college for a year, then been a top draft pick just from staying in the system. Instead, he's exiled in San Diego, unsure of his future.

Derrick Miller's name was mis-spelled for "decades"

chirop1 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:40:38 -0000

One of the most intriguing things to come out of the sad story of Derrick Miller's season ticket fraud arrest here in Hardin County is that his name isn't Miller... its Millar. And its been spelled wrong for decades... including on his UK jersey.

Today's News Enterprise article on Derrick Millar.

Overall, I find the entire story to be a sad case of wasted potential. He made some poor choices after he left school and hasn't been able to capitalize on all the opportunities legally afforded to our heroes of yesteryear in this state.

Today's News Enterprise article on Derrick Millar.

Coaches saying stupid things: 3/5/10 edition

chirop1 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:23:36 -0000

In last week's edition... Coach Calipari said that winning an SEC title wasn't important (and then promptly lost to Tennessee.)

This week, we travel across the country for sage words from Ben Howland as he talks about taking blame for the debacle at UCLA.

But all of it starts right here with me. I'm in charge of making this program competitive year after year, but I did a poor job of evaluation of some of our recruits — from a talent, as well as a character standpoint. (Emphasis added)

ROFL

Okay... just to illustrate for everyone here:

Bus

UCLA Players

Yeap, Howland pretty much threw his players under the bus with that one. Nothing quite like taking the blame by saying its your fault because you chose bad players!

In last week's edition... Coach Calipari said that winning an SEC title wasn't important (and then promptly lost to Tennessee.)

This week, we travel across the country for sage words from Ben Howland as he talks about taking blame for the debacle at UCLA.

But all of it starts right here with me. I'm in charge of making this program competitive year after year, but I did a poor job of evaluation of some of our recruits — from a talent, as well as a character standpoint. (Emphasis added)

ROFL

Okay... just to illustrate for everyone here:

Bus

UCLA Players

Yeap, Howland pretty much threw his players under the bus with that one. Nothing quite like taking the blame by saying its your fault because you chose bad players!

Even last year, Rupp was never THIS empty

chirop1 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:15:18 -0000

via farm5.static.flickr.com

This picture comes from North Carolina's loss to FSU last week. Check out the time left in the game and all the empty seats in the stands.

It basically confirms everything I've always thought about UNC fans. They like to talk big when they're winning and act like they are the only True Blue team in college basketball ... but when times are tough, they show their true colors to be a much more pale shade of blue. I would be embarassed to call myself a fan of that program. Sure, Rupp's crowd got a little quiet at times in recent years (other than the times when they would boo their own players... heh) but never did you see a crowd walk out with less than 5 minutes gone in the second half.

Shameful.

via farm5.static.flickr.com

This picture comes from North Carolina's loss to FSU last week. Check out the time left in the game and all the empty seats in the stands.

Shameful.

If you were UNC... when would you rather hit 2000?

chirop1 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:42:39 -0000

So at this point, its pretty much a foregone conclusion that Kansas will pass UNC for #2 on the all-time wins list at some point in the near future. UNC is sitting at 1998 right now... and Kansas will go for the tie tomorrow (Feb 27) against Oklahoma State while UNC plays at Wake Forest. I feel it is a safe assumption that the two will come out of the weekend tied at #2 on the all-time wins list.

Kansas then plays Kansas State at home and then closes the season at Missouri. Assuming they win out, that will have them hit 2000 on the road.

Conversely, UNC's schedule after a presumed loss on the road to Wake Forest will then include Miami at home and then a trip to visit the red hot Duke Blue Devils. I believe the TarHeels are still favored to win the game versus the Hurricanes at home and lose at Duke. This would close out the regular season at 1999 wins. UNC would then have a shot at win number 2000 in the first round of the ACC tourney... unfortunately for them, if the tourney started today, they'd play Wake in an opening round game.

The scenario I have laid out above would sit UNC at a whopping 15-17 (4-12) on the year. Even the NIT would balk at taking a team with a conference record that bad with an overall losing record to boot. So that could leave UNC considering an invite to the CBI tournament. (Which honestly, I didn't even know existed until last year...)

So here's my point of discussion: You're the UNC AD and you sit down with Roy Williams to discuss an invite to the CBI. Do you take the invite and get win number 2000 in that less than prestigious tournament or do you shut it down for the year and open next season with a win versus a patsy at home to wipe the slate clean?

Kansas then plays Kansas State at home and then closes the season at Missouri. Assuming they win out, that will have them hit 2000 on the road.

Obama calls coach Cal and team to thank them for Hoops for Haiti

chirop1 — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:41:16 -0000

Obama calls coach Cal and team to thank them for Hoops for Haiti

No matter your political affiliation, you have to like it when the leader of the free world recognizes the hard work of our beloved Wildcats.

Here's to hoping the boys get a chance to meet him in person later this year!

UK players regularly tip the ball to the ref after made baskets. Delay of game?

chirop1 — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:33:37 -0000

I never noticed this until recently, but a rational KU fan that I interact with on another board pointed it out to me. Watch after a made baskets, UK players are tipping the ball over to the ref or into the cheerleaders instead of leaving it for the opposing team. After he pointed this out to me, I started noticing it myself and Patterson particularly seems to do it a lot. The KU fan said he saw Memphis do it quite often as well and said he thinks its something Calipari teaches them to do. Obvioiusly the advantage to UK would be that the other team can't inbound the ball immediately and it allows UK to set up their defense better.

His argument was that this should be a warning on the first offense and then a technical foul on subsequent offenses for Delay of Game. I've just now started noticing it (Patterson did it after almost every basket against Florida) and I don't know if this is explicity against the rules, or if it is just a "loophole" that the team can exploit.

Anyone else know anything about this?

The Hierarchy of College Football Coaching Jobs

chirop1 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:37:23 -0000

In college basketball, it seems to be widely accepted that Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, and IU are the "royalty" of the sport.

With the recent defection of Lane Kiffen from Tennessee to USC, it's got me wondering: "Just where does UT stand as a program compared to others?"

There doesn't seem to be a clear cut order to me, and there also seems to be a LOT of teams with strong traditions to cling to.

In college basketball, it seems to be widely accepted that Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, and IU are the "royalty" of the sport.

With the recent defection of Lane Kiffen from Tennessee to USC, it's got me wondering: "Just where does UT stand as a program compared to others?"

There doesn't seem to be a clear cut order to me, and there also seems to be a LOT of teams with strong traditions to cling to.

First, I still go with Notre Dame. Its lost its lustre, but no other program in all of college athletics can demand their very own TV contract.

I think from there I have to put things in a tier system. I'd put traditional powers into the second tier like Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, USC, Texas, and Oklahoma.

In the next tier, I'd put the "Johnny come lately" great programs. (i.e. The teams that don't track their success back to the "Aught" years.) I'd stick Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Florida State, and Miami here.

I've listed 13 teams in one of the three tiers of "historical elite programs." That's certainly much more expansive than the simplicity of the 5 team college basketball consensus. Where have I gone wrong with this classification? Thoughts?

Former Gillispie player suffers horrific leg injury against Washington.

chirop1 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:29:02 -0000

Former Gillispie player suffers horrific leg injury against Washington.