- Penalties. UofL committed 14 penalties tonight. That is way too many penalties to be committing in any game, even the first one of the season. The more acceptable range would be 5-7. If they continue to play in the 10+ range, then this is going to be a very, very long season, with very few wins.
- Kicking game. UofL's place kicking was an issue all last year. While Payne was able to make 3 of 4 field goals, his kick-offs were fairly short. This field position disadvantage will wear on the defense, and good offenses don't need any help.
- Burke's decision making. While his first interception was an errant pass in his wild first quarter, his second interception was a stupid mistake, and worries me about his instincts as a quarterback. With 6 seconds left, there is time for one quick pass into the the end zone. If that pass is not there, throw the ball out the back of the end zone quickly so you can then kick a field goal. Burke's instinct was to scramble and then try to dump the ball off with his left hand. That type of decision-making and game management worries me.
- Burke's arm. His deep passes need a lot of work. Once he settled down, he became fairly accurate with his shorter passes, but his deep passes were still off. I pin this on Burke because the receivers were open downfield, often wide open. If he can't stretch out the defense, then that is going to make life rough on the running backs, which are the highlight of the offense.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
UofL vs. Indiana State -- 9/5/09
In Kragthorpe's first season, the offense was able to keep the team in most games, but the defense was not able to stop anyone. (There was also this thing about a UConn punt returner running a punt back for a touchdown after signaling for a fair catch.) In his second season, the defense kept the game close, while the offense couldn't score. What's in store for this season? It's difficult to say. A game against a 1-AA school, excuse me, a Football Championship Series, will not really show you what your team can do. It will show things to be worried about.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Pitino Thing--My Two Cents Worth
For those of you that do not know what is going with the Rick Pitino/Karen Sypher scandal, quit living under a rock, and Google it. I am a blogger, not a journalist. Now, here is my opinion on the matter.
First, let's start with the actual act, sex in a restaurant. I agree with the police that this was likely not rape. But the fact remains that there was still sex at a place where people eat. That is just gross. I will not be eating at this place. Well, if I could afford it, I would choose not to eat here. While sex between two adults is not a big deal, Pitino is married. And to some people, adultery is a big deal. Okay, to most people, it's a big deal. But is it an issue to lose your job for? Well, that depends on who you are, and how good you are at your job. Pitino is coming off his first Big East championship, and back-to-back Elite Eight appearances. Yes, there is a "morality clause" in his contract that says the university may fire him for actions that are detrimental to the university. But honestly, you are a fool if you think that this clause is really there to fire people because of scandals. These clauses are there to provide an easy out for the university if they feel the need to fire the coach before their contract expires. The university can find conduct that is detrimental, and fire him without having to buyout his contract. As I mentioned earlier, Pitino is coming off a couple good seasons. Winning coaches don't get fired. Now, if this was Kragthorpe, the university would have thrown a party, and kicked him quickly to the curb.
Another issue at hand is whether or not Pitino paid Sypher to have an abortion. Right now some groups are protesting the university, and it'll likely come up again when UofL plays at Notre Dame. Here, I could just copy and paste my reasons Pitino won't get fired from this. Winning coaches don't get fired for non-NCAA scandals.
So, do I think Pitino should be fired? No, not really. I'm not one that thinks a person should be fired for non-job related issues if it is not effecting their job performance. Kind of like random drug tests at work. If you're a good employee, it shouldn't matter to the employer. I do hear some say that this will discourage parents from letting their kids play for Pitino, but this is naive. Good players are drawn to winning program. They want to go to someone that can get them to the NBA, and Pitino has shown he can do that. A sex scandal is not going to change that. So , long as Pitino keeps winning, and stays out of any NCAA trouble, he will remain with UofL for as long as he wants to.
First, let's start with the actual act, sex in a restaurant. I agree with the police that this was likely not rape. But the fact remains that there was still sex at a place where people eat. That is just gross. I will not be eating at this place. Well, if I could afford it, I would choose not to eat here. While sex between two adults is not a big deal, Pitino is married. And to some people, adultery is a big deal. Okay, to most people, it's a big deal. But is it an issue to lose your job for? Well, that depends on who you are, and how good you are at your job. Pitino is coming off his first Big East championship, and back-to-back Elite Eight appearances. Yes, there is a "morality clause" in his contract that says the university may fire him for actions that are detrimental to the university. But honestly, you are a fool if you think that this clause is really there to fire people because of scandals. These clauses are there to provide an easy out for the university if they feel the need to fire the coach before their contract expires. The university can find conduct that is detrimental, and fire him without having to buyout his contract. As I mentioned earlier, Pitino is coming off a couple good seasons. Winning coaches don't get fired. Now, if this was Kragthorpe, the university would have thrown a party, and kicked him quickly to the curb.
Another issue at hand is whether or not Pitino paid Sypher to have an abortion. Right now some groups are protesting the university, and it'll likely come up again when UofL plays at Notre Dame. Here, I could just copy and paste my reasons Pitino won't get fired from this. Winning coaches don't get fired for non-NCAA scandals.
So, do I think Pitino should be fired? No, not really. I'm not one that thinks a person should be fired for non-job related issues if it is not effecting their job performance. Kind of like random drug tests at work. If you're a good employee, it shouldn't matter to the employer. I do hear some say that this will discourage parents from letting their kids play for Pitino, but this is naive. Good players are drawn to winning program. They want to go to someone that can get them to the NBA, and Pitino has shown he can do that. A sex scandal is not going to change that. So , long as Pitino keeps winning, and stays out of any NCAA trouble, he will remain with UofL for as long as he wants to.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Hat Trick - 2/7/09
1) The way NHL hands down suspensions confounds me. One person gets a 1 game suspension for leaving the bench to join in on a fight, someone gets a 2 game suspension for fighting, someone gets a fine for hitting someone in the head with a stick, and yet someone else gets 6 games for saying some players are getting his sloppy seconds because they are dating his. Now, I am fairly new to really following hockey, so my memory is shaky as to who did what, with the exception of the last person, but I wanted to be consistent.
2) Both of my rooting interests in hockey, Columbus ("local") and Pittsburgh (first NHL time I discovered) are currently on the outside of the playoff picture, but not by much. I find the Pittsburgh situation confusing, in that they have the top two scorers in the NHL, but still have trouble scoring goals consistently. (For better coverage of Pittsburgh, go to Pensburgh.) With the March 4 trade deadline a few weeks away, I will be keeping track of who is buying, and who is selling.
3) The Las Vegas Wranglers, an AHL team, had quite possibly the greatest promotion ever on Wednesday night, Blagojevich night. In recognition of governor, everyone involved in the game wore prison uniforms. The home team had the black stripe jerseys, the away team wore solid orange jerseys, and the officials wore prison guard uniforms. This is probably my favorite quote about the story, taken from channel KTNV's website. "Over the years we've asked our players to not look so tough for a cause," Johnson said. "Once they had a lot of chirping from opposing players when we've dressed them in pink for cancer research. We owe them a game of looking a little more sketchy. G-Rod helps us with that." Below are pictures of the uniforms.
2) Both of my rooting interests in hockey, Columbus ("local") and Pittsburgh (first NHL time I discovered) are currently on the outside of the playoff picture, but not by much. I find the Pittsburgh situation confusing, in that they have the top two scorers in the NHL, but still have trouble scoring goals consistently. (For better coverage of Pittsburgh, go to Pensburgh.) With the March 4 trade deadline a few weeks away, I will be keeping track of who is buying, and who is selling.
3) The Las Vegas Wranglers, an AHL team, had quite possibly the greatest promotion ever on Wednesday night, Blagojevich night. In recognition of governor, everyone involved in the game wore prison uniforms. The home team had the black stripe jerseys, the away team wore solid orange jerseys, and the officials wore prison guard uniforms. This is probably my favorite quote about the story, taken from channel KTNV's website. "Over the years we've asked our players to not look so tough for a cause," Johnson said. "Once they had a lot of chirping from opposing players when we've dressed them in pink for cancer research. We owe them a game of looking a little more sketchy. G-Rod helps us with that." Below are pictures of the uniforms.
3-Pointer
1) I have two words of advice of UofL fans, don't panic. Sure UConn came in on Monday night and absolutely destroyed UofL in Freedom Hall. Sure, no one besides T-Will could do anything in that game, but remember, it was just one game. Bad nights happen. Now, if UofL loses at St. John's, at Notre Dame, and against DePaul, then you can start panicing.
2) On Wednesday, IU beat Iowa 68-60 to gain their first Big Ten win of the season (6-15, 1-8). To say that Tom Crean has had a rough first season at IU would be an understatement, but this has not been unexpected. When Crean came into the program during the offseason, he did quite a bit of house cleaning. After the Mike Davis firing, and the Kelvin Sampson debacle, the program was in an awful predicament. However, I do have confidence that Crean will be able to restore IU to the type of program it used to be, and more importantly, I believe that the President and AD at IU understand the problem, and will give Crean time to do the job.
3) On Wednesday, LeBron James had a triple-double (52 points, 11 assits, 10 rebounds) against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, following up on Kobe's record setting 61 points earlier in the week. Well, correction, no he didn't. On Friday, NBA officials took away one of his rebounds, and said that it should have gone to Ben Wallace. Stupid staticticians and their stupid counting.
2) On Wednesday, IU beat Iowa 68-60 to gain their first Big Ten win of the season (6-15, 1-8). To say that Tom Crean has had a rough first season at IU would be an understatement, but this has not been unexpected. When Crean came into the program during the offseason, he did quite a bit of house cleaning. After the Mike Davis firing, and the Kelvin Sampson debacle, the program was in an awful predicament. However, I do have confidence that Crean will be able to restore IU to the type of program it used to be, and more importantly, I believe that the President and AD at IU understand the problem, and will give Crean time to do the job.
3) On Wednesday, LeBron James had a triple-double (52 points, 11 assits, 10 rebounds) against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, following up on Kobe's record setting 61 points earlier in the week. Well, correction, no he didn't. On Friday, NBA officials took away one of his rebounds, and said that it should have gone to Ben Wallace. Stupid staticticians and their stupid counting.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Strikeout - 1/29/09
In attempt to motivate myself to update more, I am going to try to implement a new column series. Since I rarely have the time to write a long piece, these will be a series of 3 quick points regarding a particular sport, and will be titled as such. Baseball = Strikeout, football = 3 Point Stance, hockey = Hat Trick, and basketball = 3 Pointer.
1. Now, I have never been a big supporter of a salary cap in baseball, but during this off-season, the New York Yankees are making me believe something needs to be done. So far, they have spent over $441 million on free agents. The second place buyer is the Cubs at slightly over $87 million. The total expenditure of the other 29 teams is $557.2 million, with the mean being $19.2 million, and the median (#15 on the list) $11.55 million. To me, this represents a problem. While I still do not favor an overall salary cap (although I am leaning more in that direction every year), I do not think a cap on free agency expenditure is not unreasonable. Maybe set a per year limit so teams have to build gradually, or a 2-3 year average mark that forces teams to choose whether they want a slow build, or throw all of their eggs into one basket.
2. The Reds have not done a lot in the free agent market, but I do like the moves they have made. I think signing Willy Taveras was a good move. It gives them a decent lead-off hitter and fills an unsure centerfield. If he can have a season somewhere between his very good 2007 season and his poor 2008 season, the Reds will be in good shape.
3. It sucks that Detroit plays at St. Louis instead of at Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to convince my Tigers fan friend to go to a game against the Indians or Royals so he can boo those division foes.
1. Now, I have never been a big supporter of a salary cap in baseball, but during this off-season, the New York Yankees are making me believe something needs to be done. So far, they have spent over $441 million on free agents. The second place buyer is the Cubs at slightly over $87 million. The total expenditure of the other 29 teams is $557.2 million, with the mean being $19.2 million, and the median (#15 on the list) $11.55 million. To me, this represents a problem. While I still do not favor an overall salary cap (although I am leaning more in that direction every year), I do not think a cap on free agency expenditure is not unreasonable. Maybe set a per year limit so teams have to build gradually, or a 2-3 year average mark that forces teams to choose whether they want a slow build, or throw all of their eggs into one basket.
2. The Reds have not done a lot in the free agent market, but I do like the moves they have made. I think signing Willy Taveras was a good move. It gives them a decent lead-off hitter and fills an unsure centerfield. If he can have a season somewhere between his very good 2007 season and his poor 2008 season, the Reds will be in good shape.
3. It sucks that Detroit plays at St. Louis instead of at Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to convince my Tigers fan friend to go to a game against the Indians or Royals so he can boo those division foes.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
UofL vs UK, Basketball
UofL won this game 74-71, on a 30-foot 3-point shot by Edgar Sosa with 2.8 seconds remaining. The game was tied at 71 with 16 seconds left, after UofL gave up a 4 point lead on two Earl Clark turnovers. Meeks and Patterson had wonderful games for Kentucky. Any success UK is to see this season will hinge on the performance of these two players.
With UofL, the key to playing well is emotion. Specifically, the players emotional state of mind. Sosa is a great example of this. He's been in a slide ever since he missed what would have been the game-winning shot against Texas A&M in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Overall, his confidence was shaken, and he plays better if he is confident in what he is doing. He will have a good game if he can hit an early shot. If he does not, then usually he will have a bad game. Hopefully, this game-winning shot will last in his mind a while.
But Sosa is not the only player who's performance depends on his mindset. Clark and Samuels are also like this. Clarks shot has been off, and you can see it in his body language and his expression. Same thing with Samuels. There are times when he is having a difficult time adjusting to college ball. Now, this is not a critique of anyone's work ethic. I have not felt like any player has given up on a game.
Monday, December 15, 2008
It's Been A While
It has been a long while since I have updated this blog, but it is difficult to write on topics when the teams you are following absolutely stink.
- UofL football had an abysmal year, going 5-7. This 5-7 was reached after being 5-2 at one point in the season. Jurich is standing behind Kragthorpe, but I expect some changes to be made on the offensive side of things. Namely a change in Offensive Coordinators. Jeff Brohm is a fine Quarterbacks coach, but his offensive playcalling leaves something to be desired. On the defensive side of the ball, Ron English had greatly improved the defense, for most of the season. If they show nearly as much improvement next year, then the defense will be fine.
- The Cincinnati Bengals have had an even worse season, but thankfully not as bad as the Detroit Lions. The season has not been helped by the injury to Carson Palmer, but things were destined to be bad before the season began. You can't release two starters, an offensive lineman and running back, and expect things to go well on offense.
- Free agency signing is in full swing for the MLB, and it looks like the Yankees are trying to buy their way back into the playoffs, but what else would you expect. They have already signed A. J. Burnett, a starting pitcher rated as the fourth best player in free agency, and are in talks with C. C. Sabathia, the second rated player in free agency. The Reds have not had a lot of movement in the free agent market, but no key players are up for free agency this year.
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