KKK & COLLEGE FOOTBALL? CARROLL'S A HYPOCRITE & WEIS, MANGINO NEAR THE END
Here's a strange combination, the Klu Klux Klan & college football, but that's exactly what's coming together tomorrow in Oxford Mississippi. The Knights of the KKK intend to protest before the game, they're incensed with a University move to alter the school song "From Dixie with Love". During the students singing of the song, "The South Will Rise Again" is chanted repeatedly. African-American students have complained for years about the song & the school has finally taken action on it. School administration has asked that the chant be dropped from the rendition sung on campus. So now the KKK will exercise their right of free speech to spread their joy on the Oxford campus tomorrow before kickoff. Glad I'll miss that one.
In important injury news, Michigan's leading rusher, Brandon Minor, will miss tomorrow's grudge match with Ohio State. His shoulder injury will prohibit his participation in the annual dogfight. Arizona State will start their 3rd string quarterback tomorrow at UCLA. The Sun Devils lost starter Danny Sullivan 2 weeks ago & his backup, Brock Osweiler was benched halfway thru their game in Oregon last Saturday night. Sophomore Samson Szakacsy threw 2 touchdowns in relief & he will get the start tomorrow.
After watching the 4th quarter of the Colorado-Oklahoma State game I think Colorado should find a way to dump coach Dan Hawkins. His demeanor on the sidelines was baffling. It appeared Hawkins could care less. Maybe knowing the Buffs budgetary shortcomings, he feels somewhat invincible. How do you go on 4th & 2 at the OSU 28-yard line, when you're leading 21-17? Kick a field goal, go up by a touchdown & play defense. As the last 2-minutes ticked off the clock, Hawkins seemed to be O.K. with the loss, he smiled as he walked across the field to shake hands with Mike Gundy. It was weird. There's been talk of Mike Shanahan being approached for a possible vacancy in Boulder. The former Bronco coach has made Colorado his home for over 15 years but I can't see this one ever happening. Shanahan would want way too much money from Colorado's limited resources & I also think he wants back in the NFL.
I was going to lay off USC's Pete Carroll, I've been pretty hard on this guy ever since he uttered the arrogant statement at PAC-10 media day. The statement that has come back to haunt him within the PAC-10. Carroll appeared on a SoCal radio talk show yesterday & when asked about Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh's decision to go for a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter, leading 48-21, Carroll said "Will I forget it? No, I'm not forgetting it." I also told you the bloggers have put Carroll in the their sights & are ripping him daily. The Sporting News's Matt Hayes posted some evidence of just how hypocritical Pete really is. These 5 games are from 2008 & 2009:
USC, leading 45-7, threw a touchdown pass with 2:33 left in the 4th quarter vs. Virginia.
USC, leading 28-2, threw a touchdown pass with 1:33 left in the 4th quarter vs. Ohio State.
USC, leading 37-10, threw a touchdown pass with 1:50 left in the 4th quarter vs. Oregon
USC, leading 62-0, ran 1-yard for a touchdown with 2:16 left in the 4th quarter vs. Washington State.
USC, leading 49-3, threw a touchdown pass with 4:13 left in the 4th quarter vs. San Jose State.
So what have we learned? Like so many other things in this country, if we do it, it's perfectly O.K. If you do it to us, you're a bad sport, a jerk, or scum & subject to massive payback since making us look bad simply isn't allowed. It's funny how network & newspaper media think Carroll is right & Harbaugh's a jerk. The bloggers who examine Carroll's track record of doing exactly the same thing to team after team, think otherwise. Personally, I don't think Carroll ever got over Stanford's last win in the L.A. Coliseum, in 2007, Harbaugh's 42-point underdog beat USC in what most people call the greatest upset in college football history. Remember, it's October 9th, next season when USC visits Stanford for a rematch.
In NFL injury news some big names will be sidelined. Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu will miss Sunday's game in Kansas City. Chiefs' linebacker Mike Vrabel won't answer the bell either. Bengals' starting running back, Cedric Benson will miss Cincinnati's trip to Oakland because of a sore hip. Denver QB Kyle Orton didn't practice this week, but still holds out hope he can go against San Diego in a major AFC West showdown. Raven linebacker & leading sacker, Terrell Suggs will miss the 1st game of his career this Sunday when Baltimore plays Indianapolis. He suffered a sprained knee when Browns' QB Brady Quinn cut him down on a true cheap shot. Quinn was fined by the league for the hit. Redskin running back Clinton Portis & Eagles back Brian Westbrook will both miss games as they recover from concussions.
Miami's Ronnie Brown underwent foot surgery today to repair a Lisfranc fracture. I told you this week how amazing Ricky Williams has played this season, especially for a 32-year old running back with such a bruising style. Last night in Carolina, Williams scored all 3 of his team's touchdowns & rushed for 118 yards as the Dolphins won 24-17.
Blackouts continue to plague certain NFL franchises. Sunday's Cincy-Oakland game is blacked out. The Green Bay-Detroit game on Thanksgiving in Detroit will be blacked out as well. San Diego has struggled to sellout all year & their game next Sunday with Kansas City looks to be a blackout candidate with over 7,000 tickets remaining.
The New York Jets already have the "Sanchise", rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has had a very rocky season so far. In addition, he's brought some bad press down on himself eating hot dogs on the sideline in Oakland & last Sunday he went to the post-game press conference with a prepared statement he read. Now the Jets have "Cryin' Ryan". Head coach Rex Ryan broke down in tears after his team lost last Sunday to Jacksonville & did the same on Monday after a film session, both times in front of his entire team. Some guys, like Dick Vermeil, can get away with this. I wonder if a guy who has done nothing but breathe fire since the Jets hired him last January can survive, especially with his defensive players.
It's been 36 years since college football had six unbeaten teams going this deep into the season. Florida, Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati & Boise State have unblemished records. Obviously, Florida & 'Bama will face each other in the SEC championship game, so one of them will have a loss. Cincinnati faces Illinois next week & a 9-1 Pitt team the week after. So we could have as many as five undefeated teams going into the bowl season or four is Cincy stumbles. The other four look to be in good shape with their remaining schedules.
I think Kansas coach Mark Mangino will be fired Sunday or Monday. They figure to be routed by Texas Saturday night, but I don't see him on the sidelines at Arrowhead Thanksgiving weekend against Missouri. There are too many ex-players standing in line to take shots at Mangino in addition to those current Jayhawks who complained to A.D. Lew Perkins. I just can't see him surviving past Monday.
Charlie Weis should be fired a week from Sunday. One of the major reasons he was hired in South Bend was to beat USC. Weis' teams are 0-6 vs. the Trojans. They've lost too many games to unranked teams, all the while not being ranked very high themselves. Another reason the administration will have to look seriously at canning Weis is Tyronne Willingham & Bob Davies. Weis' winning percentage now rivals Willingham's & Davies'. If they got fired, Weis shouldn't be retained should he? I don't think so. He might be retained until their bowl game is played, but no later than that.
In important injury news, Michigan's leading rusher, Brandon Minor, will miss tomorrow's grudge match with Ohio State. His shoulder injury will prohibit his participation in the annual dogfight. Arizona State will start their 3rd string quarterback tomorrow at UCLA. The Sun Devils lost starter Danny Sullivan 2 weeks ago & his backup, Brock Osweiler was benched halfway thru their game in Oregon last Saturday night. Sophomore Samson Szakacsy threw 2 touchdowns in relief & he will get the start tomorrow.
After watching the 4th quarter of the Colorado-Oklahoma State game I think Colorado should find a way to dump coach Dan Hawkins. His demeanor on the sidelines was baffling. It appeared Hawkins could care less. Maybe knowing the Buffs budgetary shortcomings, he feels somewhat invincible. How do you go on 4th & 2 at the OSU 28-yard line, when you're leading 21-17? Kick a field goal, go up by a touchdown & play defense. As the last 2-minutes ticked off the clock, Hawkins seemed to be O.K. with the loss, he smiled as he walked across the field to shake hands with Mike Gundy. It was weird. There's been talk of Mike Shanahan being approached for a possible vacancy in Boulder. The former Bronco coach has made Colorado his home for over 15 years but I can't see this one ever happening. Shanahan would want way too much money from Colorado's limited resources & I also think he wants back in the NFL.
I was going to lay off USC's Pete Carroll, I've been pretty hard on this guy ever since he uttered the arrogant statement at PAC-10 media day. The statement that has come back to haunt him within the PAC-10. Carroll appeared on a SoCal radio talk show yesterday & when asked about Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh's decision to go for a 2-point conversion in the 4th quarter, leading 48-21, Carroll said "Will I forget it? No, I'm not forgetting it." I also told you the bloggers have put Carroll in the their sights & are ripping him daily. The Sporting News's Matt Hayes posted some evidence of just how hypocritical Pete really is. These 5 games are from 2008 & 2009:
USC, leading 45-7, threw a touchdown pass with 2:33 left in the 4th quarter vs. Virginia.
USC, leading 28-2, threw a touchdown pass with 1:33 left in the 4th quarter vs. Ohio State.
USC, leading 37-10, threw a touchdown pass with 1:50 left in the 4th quarter vs. Oregon
USC, leading 62-0, ran 1-yard for a touchdown with 2:16 left in the 4th quarter vs. Washington State.
USC, leading 49-3, threw a touchdown pass with 4:13 left in the 4th quarter vs. San Jose State.
So what have we learned? Like so many other things in this country, if we do it, it's perfectly O.K. If you do it to us, you're a bad sport, a jerk, or scum & subject to massive payback since making us look bad simply isn't allowed. It's funny how network & newspaper media think Carroll is right & Harbaugh's a jerk. The bloggers who examine Carroll's track record of doing exactly the same thing to team after team, think otherwise. Personally, I don't think Carroll ever got over Stanford's last win in the L.A. Coliseum, in 2007, Harbaugh's 42-point underdog beat USC in what most people call the greatest upset in college football history. Remember, it's October 9th, next season when USC visits Stanford for a rematch.
In NFL injury news some big names will be sidelined. Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu will miss Sunday's game in Kansas City. Chiefs' linebacker Mike Vrabel won't answer the bell either. Bengals' starting running back, Cedric Benson will miss Cincinnati's trip to Oakland because of a sore hip. Denver QB Kyle Orton didn't practice this week, but still holds out hope he can go against San Diego in a major AFC West showdown. Raven linebacker & leading sacker, Terrell Suggs will miss the 1st game of his career this Sunday when Baltimore plays Indianapolis. He suffered a sprained knee when Browns' QB Brady Quinn cut him down on a true cheap shot. Quinn was fined by the league for the hit. Redskin running back Clinton Portis & Eagles back Brian Westbrook will both miss games as they recover from concussions.
Miami's Ronnie Brown underwent foot surgery today to repair a Lisfranc fracture. I told you this week how amazing Ricky Williams has played this season, especially for a 32-year old running back with such a bruising style. Last night in Carolina, Williams scored all 3 of his team's touchdowns & rushed for 118 yards as the Dolphins won 24-17.
Blackouts continue to plague certain NFL franchises. Sunday's Cincy-Oakland game is blacked out. The Green Bay-Detroit game on Thanksgiving in Detroit will be blacked out as well. San Diego has struggled to sellout all year & their game next Sunday with Kansas City looks to be a blackout candidate with over 7,000 tickets remaining.
The New York Jets already have the "Sanchise", rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has had a very rocky season so far. In addition, he's brought some bad press down on himself eating hot dogs on the sideline in Oakland & last Sunday he went to the post-game press conference with a prepared statement he read. Now the Jets have "Cryin' Ryan". Head coach Rex Ryan broke down in tears after his team lost last Sunday to Jacksonville & did the same on Monday after a film session, both times in front of his entire team. Some guys, like Dick Vermeil, can get away with this. I wonder if a guy who has done nothing but breathe fire since the Jets hired him last January can survive, especially with his defensive players.
It's been 36 years since college football had six unbeaten teams going this deep into the season. Florida, Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati & Boise State have unblemished records. Obviously, Florida & 'Bama will face each other in the SEC championship game, so one of them will have a loss. Cincinnati faces Illinois next week & a 9-1 Pitt team the week after. So we could have as many as five undefeated teams going into the bowl season or four is Cincy stumbles. The other four look to be in good shape with their remaining schedules.
I think Kansas coach Mark Mangino will be fired Sunday or Monday. They figure to be routed by Texas Saturday night, but I don't see him on the sidelines at Arrowhead Thanksgiving weekend against Missouri. There are too many ex-players standing in line to take shots at Mangino in addition to those current Jayhawks who complained to A.D. Lew Perkins. I just can't see him surviving past Monday.
Charlie Weis should be fired a week from Sunday. One of the major reasons he was hired in South Bend was to beat USC. Weis' teams are 0-6 vs. the Trojans. They've lost too many games to unranked teams, all the while not being ranked very high themselves. Another reason the administration will have to look seriously at canning Weis is Tyronne Willingham & Bob Davies. Weis' winning percentage now rivals Willingham's & Davies'. If they got fired, Weis shouldn't be retained should he? I don't think so. He might be retained until their bowl game is played, but no later than that.
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