Another New Post. Opening Day.

http://blog.sportsramblingsofbriankinel.com/2011/03/31/opening-day-nothing-like-it.aspx

New Post at my new home

http://blog.sportsramblingsofbriankinel.com/2011/03/29/veteran-coaches-calhouncalipari-young-coaches-stevenssmart-uconnkent.aspx

I'm moving

Well, kind of. I got my own domain and will be blogging on my own website. I have the blog part set up and will begin using it. I hope you don't get lost. http://blog.sportsramblingsofbriankinel.com/

NCAA March Madness. Over coma finally.

I so wanted to share my thoughts with you on March Madness right away on Sunday night.  That became problematic since I was laying comatose on my couch, most likely drooling and babbling incoherently. It has taken me until Tuesday to recover from my basketball overdose. I’m a simple man. This year’s coverage by four networks, allowing us to watch EVERY SINGLE GAME, might just be the greatest concept ever.

I’m just going to share some random thoughts about the tournament so far:

*I have to start with my Syracuse Orange failing to reach the Sweet 16 again. A few weeks ago I wrote about this team’s lack of intangibles and intensity. Never more evident than in the second round ( no, I won’t refer to the play in games as round one). A very sloppy 18 turnovers and horrible decision making allowed Marquette to advance. While this year’s Orange missed the numbers put up by Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku, they were done in by their inability to replace their leadership. I’ve spent the season shaking my head at the poor decisions by the supposed veteran point guard, Scoop Jardine. Two plays from Sunday night exemplify my frustration. Down one with 18 seconds to play in the first half. Brandon Triche grabs a rebound in the lane and has the presence of mind to pass it out to hold for the last shot. He gives it to Scoop who immediately shoots and misses a three. Marquette rebounds and comes down and scores at the buzzer. A gift wrapped two points. Tie game with 51 seconds left and on the in bounds pass Scoop tip toes near the half court line trying not to step on it for an over and back. Really? All he had to do was let the ball bounce in the backcourt and take two steps over the line to get it. Instead he turned the ball over. All season long.

*The end of the Pitt/Butler game was something that I have never seen in 45 years of watching sports. Let’s start with the fact that both plays were fouls and needed to be called. In the span of two seconds it went from Butler’s game to Pitt’s game to Butler’s win. While I love exciting endings, I don’t like them as the result of a bad play. I want to see someone make a spectacular play to win it. I feel so badly for Nasir Robinson of Pitt.  I can’t  fathom what he feels like Yes, it was a terrible, terrible foul. But I still feel for him. If Shelvin Mack doesn’t foul Gilbert Brown then the game ends with Brown throwing up a prayer that probably doesn’t go in. And then if Brown makes the second free throw, Robinson never has the chance to commit the foul. Tough.

*I also feel for Texas’ Jordan Hamilton. If he just holds the ball after his rebound, he gets fouled up 2. Inexplicably he calls time out and then gets called for a five second violation trying to inbound the ball. Derrick Williams then makes an amazing “and 1” and Arizona moves on. I have to wonder where Rick Barnes was while Hamilton was trying to inbound. He can call timeout also and should have at 3 seconds to help Hamilton out. Hamilton waited until the count reached four. Too late.

*30 years after Danny Ainge, say hello to Jimmer.

*Either Florida State or VCU will be in the Regional Final. Amazing.

*How have so many babies become such great coaches? Butler’s Brad Stevens is considered one of, if not the best, in game coaches around. Watching him run into the locker room and do a flying chest bump was great. His team immediately gathered around him.  Richmond is blessed with two of these new hotshots. Chris Mooney of the Spiders and Shaka Smart of VCU are apparently locks to take over Georgia Tech and Tennessee respectively. I’ve talked about Memphis’ Josh Pastner. How cool is Marquette’s Buzz Williams? Any Curly look alike is awesome.

*Thanks for letting me watch Morehead State’s Kenneth Fareid before he gets to the show.

*That intensity I’m looking for from my Orange? Caring? Let me introduce you to Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen. Any team of mine Jacob, anytime.

I need another nap.

Memphis Coach Josh Pastner: We aren't worthy.

I like to think I’m a pretty successful guy. I’ve won a bunch of awards in my sales career and I actually have both an Associates and a Bachelors degree.  Most days I have that positive, conquer the world attitude.  And then just when I feel good, along comes that damn Josh Pastner.

Pastner is the 33 year old coach of the Memphis Tigers.  I’ll recap his story briefly in case you aren’t familiar. He walked on at Arizona with the intent of becoming a coach one day. He was on the 1997 Wildcat National Championship team. After graduation he was an assistant at both Arizona and Memphis, getting the head coaching job for the Tigers when John Calipari went to Kentucky. Pretty impressive, right? Oh, we’ve only scratched the surface..

Josh’s father, Hal, was a high school and AAU coach in Houston. Josh knew he wanted to be a basketball coach by the time he was in 5^th grade. I didn’t know what I wanted to do over summer vacation when I was in 5^th grade.

At the age of 13, Josh created his own publication that offered scouting reports on local Houston high school players. When he was 16 his father turned over the AAU team to him. Josh coached future NBA’ers Emeka Okafor, TJ Ford and Daniel Gibson. Hate him yet?

I knew that Josh walked on at Arizona, but I didn’t know how he got there until hearing him on ESPN today. As with most stories, we find out that not everything we hear is true. Josh didn’t actually write every Division I coach asking for a walk on opportunity.  No, of course he didn’t stop there.

Oh, he wrote every Division I coach all right. And Division II. And Division III. Not done yet. He then proceeded to write every NAIA Division I and II coach. Every single one. 1000 letters in all. Well, only a matter of a few hours with copy and paste, right? Now would that be good enough for our Josh? HE WROTE THEM ALL BY HAND! He asked for a walk on opportunity and offered to help work players out and run drills. He pointed out that while there are NCAA regulations about number of  coaches and hours they spend with players, none of that applies to another player.

Now, I don’t have an explanation as to why, but Josh took 23 credit hours his first semester at Arizona and 22 his second. 21 both his third and fourth semesters. So after two years Josh had 87 of the 120 credit hours needed to graduate. Naturally he took the 33 needed during his fifth semester. After two and a half years he had his Bachelors. Over the next three semesters he earned his Masters and started work on his doctorate. Hate him YET??!!

For crying out loud, my Associates isn’t real since I changed majors and never did take all the core accounting courses that I needed for the degree. Then when I transferred, I got credit for a course I never took so my BA isn’t real either.  I’m such a loser.

None of us should hate Josh Pastner obviously. Quite the opposite. As impressive a young man as I have seen. Driven, Focused. Articulate. Bright, Respectful. Not giving up my Orange, but Memphis has a new fan.

March Madness. This is why I love sports.

I just finished reading about UConn’s improbable win over Louisville for the Big East Championship.  I need a nap.

In my mind, 5 for 5 is associated with a deal at Arby’s. I’m sore and tired just thinking about the Huskies winning five games in five nights. What an unbelievable accomplishment. Four of the wins were against Top 25 teams! Kemba Walker winning  the MVP was the biggest no-brainer since Julia Roberts came to her senses, looked at Lyle Lovett and went running from the house screaming. My wonderful fiancé, Tina, says that dates me as old and I need more up to date references. Ok, so the biggest no brainer since some vampire beat up some werewolf or vice versa. I’m better being old.

It’s Selection Sunday and the tourney is days away. Three exciting weeks that take us away from…… you know what, I don’t even want to talk about anything else.

I’m not much into Utah State’s record against top 50 teams versus Illinois’ RPI. I’ve told you that I’m not much of an x’s and o’s guy. I like the stories of sports and the drama of the games. The memories. The moments. Nothing beats this tournament.

Ainge’s fullcourt dash against Notre Dame. Villanova shooting 22/28 in shocking Georgetown. Jim Valvano running around the court looking for someone to hug. Smart’s shot from the corner beating Syracuse. Laettner’s shot against Kentucky. Edney’s heroics for UCLA. Chris Webber’s timeout. Arkansas’ 40 minutes of hell. Hayward’s shot in the air as the buzzer sounded that would have crowned Butler as the most improbable champ ever.

Who will provide the memories this year?   30 years later, can the amazing Jimmer Fredette recreate some of Danny Ainge’s magic for BYU? 24 years ago, SU’s Howard Triche just missed blocking Smart’s shot. Can nephew Brandon lead the Orange and get bragging rights at Easter dinner? Will steady seniors Singler and Smith and the many Plumlee’s win back to back? Will Kemba Walker break more ankles and light up Houston? And the most exciting question..... who will come out of nowhere and delight us?

I’ve told you predicting is for fools. What the hell. Don’t look for in depth analysis here as to why. Ohio State, Duke, Kansas and Kansas State travel to Houston. Kansas beating Duke for the title. Yeah, don’t put too much money on that. But who cares, we’re about to watch the 2011 NCAA tournament. It gets no better than that.

NFL Labor Issues. *!@#$%

I couldn’t sleep last night, up again struggling with one of the most confusing issues known to man. One that has been studied by think tanks all over the world. Why does Goofy get to walk on his hind legs, wear clothes and talk while Pluto has to act like a dog? Hey, let’s admit it, that’s about as deep as I and those of you reading this get.

What does Disney’s unexplained act have to do with sports? Not much actually. I’d just rather contemplate that than the **** I was watching on Sportscenter at 2am about the NFL. I know you are probably tired of hearing me talk about keeping sports in perspective but damn it if it doesn’t keep coming up.

What struck me like a 2x4 last night was the contrasting stories I was watching. Billionaire owners and millionaire players who are too stupid to realize that they should be in a room divvying up their $9 BILLION and should be totally embarrassed that they are parading this in front of us. The contrasting stories?

Fennville High winning again, capturing their District Championship. Yes, I cried as the team had Wes Leonard’s little brother accept the trophy. Watching BYU’s Jimmer Fredette score as many points himself in the first half as Wisconsin could score in their entire game.  Jimmer ended up with a BYU record 52 points.

Emotions? I had them all. I was captured and involved in those stories, as  I was in watching highlights of the various college basketball conference tournaments. Joy and some sadness about Fennville.  The NFL? Oh, that brought emotions too.

Anger. Disgust. I watched as ESPN showed some action during the report of Ray Lewis strutting and screaming. Of other players making plays and celebrating like they had won the Super Bowl.  9 ****ing BILLION a year!!

You know what? Give me Jimmer and Fennville any day.

Ohio State and Coach Jim Tressel. Quite a show.

Great pieces of drama are said to have it all. They make you laugh, they make you cry.  They bring out a plethora of emotions. Yes, I used the word plethora. The recent drama at Ohio State certainly brings out multiple emotions. I’m laughing and I’m insulted, which makes me angry.

Seinfeld’s George Costanza put it best. “That is CA-MI-DEE!”.  OSU President Gordon Gee seems to have made the wrong career choice. Oh yeah, stand up might have been Gordon’s calling. Gee was asked if he would consider firing Coach  Jim Tressel. His response? Gee only hoped that Tressel wouldn’t fire him. That’s a statement on who is running the show, huh?

I hate being talked down to, patronized, treated like an idiot. With a passion. Why didn’t Tressel act on the information he had been given? Let’s understand that the “information” was an email from an attorney who notified Tressel that in the course of a federal investigation into the drug trafficking of a tattoo parlor owner, a lot of OSU football memorabilia was discovered. The attorney informed Tressel that his players, among them star QB Terrelle Pryor, apparently had sold the memorabilia to the tattoo parlor owner. This is not someone telling Tressel that his 4^th string nickel back was skipping some classes. This involved his star player and would be a clearcut and serious NCAA violation.

So why didn’t Tressel act? He didn’t know who to bring this information to. I know, you’re rubbing your eyes. You’re thinking you must need glasses or at least new ones. Nope. You read it right. I’ll repeat it. Ohio State Head Football Coach Jim Tressel would like us to believe that when told his star player and others might have committed a serious NCAA violation, he didn’t know who to bring that information to. So of course, he did nothing. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! On top of everything, you’re going to insult us like that?

OSU responded by suspending Tressel for the first two games of the 2011 season. I have no idea how the Buckeyes will manage to compete against Akron and Toledo without their head man. They fined him $250,000 also. What a joke. The players were suspended for the first five games.

Look I’m not saying Tressel is the devil. But here is a guy who is pushing his new book about faith and integrity and doing things the right way. Really? There were issues with the NCAA while he was not only coach but athletic director at Youngstown State. He brought in Maurice Clarett after reportedly being briefed extensively by Clarett’s high school coaches about his off field issues. Interesting that Clarett allegedly had his own apartment at OSU despite the school requiring freshmen to live in a dorm. Troy Smith was suspended for taking money from a booster. Again, nothing that isn’t found at most schools, but Tressel is supposed to be different.

Doesn’t seem different to me. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck..........

Remembering Fennville's Wes Leonard. What sports can and should be.

I’ve been accused of being too serious. Of needing to lighten up. Sometimes I think that’s true. This isn’t one of those times.

I’ve been wanting to write about Wes Leonard, the high school basketball player from Fennville, MI who died March 4 just minutes after laying in the winning basket for his unbeaten Blackhawks. I didn’t know what to say, until today. Sports has become something that often times I don’t like. That too often now is given a priority that’s way out of whack. Everything that happened and was represented in a couple of hours last night inside DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College is what sports should be about.

Last night’s state regional playoff game was supposed to be played at Lawrence High School. Once Fennville decided to play the game, Lawrence offered to move it to nearby Hope College to accommodate everyone that would want to be there. Class. 3472 people showed up. The combined population of Fennville and Lawrence is about 2300.

The game became about community and being together to grieve and honor Wes Leonard.   Players from both teams wore warm up shirts that said NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN on the front and Leonard 35 on the back. As Wes’ parents came into the gym, it fell silent out of courtesy to them as they took their seats. When the starting lineups were announced, only four players were introduced and came onto the court for Fennville.  After a few moments, the fifth player was announced and came onto the court.  Fennville won and will play Bangor High Wednesday night at their new home at Hope College.

It’s easy to forget how therapeutic sports can be. How rooting for the local team can help with the healing that needs to take place in Fennville.  One of the Fennville parents said she really hasn’t seen her son since Wes’ death because the players have all been together at Coach Ryan Klingler’s house. Like 13 brothers. All eating together and consoling each other.

This is the power of sports. The importance of sports. It’s okay to immerse yourself in fantasy leagues. It’s okay to enjoy big time college and professional sports. But don’t lose sight of the real priority. The vast majority of players never get to that level. So keep youth and high school sports in perspective for what they can give us.  What they can teach us. That should be the priority. Not 3 NBA players strutting and preening before they had even practiced together. Not big time college football coaches perhaps covering up violations by his players. When I remember the priority, I love sports.

BYU Suspends Brandon Davies for?

Wow. I’m pretty sure that I have never seen a story like this in the twenty…. thirty….  ok ok FORTY plus years that I have been following sports. Stop laughing, most of you are there with me.

BYU basketball player Brandon Davies has been suspended for the rest of the season for breaking the student honor code of the university. His transgression? Admitting to having sex with his girlfriend. Wow. A leading player on the 3^rd ranked team in the country. A team having a magical, once in a lifetime season. Wow.

My first reaction is that I do feel bad for Davies and the rest of the Cougars. BYU is not a team that will reload and have another Jimmer Fredette next year. However, I can’t blame BYU for enforcing their code of conduct. It’s something that is front and center and made clear to every potential student of the university. It’s not something that is a surprise to students or forced on them. They know the deal going in.

While 99% of college students would not be able to live up to the code, BYU makes no bones about the fact that their university is for the 1% who can. I give them credit for having their standards. That’s not a bad thing and something that our kids could benefit from more of.

I hope that Davies learns that when he agrees to something, it’s something to live up to. I can tell you from my experience that many kids nod their heads a lot agreeing to something and really don’t grasp the magnitude. Hopefully for Davies, lesson learned.