NCAA Freshman Basketball...The Way it Was

Way before there was a street agent on every corner hustling any basketball player that had any type of game, before there was a Nike or Adidas, there was NCAA freshman basketball. Incoming freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball. Every year most NCAA schools would bring in 3 to 4 freshmen to pick up the slack from graduating seniors or any other defections. Some schools would go the juco route for the quick fix.
Since Juco's will be in the mix in this conversation, juco basketball was a different animal in those days. There were not prep schools like there are today hiding out and making grades for the non qualifiers. The juco teams were monsters. There was a team in Phoenix, Phoenix College, that had the number one high school team delivered on their doorstep, courtesy of Southern Cal. This same core group, Dennis Mo Layton, George Watson and LeRoy Cobb would proceed to USC where they would be the only team to beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. (That Southern Cal team could not go to the NCAA tourney because there was only one team per conference selected.) As good as this Juco group was, they did not win the national championship. I say this because this was the basic competition for most freshman NCAA teams.
My freshman year we had two bigs, myself, who was sort of a swingman, and a guard. All years prior to my freshman year, all undergrads not on scholarship could be on the freshman team regardless of the actual class they were in. When we started practicing we looked really good and we even beat the varsity in a short scrimmage. Unfortunately, before the first game, the NCAA reversed a long standing rule and made only freshmen eligible for freshmen basketball. We lost all our heigth and depth about a week before our first game. Remember, with the Vietnam war and the draft, there were a bunch of guys on the 5 and 6 year plan that could ball.
To make matters worse for our team, the very first day of practice one of our promising big men, my room mate, Jerry Eastman, blew out his knee. He never played one minute of basketball for Miami his injury was so severe. This happened in the first 20 minutes of our first day of just playing pick up games in the armory. Now we were down to 3 scholarship players.

The typical game was played before the varsity game, against a junior college. In Florida, there were many powerhouse junior college teams. Now, in our case our other big man, Bob Nylin, had some ankle sprains and missed some games. So, at six five and 190 pounds, I would guard a six eight or nine post who had about 50 pounds on me. So I was in many cases 2 positions out. The rest of the lineup when that happened would max out at about six two and in many cases shorter. There wasn't much offense that could be run as it was, and it only go worse if I hit foul trouble. It was basically isolate Robb Austin, our scholarship guard and let him go one on one.
To make matters worse, playing out of position did not prepare you as well as it could have for college ball. The other matter was road games. When the varsity was on the road trips, we would play the jucos on the road at their gym. This would come with a homer announcer and refs. If you made a turnover, the announcer would announce your name really crazy in front of a packed house. Bob and I would usually pick up a quick 3 fouls and it was not cool. A few times when we didn't let the juco's depth get to us, and had fair refs, we really hung in there. We played close on one a occasion with a highly ranked team and their 9th man came off the bench and hit 3 25 footers and killed us. We played this team about 3 times and this guy never got off the bench before. That was the kind of depth and strength we were up against. As a consolation, we beat a freshman team the next night by 20. It was the only freshman team we played all year, Georgia Tech.
This is another caveat one had at playing at Miami. The rest of Florida exclusive of Miami was very southern and Miami was considered another world, especially in those days. As such, Miami teams would always get the shaft from the refs, even at home. It got old real fast.
Now, the good part was we did get to go home for the holidays as freshmen. The NCAA in their infinite wisdom wanted the freshman year to be an adjustment for academics and adapting to college life away from home. If you want to see a ghost town, go to any university around the holidays. It is just the basketball team on campus.
The following year our freshman team consisted of Lionel Harris, a great guard, Mike Darnell, a fantastic shooter who would later transfer and Dave Kisker, a 7 footer with size in the middle. As an added bonus, we had NFL Minnesota Vikings great Walter "Chuck" Foreman, on the team. Chuck could have played D-1 basketball at many schools. Chuck was a world class high hurdler as well. Even with this talent, when foul trouble and injuries happened, this team would get in the same dilemna as our freshman team.
The above was the same pattern I saw the next few years after my freshman year. Miami would put 2 or 3 scholarship players on the floor against some of the best juco players in the country. Many times it would be a real struggle against the talent and depth the freshmen team faced. I saw this pattern around the country at many schools. It was the old saying, the names may change, but the game remains the same. Now the NCAA freshman basketball is a long time gone.

Lionel Harris...A Team Mate and Friend

This one hurt. It put everything I was thinking about to the back and this has consumed me for over a week. I learned from former Hurricanes teammates that Lionel Harris had passed away in September. I read his obituary in the Washington Post. It really seems unfair that someones life is shortened to a couple paragraphs.

Lionel stepped onto the court at Miami and right away, you noticed his smoothness. He seemed to glide, but try to guard him and he blew right by you. He blew right by everyone. He slammed effortlessly on the goal, without the help of breakaway rims. In those days Miami had the worst of facilities, but players came there for the reputation of the program during Rick Barry's days when the Hurricanes were known for a flashy running style.

Many of the ABA pros came to play on campus during the off season at our gorgeous facility, the armory, seating capacity zero, with all the amenities including no air conditioning. I saw a lot of the glamor boys go head up with Lionel, and generally, they got schooled...even though he was a freshman and they were highly drafted pros. It would be a theme that would be repeated often during Lionel's short stay in Miami.

Lionel was good. What was better was that Lionel was humble and non pretentious off the court. What stood out to me was his smile, and when I saw it in his obituary it made me almost break down. Lionel said hi to everyone...not just the jocks, but everyone. He was popular and loved! When Lionel first came to Miami, we all looked at his yearbook...we did that with everyone. Lionel's yearbook was unique because it was dedicated to the principal of Cardoza High School, his alma mater. We asked why and he said he was killed during a holdup of the school bookstore. Lionel made it out and was a symbol of pride for his community.

At the bottom of the blog I will post some links that will give some highlights of his life. Lionel was one of the 100 best DC basketball players of all time. This is a great honor, because the Nations Capitol is one of the hotbeds for schoolboy basketball and recruiting. In fact, one link by Harold Bell sums up Lionel's' career nicely:

I attended Tommy’s wake on Thursday and attended Lionel Harris’ wake the next day. Lionel was also a first team All-Met basketball player at Cardozo High School in 1969-70.

I first met Lionel in 1968 when I became the assistant coach (wide receivers) for the Cardozo football team as a favor to my teammate, head coach, Bob Headen. Bob and I played against each other in high school and college and became teammates on the Virginia Sailors (a minor league team for the NFL Washington Redskins). Bob talked a half-dozen other Sailor teammates into volunteering their services. Cardozo football and basketball teams were top contenders in the West in the late 60s.

The classy Harold Dean was the head basketball coach during that era and Lionel Harris and Big Michael Jackson were the glue that held the “Clerks” together. They went into every game thinking that they could win and most times they did.

Lionel’s friend and classmate Earl Boone made sure his home going did not go unnoticed. During the wake he read letters from former DC Public Schools student/athlete (Dunbar) DC Mayor Vincent Gray and a basketball player wanna-be, President Barack Obama. We all should be so lucky to have the two leaders of the Nation’s Capitol say “Great Game!”

Lionel later transferred to Cincinnati where he started immediately. After Cincy, he was chosen in the first round of the NBA Supplemental Draft where he went to the 76ers. After he was cut, he never pursued a pro career. However, Lionel did keep playing and was voted the MVP in 1975 of the Urban Coalition Summer League. This was a league of active pros and collegians with fierce competition. Lionel was a legend around DC and schooled countless pros. This hit me as very refreshing, because here is a guy playing for the love of the game and playing at the highest level. There is so much to be said for that. It is a rare quality in the modern "show me the money"era.

Lionel, I remember when you had to be restrained because you were ready pounce on Artis Gilmore in a game...you were only giving up 12 inches and a hundred pounds, but that didn't scare you. Lionel symbolized the ultimate teammate you wanted to go into battle.

Tragedy hit Lionel hard. In the late 80's, his son, Lionel Junior, a scholar, wrote a paper on random violence in the Washington area. The paper earned critical reviews, but the day after the paper was published, Lionel Junior was gunned down while waiting for a bus in a random act of violence. This story made headlines in USA today. Most parents cannot and do not want to imagine this kind of tragedy.

Lionel, we loved and respected you and we will all remember your smile. May you find peace on the big court in the sky.

http://dcbasketball.wordpress.com/page/2/
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=lionel-r-harris&pid=153638943&fhid=2193

Let's Jazz Up These College Nicknames

I was driving in my car when the little man in the radio said "tonight, the West Virginia Mountaineers host the LSU Tigers. West Virginia has a nickname that fits. They are, after all, the Mountain State. But other than the tiger in the cage in Baton Rouge, I have never seen a tiger in Louisiana. So, I have naturally volunteered my services and will try to rename a few names that seem appropriate.

University of Texas Longhorns-Really a fitting name...But whenever anyone comes to visit and they see those uniforms the band wears, they say "I told you it was this way in Texas." So we change the name to the Yahoos, in honor of the band uniforms and the boys that run onto the field in the Orange lame' cowboy suits while escorting their hallowed mascot Bevo. The Texas Yahoos. The helmets will have a big Y. Maybe they get a deal with Yahoo.com. to enhance the Longhorn network.

University of Arizona Wildcats will be changed to the Pollos and the helmets will have a big chicken on it. This will be in reference to all the illegal aliens crossing the border, called Pollos, or chickens in Spanish.

If U of Houston keeps the name Cougars, the logo has to have an outline of a woman in a tight dress smoking a cigarette while sitting on a bar stool, because there are no animal cougars in Houston except at the zoo.

Arizona State is pretty close with the Sun Devils, but how about "The Bubblers"? The helmet could have a house with a foreclosure notice on it in honor of the housing bubble in the Valley of the Sun.

Ohio State changes to the Ink Dogs in honor of the tattoos. The helmet has a tattoo artist sitting on a stool wearing a beret.

There's not too many bears in the Bay Area, so U Cal Berkley gets changed to the Bongsters in honor of the heritage laid down by the hippies of Haight Ashbury. The helmets could have the five fingered leafed plant, with a special Nike Combat uniform with all numbers designed as bongs and rolling papers.

Miami is hurricane country no doubt, but how about renaming the team the Wise Guys, in honor of all the East Coasters who think there are only two places in the world, Miami and Jersey.

Kentucky goes from the Wildcats to the Stillmen. Helmets have the new logo which is a jug of corn squeezins.

Southern Cal changes from the Trojans to the Country Clubbers and their helmets sport the tennis racket and golf iron criss crossed like the bones on a skull and cross bones . This is, after all, the school where mommy and daddy send you if you can't make the cut to Stanford.

Arkansas goes right to the name Hillbillies. Great marketing possibilities with any number of symbols for the helmets.

UTEP goes from The Miners to the Cartel. No big explanation needed being on the border with Juarez.

The Sooners of Oklahoma immediately change their name to the University of Oklahoma Texans in honor of all the Texas players on their football team. It just fits.

Oklahoma State changes their name to the T-Bones in honor of T-Boone Pickens and his generosity to the athletic department. Possibly dollar signs on their helmets or one of Boones new windmills.

UCLA immediately changes the name to the Surfers and has a surfboard on the helmet. When's the last time you saw a bruin in L.A.?

At Texas A and M, we rename them the Turf Kings. It is the home of agriculture correct? But we name them the new name because they recently changed to Astro Turf on the football field to keep the homecoming queen from eating the grass....(The world's oldest joke, had to say it.)

And finally, pick a team, any team in the SEC and rename them the Rednecks.

No Alcohol Served at this Game; Miami Part 2

I had to go to Waco this weekend to see my daughters volleyball team play in a 4 way tournament at Baylor. The football crowd I encountered was unlike any I have ever been a part of.

I had tickets on the front row of Baylor-TCU. The last game I went to was a late start at Reliant about 7 years ago when the Texans were playing the Jets on a 3 o'clock kickoff. During the 3 o'clock kickoff, the fans still start the early morning tail-gating and the result is with the later kickoff, they are a ton more inebriated. Honestly, taking kids to a game where you have to walk around vomit and answer question about why the guy leaning on the the wall is sick is a total drag. Plus, the fighting is really getting out of hand. I always feel it's a successful year if I don't get sucked into a Texan game. The best seat is in your living room.

At Baylor they do not serve any alcoholic beverages at the athletic contests. Baylor is a Baptist school. Their opponent TCU is also a Christian based University (this is not an endorsement for any religion).

What was readily apparent was the lack of "that guy". You know who that is...the guy who is blasted out of his mind who is lacing a profanity in every other word. That guy is the man who makes it really crazy to go to a game with children or even by yourself because he is belligerent and a fool. That guy is the dude who says your team sucks. That guy was absent at the Baylor game. And I sort of liked it a whole bunch.

I don't begrudge anyone who can sensibly partake an alcoholic beverage at an athletic contest. Baseball would probably draw 50% if you couldn't have a beer at the ole ballgame. And, I really don't know what the answer should be. I only know that this weekend there were passionate fans rooting their hearts out for their respective teams, and these same fans gave respect when the other team made a great play.

I was able to appreciate this atmosphere because I haven't had a drink for quite a few years. I have went to games in the past where I did drink, but kept the foolish behavior down. It was a nice scene for a game played in a really different atmosphere.

As for the game, it was a track meet, a real fan's delight. Robert Griffin was a young Randall Cunningham. Some say Mike Vick because of his athleticism. I say Randall Cunningham because he really throws a fantastic ball. As a receiver, it is the type of ball you would like to catch. He has a great arm and tremendous speed. He is a world class hurdler in track. The game was off the chart. Follow Robert Griffin. He appears to be the real deal.
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I was lucky enough to tour the Baylor Basketball training room and practice facility. The basketball teams training room is 6700 square feet. It has everything you can think of inside. The facility at Baylor would be the envy of most pro basketball teams. The stereo system costs $80,000. I won't bore you with all the details, but the dumbells have a grip about twice as big as a regular one at the local gym. This is because basketball players have bigger hands and this will give them a better forearm and wrist workout. Nothing, and I mean nothing is left to detail. The weight racks are 9 feet high to account for tall people.
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There are 2 great articles I will give you links to about the Miami scandal. There was one thing I mentioned that really struck me as wrong about Shapiro. He is a world class liar and the journalist, Mr Robinson, seemed to take his word for granted.
Consider that you have boats, prostitutes and booze. So what is the missing ingredient in all this? Drugs, and of course, there was no mention of this. Why was there no mention? Because Shapiro does not want to open that Pandora's Box and get the drug people handing him more prison time. Also, there was no mention of Mr. Shapiro's letter to a judge asking him to free his father in the late 90's on a big embezzlement charge. Why was this left out. Again, there were some NCAA violations, just not as big as they were sensationalised in Yahoo. com. In some ways Robinson was sucked in much like the people Shapiro embezzled the 900 million from.

To me, Frank Haith, the basketball coach was painted very unfairly with a broad brush. I personally know George Fernandez the assistant coach at Miami. He has taken in former players after graduation to help them while they are getting their feet wet in the world of employment. This is after they graduated, so there is no underlying motivation. He is a very solid guy and to me it's total BS that he goes through any of this because of any guilt by association. I have met George's dad who used to coach with one of my old Miami coaches, Dick Hickox. Again, I cannot state what a solid guy George is and what a flimsy heresay bunch of garbage Shapiro has on him. Any evidence against him and Mr. Haith are flimsy and I would bet false. I will say it here: Haith and Fernandez did not jeopardize their jobs for 10 thousand dollars.

Check out Jason Whitlock's article by clicking below:
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Jason-Whitlock-Yahoo-Nevin-Shapiro-Miami-Hurricanes-scandal-082811

Also, Matt Taibbi has a very good article on this at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/sportswriters-rally-to-the-cause-of-unpaid-labor-20110826

Ain't It Great...To Be..A Miami Hurricane

When the Man Pictured, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports comes knocking on your door, You best get out of town.

In about 1994 I told my oldest son that I would love to take him to a real stadium, Sun Devil Stadium, to see a game on a real grass field instead of this damn Astrodome. The opportunity finally presented itself, Miami was playing the University of Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium for the Fiesta Bowl. Being a Miami Alum, I hadn't been to a Hurricanes game in over 20 years. Plus, I grew up in Sun Devil Stadium, going back to when it held on 30 thousand people. My dad played for the Sun Devils and I was a brainwashed Wildcat hating Sun Devil fan (since then I have come to realize being a rabid fan is mostly BS).

During my visit to Phoenix, I paid a visit to the hotel the Canes were staying at to see a good friend, the late great Sonny Hirsch, the voice of the Canes and the funniest guy in the world. I was at Sonny's show, and it was the greatest. While at the hotel, I noticed the lack of control and how the football players were running around wild. Oh well, its a Bowl Game and kids will be kids. A friend said his wife was going to the Hurricane Club party that night and would I like to come. Since I never went, I agreed.

To my dismay, at the party, the same cheerleader that was legendary at Miami when I was there, was introduced as "the Mouth of the South" and did the same old tired cheers we used to have at our games. Ain't it great, to be, a Miami Hurrr AH Cane as well as a bunch of mumbo jumbo being yelled out to our unofficial fight song, "The Land of 1000 Dances". I left after about a half hour of bad memories. The next day I saw the perpetrators in sombreros under a souvenir stand with severe hangovers. The thing that really stood out was the old people with money that were escorting the players. I guess if you can't do much of anything for kicks anymore, you can always buy some friendship with a young athlete who is probably broke.

Athletes on a boat in Miami? Are you kidding! Any jock in the school could get invited to go on a boat. This is Miami and they were everywhere. Just go over to a frat house and someone will eventually ask you. Good looking women and cocktails. Miami is not exactly some Midwestern outpost where the women are eating bon bons all winter, dressing like Eskimos and putting on an extra 40 to 50 pounds. (As a side note, it cracks me up when these snowbound schools are rated in the top 25 in the party ratings. Although, it is probably so miserable when you don't see the sun for 9 straight months, being an alcoholic is maybe a good alternative. Hey lets go skinny dipping in the lake. Its a warm 10 above zero.)

Many of us got invited on boats. In fact, one time our guys didn't go and the boat capsized and mangled a really good guys leg and dumped the passengers in a bed of Man O Wars. So partying on boats has always been a Miami staple.

Charles Robinson does monumental research. His graveyard tombstones include, USC, Jim Tressel, North Carolina and more. The difference with Miami is this is a number one booster. Ohio State's booster was a 3rd tier booster. Miami had a ton of players on this deal, USC and Ohio State only a few. Former Miami AD and AD while some of this went down, Paul Dees, laid it on big and showed no mercy for USC in his role in advising the NCAA. Now the tables are turned on the program he ran. What will justice bring?

I hope this is all a lie. Shapiro is after all a professional liar. You have to be a very exceptional liar to embezzle people out of 900 MILLION DOLLARS. Still, I saw people in pictures I know. Pete Carol never hung with Reggie Bush's bagman and posed for a picture. Yet the head Basketball Coach and University President posed with Shapiro. This is just way too wierd. He said they knew. They were paid off and used his money for a student lounge and to recruit a player.

Why is it always the little Napoleonic complex guys, the midgets, that want to hang with the jocks? What's so special about being with someone that you have to buy their friendship? Most College kids will accept booze and boat rides. Bill Russell had it correct when he wouldn't sign autographs. He said kids should ask for their parents autographs. Bill Russell was right.

I have received opinions all day about this from my former team mates. I will put them out in a later post. They show no mercy to our school. Miami is not alone, but it is a place that can take craziness to the next level due to the unique sun soaked atmosphere.

Yesterday my Miami hat came in from Amazon. I decided to buy it because a real hero, Will Allen, the captain of our/my basketball team, is always wearing that hat. Will was our first Afro American basketball player at Miami. He is a difference maker (www.growingpower.org). He is feeding the poor of Nations, speaking at big universities and addressing the concerns of organic healthy food and making it available in blighted neighborhoods and third world countries. I want to end this on a good note. So, when you think of Miami, put Will Allen in your search engine and read about someone who was a really special Hurricane.

The Sleazy World of Basketball Recruiting

Editor Note: This column is not a blanket statement of all AAU coaches or situations. It is not an indictment of the players who play 4 and 5 games a day auditioning for coaches. It is about a system that is just out of control and my experiences with it. It is not intended in any way shape or form to indict the hundreds of guys who volunteer their time and do it the right way. The guys who have no motivation except to help kids better their situation. These are the unsung heroes.

David Salinas seemed like one of the good guys. Did I really know him? No, I talked with him at a high school game when he wanted my son to switch teams. He made a very persuasive low key presentation about why Houston Select would be best for my son. Personally, I felt all the switching around and hopping from the team to team was one of the problems with the summer world of AAU basketball. My son had committed to a team and decided to stay with it. It was a good team, one of the top 5 in the country the year before.

David Salinas was found on his water craft dead, a victim of suicide. A real tragedy for his family and the people associated with him. At last count, Coaches were bilked out of over 8 million dollars....or so it appears. Hopefully they find the money. Apparently it is gone. I have to say the coaches have shown a ton more restraint than I would have. Maybe the ones still employed don't want to talk too loudly because they know the NCAA may come around.

I always heard David had coaches investing with him. The guy who told me said it was life long coaching friends. I never connected the dots. In fact, the smartest guy in the whole situation was Tom Penders. He told Salinas up front that it did not seem right, that with Salinas' control over players, it looked like too grey an area for him to get into.

Salinas was great friends with Rice University coaches. Rice is a school no coach from other schools will talk down about. They do not compromise on academic standards and the kids they get attending that school have in general, great character. Who can doubt a guy who associates with guys as good as the people from Rice? You've heard of guilt by association, well in David Salinas' case it might have been innocence by association. To read more about this fascinating case click below:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1188681/index.htm

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A young man gets asked to commit to a school he wants to attend. Before the biggest camp of the year, the ABCD camp, where high schoolers like LeBron James among others will attend, the young mans dad and player are advised to go through with the recruiting process.

When the young man goes to camp, he plays well and gets some good ink on the various internet sites. The local school goes to every game he plays in and makes it look apparent that they are interested in this player. The player keeps playing well throughout the summer season from the local school as well as many high major hoops powers. The AAU coach keeps telling the player to go through the recruiting process. One time, when Colorado State was talking to the player, the AAU coach grabbed the phone and blatantly asked the assistant for some ski lift tickets. It wasn't a joke either. To the college coaches credit, he said he didn't know where he could even get any for himself. The coach kept persisting and asked for tickets and an exhibition game, with a hint hint but not outright said, that he could deliver said player. ( An exhibition game is not legal, but was a way for the various AAU teams to play the college teams on their first game. They would get paid 10 to 40k per game depending on the school, and get some ex college players to suit up and pay the players a hundred a game and pocket the difference. Nike and Adidas supplied these guys free unis and shoes, so they already had it all. )

All of a sudden the players phone stops ringing and there is panic. This player is too good for this to happen. Luckily, the player is connected to a former college coach and he ends up getting a scholarship. The coaches that come around say that they were looking at him, but with the local coach making it known they wanted him, they figured local kid, local school and they backed off.

After the player is in college for a year, his parents receive a call from an above board AAU coach who says the reason he stopped being recruited by the local school and other high major D-1 schools is that the AAU coach said he would deliver this player with an exhibition game and the money that comes with it...unbeknownst to the parents or the player. The father told me that he got to talk with the local coach (since fired) a couple years later. This coach was a really nice man and the father wanted to let him know they had no clue that this had happened and was really sorry. The bad part was the coach could have really used this player.

And that is one of the big problems with the AAU summer circuit. I have had countless parents tell me how mad they were because the AAU coach got paid for their kid going to a school and they got nothing. Now, I never heard this said about David Salinas, or the Houston Hoops for that matter. In fact, most of the players loved David from what I saw. And most coaches said the Houston Hoops were a class act.

I have seen some kids have a choice of 2 schools, with one being an obvious great fit, only to choose the worst of the 2 because the AAU coach got paid.

Again, I don't want to label all coaches in AAU this way or all college programs. Just know it goes down. It happens fairly often. An old saying used to be "Chicago kids know what they are worth." That probably means they have a street agent or pimp AAU coach. If you want to read about how crazy it is, read Play their Hearts Out by George Dohrman. It says it all.

Also, a friend told me this saying about the summer circuit:"The names may change but the game remains the same." It is guard oriented. It is ball hog basketball, because there are motives here and they are 1) I want to get rated as the best and 2) I want to be a star. The kids are drilled into this mode. These are the motives that are eating at the fabric of the game. How many really tall guys do I see that go nowhere near the post because they want to be highlight reels. Note to you coaches, it is not a coincidence that Shaq and Tim Duncan won so many titles. Guards are nice, but a big man that is dominant can help you dominate. Yes, every once in a while you will see good team basketball in the summer. But in many cases it is ball hog basketball and you might never know how good the big men are.

What you are left with as a spectator is a really terrible game like the finals of the NCAA tournament this year. Fundamentals are overlooked the majority of the time, again not by all. The motivational factor for a ton of the coaches are What's in It for Me, or maybe they are a parent. There are a ton of unqualified coaches and the last 10 years has produced an AAU team on every street corner. I would say in the last 10 years AAU teams have doubled. And the play has watered down accordingly. Every kid thinks he is a D-1 player. In my mind there is nothing wrong with going to a good NAIA school or a good D-2 school and graduating. Every year a number of NAIA schools and D-2 Schools defeat D-1 teams. Fact is, many a D-1 school used to be D-2 not that long ago. Parents, D-2 is a free education. If that is what your child gets embrace it and make sure he graduates.

One coach that will be nameless had the exhibition rule named after him (colleges no longer get them thanks to his up front abuse...he was a Houston guy.) This same coach had the world by the tail. He had 3 surefire pro players on his summer team, and once you got past his arrogance he was a very good coach. That just wasn't enough. One game in LA we had the bleachers by the baseline. We had to go all the way to Los Angeles to play a Houston team that both coaches refused to play because their egos were too big. This team had some players our team cut. The game was close and a time out was called. All parents were on this little bleacher behind the huddle in the end zone baseline. He chewed his team out and said the other team sucked. When he sensed these parents coming out of the stands...parents who couldn't stand him... he started stammering "Oh don't get me wrong, now they are damn good."

This coach started a board of directors with connected wealthy businessmen who could mentor some of the players. One generous man started a tournament and brought LeBron James to Clear Lake High for a weekend tournament. He did it without blinking an eye. He gave the coach money for the foundation in cash. He spent over 5 grand on junk at the tennis shoe company executive store and brought back some rubber watches for the board. That was the final straw. Unfortunately, the board was going to do some good things for the players that did not get D-1 offers as now this guy had 4 teams. They were going to scour the NAIA and d-2 ranks for some scholarships. Never happened.

AAU coaches will tell you that they are getting these guys scholarships. Most of the guys on the team above had them in the bag without ever playing a minute of AAU ball. AAU ball had nothing to do with their getting a full ride. These guys had the scholarship in the bag.

But the high school season is meaningless in most cases and the AAU guy has the free shoes.

I believe it is harder being a parent of a player than being a player. There is a ton of anxiety when scholarship times come. As a parent, you don't need behind the scene deals that can affect the integrity of your child.

Words Not Meant but Words That Kill

People will say almost anything in the heat of competition. Most of the times these words are not meant but are said in the heat of the moment. In the emotion of the event, especially when there is a crowd present and the stakes are fairly high, these words can kill. They can kill friendships, relationships and in the worst case scenario people.

I was playing in a big high school game in what was another lifetime. This was a time when every kid seemed to go to the games and I went to a very big high school of around five thousand kids. And, to show you how crazy it was, sometimes the students would attend the games with their parents. How uncool in these days in times, right children. Yet then it was common.

I was going to ask a very nice girl out. This in itself was going to be quite a chore in and of itself, because my dad made sure I understood basketball and books and that was it....girls would destroy both, or so I was brainwashed.

When this lovely creature came into the gym, the game was in progress. Yours truly was in mid air drifting out of bounds by the baseline. As this was happening I screamed a profanity laced tirade about 2 feet from her. She and her parents heard every word, and these words were much less accepted during that era. I got up and ran down court, but the damage was done. Words from my emotional mouth destroyed any chance for a date with this young lady. (Note, it was probably just as well. I was totally lacking in what girls want at that age...money and a nice ride. My parents car was called the "gas mobile" because it smelled like fumes. It was a white Chevy station wagon with no air and a stick shift...yes no air in Phoenix, Arizona. Also, I would have had a price to pay with my dad. If I had a bad game within a month of a date he would have reminded me in no uncertain terms. On top of that I still had some pimples the Clearasil wouldn't hide. And then what would I talk about? Pro Wrestling or back episodes of Dragnet?? So it was good it did not go down.)

Now let's fast forward to modern times. Kobe Bryant recently called a referee a name that questioned his sexuality and some would say his manhood. Some even say that using this word that starts with an F is the latest form of racism. Now, lets say for openers this is happening in a competition that is really serious. There is a crowd that very few can even imagine playing in front of and the stakes are huge. Let's also admit that Kobe is definitely the alpha dog and with the game on the line, he might really get carried away and have that hair trigger moment at anytime. So Kobe uses a word that suggests the ref is gay.

Later, he gets fined for 100k. I would be willing to wager Kobe did not mean that word, but in the heat of competition, things really tend to slip out. Remember, this game was played in a huge arena. A big fine was paid and the league and Kobe apologized profusely. This time the word did not kill much except probably some momentum in a game now long over. Personally, I believe he did not mean what he said.

However, many times, in many cities, this very word has sparked many a fight and has no doubt resulted in a number of deaths. When it was said during those circumstances, was it said out of fear and was it really meant? I have no idea. This brings back the saying, "I am the master of my words until they leave my mouth". Words. They can kill relationships and much more, even if you don't mean them and just say them in the emotion of the moment.

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Bill Simmons talks how he would settle the strike in the NBA and how it differs from the NFL strike. Very funny and good as usual. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6749669/if-ruled-nba-world

Are women better team mates? Check this article out: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20110717,0,6408488.column

How Good are these Guys? A Journeyman NBA Player

I hear the following statement and have to cringe: "Chris Bosh sucks." I heard that more than a few times during the season and the playoffs as well. He would usually follow up the bad game with a super game the next time out. So really, how good are they, these players in the NBA?

I was at the John Lucas workouts at the Rice University basketball practice courts a few years back watching the college players and the NBA players go through the drills. This was the place where aspiring collegians drafted from around the country would work on their games. Pros coming into a contract year would come to polish their chops hoping to hit the jackpot with a big contract. The highlights after the drills were done were the scrimmages.

Cutino Mobley was on one team and he was going against a major d-1 guard on a top twenty five team. Cutino Mobley was a very talented player but definitely not an NBA superstar. The guard he was going against was a player who might have been a marginal NBA player if he was not so injury prone. In fact, this guard was for sure better than any guard on my college team and most of the college guards we played against.

There is an unwritten rule that you don't get too hot and heavy in the scrimmages. The pros definitely don't want to risk injury for a meaningless game and neither do the collegians. However, the collegian got into Cutino's face a little too much and what happened next was ugly. Only it wasn't what you would expect.

Cutino Mobley took the young man to school. He demanded the ball every time down, and the pros always get it in these situations. Only he demanded the ball in the post. Instead of doing guard moves, Mobley abused the collegian down low. It was pretty crazy and it was like it was nothing for him. Cutino was getting fouled and just kept doing drop steps, slamming, just basic basketball moves that a big man would envy. All the moves were fundamental. He was getting fouled hard but it didn't matter. All the moves were basic non flashy moves. On defense he completely shut his adversary down. It was sad to watch because I know the young man.

The next time you hear some person say on a talk show that so and so is sorry, take it to the bank that he probably isn't. Because a pro like Cutino Mobley made an excellent college player look like a grade schooler. That's how good these guys are. And Chris Bosh definitely does not suck. He is most excellent.

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I almost have to laugh when I hear people talk about the college game being better than NBA basketball. This season was one of the best in recent years. We had great players in their twilight like Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant. We had superstars that were in their prime like Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Amare Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony and more. And the up and comers like Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant.

Yes, it is a long season. I get that. I also don't know how they play so many games. A 30 game schedule can break down a very good athlete. Most of these players will pay the price dearly later in life. The joints of the human body can only take so much pounding.

It is a shame the NBA season is headed for a possible prolonged work stoppage. This is even more so after such a great season. I get it. Unlike the NFL, the NBA is not a cash cow for many teams, especially the smaller markets. This is a sport that financially has to get some kind of grip.

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Everything that has been said and thought about the NBA playoffs has been written. Here are a couple of final thoughts:

I'm not going to pile on Lebron and the Heat. He has never been picked up for any problems we are aware of. It does strike me as strange that he does not move without the ball or have any kind of post up game. He had an old Jason Kidd on him and refused to back him down and shoot a mid range turn around. Hopefully he works on this. Everyone says he chokes...another thing I am getting tired of hearing. We all wish we could choke as well if this is choking.

Speaking of chokers, it wasn't that long ago that that label was put on Dirk. He has shed the label as well. As for me and most of you, I think I speak for us all when I think "I wish I was good enough to just be the last man on the bench of an NBA team playing in the championship."

Fantasy Football Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

As they used to say in the old Dragnet series, "The following story is true, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

It was going to be a fabulous Fantasy Football League. It was called the Overweight Bozo's Of Europe or OBOE. And nobody was from Europe. The Commissioner was Joe, our used car manager. There were eight players involved in OBOE who each paid a two hundred dollar entry fee. The $1600 pool was to be divided between eight hundred paid to the regular season winner and the other eight to the super bowl winner. I won't bore you with the details of the way everything was determined. However, Joe the commissioner went as far as getting a separate bank account for the money so everything was above reproach.

The season came and went and our Finance Manager, Mark (his real name), won the regular season as well as the super bowl. He is a really competitive east coast guy and was psyched about the payout. He is also very tight. We had to nag him for 2 years to get new shoes and he finally relented and went on E-bay to buy some of the finest used loafers money could buy. We called him "Dead Mans' shoes". I couldn't blame him for being budget conscious as he was only making a small fortune every month.

Mark asked Joe to pay him off and Joe said he only had $1000. Let's just say Mark went off in a way that would make any East Coast Italian proud. He ground up Joe every day as he got paid in piece meal portions. Joe was making great money as well. "You spent the fantasy football money?? What are you, the lowest mooch in the world?" Okay, we're trying to keep it clean here. It was alot more personal and vulgar.

The months flew by and Joe found another job at a nearby Ford agency. Mark swore he would get even and he said he would leave me out of the loop and would not tell me until the prank was done. Mark and a friend were legendary for sending people that were goofballs on "road trips." His favorite saying was "you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride." He had a friend who would make the calls for him. This guy was a pro and was very convincing. He once had a guy fly to Seattle for a deep sea fishing job. After playing the stunt they told the lot boy not to fly to Seattle, but he did anyway. Of course they never heard of him when he arrived in Seattle, but luckily, he got hired. Most of the people involved in their pranks were not this lucky.

Joe the Fantasy Football president, got a call, in fact several calls from a big Austin Chevy dealership. "Hi my name is Mr. Jones and I've heard about you Joe, from a head hunter that says you are the best. Now I have to call you because right now I am just a consultant for the dealer and will take the store over in the next month. I have heard about your talents. We offer a plan that will pay you as much as 30 grand a month once we have the dealership really running like it is capable. Your position is also granted 2 demos. You can take a Corvette as one of them, I don't care." Joe had many calls like this for a 2 week period.

When the time came for Joe to pick up his 2 demo's he was told that a limo would meet him at the Austin airport with driver meeting him with a sign bearing Joe's name. This was after all, a big time position. When the day came for Joe to go to Austin he had to hold a sales meeting at the dealership...the one he planned on quitting.

There are sales meetings and then there are ones for the ages and Joe put on one for the ages. The place Joe was presently working was a toilet, and that is being kind. "You are the weakest bunch of no good idiots I have ever seen! F*#@@ You and You and You. I have never seen a bigger bunch of bozos in my life." Joe went on to spew profanities for another 5 minutes and then threw the keys for his demo out the window. He told his adoring audience that he was done, to go to hell, and he was calling it quits.

Joe then got in his personal car and drove to Houston Hobby Airport for the flight to Austin for his dream job, where he would pick up his Corvette and Tahoe and make the move. After all, he had his ticket in hand sent personally in the dealerships envelope.

A crazy thing happened at the Austin airport. Apparently there was a huge mixup and the limo driver was not there. Since Joe was told not to call the dealership and ask for this Mr. Jones, Joe proceeded to take a taxi to the Chevrolet store. He asked for Mr. Jones and was given a curious look. There was no Mr. Jones at the dealership. In fact, security had to be called to haul Joe off the property. He was furious.

Mark told me this after the fact. I asked him about the airline ticket. His buddy who played Mr. Jones worked for the Chevy dealership and sent the ticket out in one of their envelopes. Mark said it was the best $89 he ever spent.

I always wondered why I got the strange phone calls that day from the dealership Joe was working for. It was very confusing because I was in no way involved in the prank. The only thing it has made me wary of is fantasy football. That stuff can kill ya.

How Phoenix Got the Suns

It was a palace, it was a Mecca of basketball, and we had never seen anything like it in Phoenix....The Madhouse on McDowell, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Until the building was erected, our biggest gym was the old Sun Devil Gym at Arizona State University.

(Thinking back, the ambiance of the old time gyms like those were unmatched when packed to the rafters. You were so near to the action even in the balcony.) Veterans Memorial held almost 12,000 people! The Suns would eventually pack this place.

The big event in Phoenix was ASU football. Sun Devil Stadium was in its' infancy in those days, but Frank Kush packed them in. This was as close to a profession team that Phoenix had.

The NBA in or around 1965 decided to make Phoenix a test market for expansion.

My dad, or a friend who had a license would drive me to the games. When I walked in, it was like paradise. I could get an actual NBA program and tickets were only about five bucks. Our de-facto home team was the Golden State Warriors. It seemed like every opponent we played against was really good. Cincy with Oscar, The Celtics....a star studded team featuring Bill Russell, Philly with Wilt, the Lakers...you name it...they all came our way. The good thing was the Warriors were our home team for 8 Regular Season games a year. The owner of the Warriors was Franklin Meuli, a cool dude who wore a Kangol type hat in his pictures and looked like a beatnik...we figured he had to be living in San Francisco! Plus the Golden State Warriors had the coolest unis ever with the Golden Gate Bridge on the front and a Cable car on the back going over their shoulder where the number was located. The announcer was Bill King, (see pic) and he was the greatest next to Chic Hearn. I tried to listen to them at home as much as possible at night.

The great thing about the games was, when they started playing, the coliseum went dark except for the lights over the court. It was like watching a movie, only live and certainly not with all the whacked out distractions of attending an NBA game live in 2011. Smoking was still a cool thing to do, so when the lights went out you saw all the smoke up in the rafters. Yes, you could light up that ole Marlboro court side. Oh yes, and drinking alcoholic beverages in the stands was not allowed. The colessium had a room in its' bowels where the adults could get their favorite beveridge at halftime in the great ambiance of the air conditioning ducts...but they could not bring the cocktails back inside the gym.

The ushers would tend to look the other way after the game started, so you could sneak down to an empty seat close to the court and see the action up close and personal.

Hand checking was not a foul in those days. Golden State had two very fun guards to watch: Guy Rodgers and Al Attles. Rogers was the smooth passing play maker and Attles was a Karate black belt who specialized in defense. Attles was considered the toughest guy in the NBA by many. This duo was a joy to watch. They really knew each other intuitively, something you don't see as much with all the free agency movement in 2011. The center was Nate Thurmond, or Nate the Great. Just a great player. The star of the team was a rookie, Rick Barry. This is the man they call "Larry Bird before there was a Larry Bird". I would come early to watch him shoot. He shot from way out and never missed. He was the golden boy of the team and had his hair "Razor Cut". I wanted to get a razor cut as well, but during the season our coach made us go really short...probably so girls would not be a distraction.

Once, we got to the coliseum really early and Wilt was walking by dressed in crazy style, and my friend goes"HIYA WILT". Wilt said "Hows it Goin Kid?" and we almost fell over. It sounded like a voice from on high talking down to the minions. We were dumbfounded.

Fast forward to the summer of 68 and to Brophy Prep High School. A small crowd of fans gather to see Coach John Red Kerr put the inaugural Phoenix Suns through the paces. That team was led by Dick Van Arsdale, their first choice in the expansion draft. He would later be joined by his twin brother Tom in the mid 70's.

The team wasn't very good at first, but in 1976 they would be Western Conference NBA champions, beating the Golden State Warriors...the original NBA home team for Phoenix , and the Warriors coach was Al Attles.

The Best Ticket In Sports

If you have ever had the pleasure and privilege to sit courtside of an NBA game, you have just sat in the best seat in any sport. I sat front row once upon a time when you could see Olajuwon, Kemp, Barkley, Drexel, Jordan and the Admiral up close and personal for about a buck twenty five. It spoiled me. Now that ticket is a good four digit number coast to coast. One of my greatest memories was getting my father a courtside ticket to see the Rockets and Spurs on our final visit. I let him sit courtside with my older son while my younger son and myself sat in the nose bleeds. My dad met Sean Elliott a few times and was a big fan. It was last I would see my father.

Still, at that point in time we were in a very warm building for basketball, the Summitt...which has since been taken over by Joel Osteen. This building had a personality and the League had not succumbed to total entertainment. I could handle the nose bleed or semi nose bleed seats.

Not any more. Now going to a game in Houston is obnoxious and non stop nonsense. When the visiting team is announce the PA man mumbles in a low voice. Of course this jerk is an over the top homer for YOUR HOUSTON ROCKETS. Whenever Chuck Hayse scores...and on our night he had a big game...ITS THE CHUCK WAGON!!!!....with a picture of Chuck Hayes' head superimposed driving a horse powered Chuck Wagon. Enough.

Then you have the cheer leaders. That's cool and part of the game. Even the guy on the trampoline dunking is okay. But then there are the other break people...we'll call them the ants in their pants group. The ants in their pants group comes out on many breaks with crappy music playing jumping up and down with streamers and hula hoops and summer saults. This is organized chaos. Then the Rockets mascot drives around on a Harley going berserk. What a croc. The whole game is nonstop yelling and garbage when the game is on a time out. To me it really detracted from a good game. So, if you are not courtside in Houston, the best seat is in your living room.

Now, I will contrast this to an Indiana Pacers game where the focus was more on the game and less on the corny BS. The game was a nice game and I didn't leave there with my head ringing. Know this, I still play in groups from time to time that have to play extremely loud music so I'm not trying to be a prude. I love the NBA, but I guess I will stay with my living room for viewing. The NBA in Houston may be fantastic, but to me, just plain annoying. Put me back in the 70s, 80s and 90s when the game was more the thing.

THE GOLDEN AGE

Right now we are extremely lucky to be watching what is becoming a golden age in the NBA. The great talent is extremely young. The matchups for the first round are extremely exciting and down to the wire. The Magic are on the ropes and the Lakers are being stretched. The second round will be extremely entertaining. This will be one of the best second rounds in years. So watch it from the best seat in the house...the front row if you are lucky to get courtside tickets, or your living room.

The Final Four: A Tourist Trap That's Fun

My Final Four experience started innocenly enough. I was on a flight back to Houston out of Charlotte. I asked the tall gentleman sitting next to me if he was going to the Final Four and he said he was. I asked him if he was a coach and he said he worked for ESPN. How was I to recognize Jay Bilas when he wasn't in a coat and tie? I tried not to bother him too much. Jay is a world class tweeter and I had some things to take care of as well. During the landing portion of the flight we had a conversation about the quality of play in college basketball the past two years. The consensus was that play has gone down in quality and hopefully will not continue in the downward spiral. The big issue that cannot help but improve college basketball is having the NBA force a rule that would keep players in school 3 years. Right now there is sloppy play in college and too many teams in the pros. Something has to give pretty soon as many NBA teams are hemmoraging red ink. RELIANT STADIUM SATURDAY Until Saturday I have not attended a game at Reliant Stadium in about 6 years. When I pulled into the Metro Park and Ride I noticed I was periously close to the parking spot 666. I avoided this spot like the plague but was determined to notice if anyone would park in this spot later, as I was very early. I left Kentucky UCONN with about 5 minutes to go. After all we get the frontrunner teams jammed down our throats all year long. I am happy to note that spot 666 was vacant upon my return to the parking lot. I documented this on my photo page. This crowd was not nearly as innebriated as the typical Texan NFL group. In fact, I noticed a very civilized group of people. Remember the guy who says "I play ball all the time. I have played with ____________(Insert Name of Famous Player) regularly and he said I really was great" I have met that guy hundreds of times and he was out in force during the pre game festivities. There were quite a few makeshift courts outside where one could go show his "stuff". I spent a good 15 minutes watching airballs and some really bad shooting form by the guys mentioned above. It was great theatre. The scalpers could not get any kind of price for their tickets. In fact, a few just gave their away. The next trend I noticed was the many people dressed in the various colors of the school they were following. Kentucky had by far the biggest group of fans. This is a concept with which I have always had a hard time. I played for Miami, but truthfully, I haven't really known very many people that have played for Miami since I have left. What do I really have in common with Miami players except a fleeting bond with the brick and mortar buildings in Coral Gables we may have shared during different time periods. That being said, the passion runs deep in the Blue Nation. I talked to many of the fans. Many of them never went to Kentucky but root for them because their parents raised them that way. I'll bet that's the way it goes with most peoples allegiances' to their teams. ONE LAST HURRAH Once upon a time, when the Final Four wasn't very well publicized, there was a coach who had a vision of gigantic crowds attending basketball games. In fact, he had the first game of this magnitude in the Houston Astrodome in 1967 when UCLA came into town to play the Houston Cougars. That man was coach Guy Lewis of the Houston Cougars. He took 5 teams to the Final Four. He integrated college basketball in Houston in the early and mid 60's with Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney which at that time was a daunting task. Other than UTEP, which was at the other end of the state 850 miles away and in another time zone, most Texas college teams had no African American student athletes. Guy Lewis is now well into his 80's and in a wheelchair. He was honored with the Phi Slamma Jamma crew during this weekend. Why he is not in the basketball Hall can be explained in 3 easy words...East Coast Bias. When a Lou Carnesecca from St. Johns is in the Hall of Fame with zero Final Four appearances, that says it all. Still, the man who had the vision that started all this March Madness in big football stadiums is forgotten. Really a sad affair. Yes children there was a time when being recruited by the University of Houston was really big time. MISC THOUGHTS Enough has been written about the games. Charles Barkley was exceptionally funny, especially when he talked about the "Itty bitty East". His back and forth with Coach Pitino was priceless. Pitino's face was redder than his teams road jersies. I was able to meet Coach Calhoun in 01 through my sons AAU coach. He comes on like a really humble ordinary guy. I know they are saying alot of things about his recruiting, but I like the guy. It cannot be denied he is a great coach. Shooting in a big stadium has to be a dicey proposition. There is a distorted background that would have to make it difficult in the sight perception field of a basketball player. The Astrodome is dwarfed by Reliant Stadium. It sits there empty like an old ghost from the past. A ghost that is full of memories. It's not the 7th wonder of the wold any longer. Every time I go to Reliant Stadium I wish I could recruit the entire marketing department for the Houston Texans. They have to be the greatest marketing division in all sports franchises. Every year they convince all of Houston, the Houston press and many prominent national media members that the Texans will be really great. These guys have an open invitation for employment if I have any say. Ten Years of sellouts with a less than desireable product speak for itself. Yes the final four was a blast, but my son told me he watched it from a sports bar with Matt Figger and Head Coach Frank Martin from Kansas State. Now that would have really been fun.

Superbowl Halftime Revised and the Greatest Dies

One thing is for sure...if Gary Moore did the halftime show at last weeks Superbowl, he would have had enough material to do 10 hours worth of songs without breaking a sweat. He wouldn't have had to bring Slash in to do a tired dead song. Usher wouldn't have had to come down by a rope. Gary wouldn't have had to wear a costume to look like George Jetson.

Gary Moore is the greatest guitarish most people have never heard of. But the heavyweights of guitar all knew him and lined up to play with him. In England and all of Europe, the bands that headline here were the warm up bands for Gary Moore. It is almost criminal that this guy never had more of a name.

He spent about a total of 6 months with Thin Lizzy and his fellow Irishman Phil Lynott. He held a concert for Lynott in Dublin when they unveiled Lynott's statue. Twenty one thousand were there. Whenever I lend the video, people are in awe...he is that awesome. People you think are great guitarists crumble in Moore's presence. Check out Stormy Monday...the guitar solo's keep on coming and it is just so strong. Check out the Texas Blues on his Still Got the Blues CD. ZZ Top wishes they could sound this good. BB King, Clapton...name a decent guitarist and they all wanted to play with Gary Moore. And they all made it a point to play and record with him.

Which leads me to the Super Bowl halftime show. I am sure Slash sold out for a good amount of money to play a song that was old and tired 10 years ago...Sweet Child of Mine. Really sorry. And how much money did the guy who designed the Jetson outfits for the Black Eyed Peas extort from the NFL? These would be some better lyrics considering the attire the group wore:

Hubba hubba,Pa Docket Pa Docket,

Gotta get to work at Spacely Sprockets

Now with those lyrics at least you would know they were trying to at least be funny.

Here is what they could do next year in keeping with the halftime tradition:

And now Ladies and gentlemen Its Michael Buble!

Sweet home Alabama, Scooby Dooby Doo

Where the Skys Are Blue, Yahten dotten wop wop

But, since we are in the techno revolution, let's bring back a virtual digital Sammy Davis Junior! I could hear him singing now.

I'm as free as a bird now, daddyo,

And this bird you cannot tame, yabby gobby wop wah do

I said I'm a Free free bird sister and brother and Frankie and Dino baby

Or better yet, since we are talking tired overplayed songs, then Sammy and a virtual Frank Sinatra duet:

Is that a woman or a man

Yeah Daddyo Turn the Page

I said that long long hair and that tired cliche

My long hairs a statement and you better

Turn the Page Baby, I said turn that page,

Or Frankie, he's gonna get the Boys from Jersey after you

If you don't turn the Page ya ya scooby wah bop wah!!!

You get the picture. Any of the above would beat what we see at the normal halftime. Unfortunately, the boys on Wall Street make the trends and we have to follow. Or maybe not.

Why the SEC Rules the BCS Interview with Coach Gator

Coach James "Gator" Bamgardner has sent more than 40 players to various SEC schools. He has also sent various other schools to the other power conferences as well. Coach Gator, as he prefers being called has coached 4 state high school championship teams along with two National Junior College Championship teams. We feel privileged to have coach Gator here on our humble blog. His nickname of Gator does not reflect any affinity for the Florida Gators, rather a fact that he wrestled an alligator somewhere in the swamps between Orange, Texas and Lafayette Louisiana.

BD: Coach Gator, what was your opinion of the recent Auburn-Oregon Tostitos national Championship game.

Coach: Well mah friend, I for one am getting sick and tired of all these little midgets who write sports and have never played the game saying how it was such a dominating victory for Auburn. I mean, the game went down to the last play.

BD: True enough, but were they mentioning the interior line play, where Auburn seemed to have it won hands down.

Coach: That may well be and Auburn had a distinct advantage to that part of the game. To me Oregon had a mediocre line with an outstanding system. Auburn had a good system with some outstanding size and strength. But there is one secret all SEC teams have and this cannot be duplicated by many other teams around the country.

BD: What is that?

Coach: I will tell you at the end of the interview.

BD:You don't seem like an SEC homer. What was your opinion of Oregon.


Coach: Well, I am objective and I would like to think I am a student of the game. Oregon may well have beat Auburn if they don't wait for over a month to play the game. Oregon has a ton of speed. This is why I think the PAC-10 matches up better with the SEC than the Big-10, because of the speed out there on the coast that them plowboys in the midwest cannot duplicate as much. Oregon has a very out of the box system and with over a month, Auburns size and speed was able to somewhat shut it down. Remember, I'm not such a homer to think that Southern Cal was only good for one national championship when Pete Carrol was there. There were as good or better than the 2 loss LSU team and had Texas dead in the water until Bush laterals and Pete Carrol goes on 4th down without Reggie Bush. They let a team that was down and out with the best player in college football back in the hunt. So the PAC -10 is a good conference.

BD: Why can't the Pac-10 seem to play defense that well in alot of cases, especially in pass coverage?

Coach: Well, USC has had some teams that have but overall I just don't know. It seems odd to me because they have some of the best quarterbacks and passing games in the country every year and you would think practicing every day against these boys they would surely be better in coverage. I think it's the pass rush as much as anything, and that's part of the secret I will tell you at the end of the interview.

BD: What could Oregon have done to win the game?

Coach: Well hell Boy, if they would have just kicked a field goal instead of trying to run it over that big ole Farley kid that was stuffin up the middle all day, they might be still playing. That game was really about as close as a game can be.

BD: What's your opinion on recruiting?

Coach: The most and best players consistently come out of 3 states...Florida, Texas and California. It's a numbers game and those states have the people and the players. Now, there are other state around those that have players in unusual amounts for small states. Two that come to mind are Louisianna and Mississippi. They probably have the greatest athletes per capita of any states. And then there is Georgia which is a rat race unto itself. It helps support Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Tennessee plus various other schools. When Auburn gets the best players out of Georgia, Tennessee and Georgia suffer and vice versa. Then there is Ohio which is owned by Ohio State. Their pro player production has increased by 3 players per year since Jimmy Tressell has become the captain of that ship. They are sort of like an SEC team playing in the big ten. And remember, in Southern Cal's back yard they have a school, Long Beach Poly high school, that has put more players in the NFL than any other school.

BD: Any other thoughts?

Coach: There are a few dream jobs like Florida, Florida State, Texas, Texas A and M, Miami, Southern Cal where if they just recruit the best in their back yard, they are in the top ten every year. The problem is their back yard is getting invaded...invaded heavily mah friend.

BD: Are there any sleeping giants sort of asleep at the wheel that could be great programs?

Coach: A few come to mind. One is UCLA. That is a great campus with the best weather in the country. Their degree is second to none and it has everything a kid wants, good lookin uniforms and lots to do off campus. Same for Arizona State. Best facilities anywhere, the countries biggest school, but they have to be successful recruiting in other states. Hell son, if ya tole me Oregon would be great a few years back I woulda laughed. But Ole Phil Knight of Nike threw so much money at the school that they became good. Maybe at UCLA's expense. I was gonna mention Texas A and M, but Coach Sherman seems to have turned that around. What a crazy bunch of fans they have.

BD: Wrapping it up coach, what is the secret you have been talking about that the SEC teams have the unfair advantage?

Coach: Think about it son...it's real simple. It's right there on your forehead....it's the humidity. These kids up north and on the west coast would crumble like daisies in a sauna bath if they had to put up with our humidity and heat. It's our secret and it's what makes our kids the toughest of the tough. Have ya ever wondered why Miami and Houston are the two top cities for puttin pros in the NFL? And Dallas ain't far behind son. It's the damn humidity....when they come out of these swamps they know they can beat anyone.

BD: Coach, thanks for your time, it has been my pleasure.

Coach: Anytime son.
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Two miscellaneous thoughts I have had for a long time. The Texas A and M fight song sounds exactly like the intro to the Yogi Bear Cartoon theme song that Hanna and Barbera produced. The University of Texas fight song is exactly the same tune as "I've Been Working on the Railroad".

Bowl Thoughts and Trying to Ruin Great Songs

It was with mixed emotions that I watched Arkansas play Ohio State. I'm not a big fan of the Big-10 and used to watch their annual trek for the last 40 years to Pasadena. They would come in with great ratings and press clippings and usually leave with an ass whuppin.

Plus Ohio State got a gift from an official when it beat Miami years ago....but believe me that was a very good Ohio State team nonetheless. They have over the top fans...fans that get in your face like Notre Dame fans. When they get in someones face the only reply you can give em is sort of like Larry Bird did when people told him their hometown team beat the Celts and he would ask"how many points did you score champ?"

If you were to believe them, about a ten thousand people have suited up for Ohio State and scored the game winning touchdown in the last 25 years.

Then there is the SEC fan. The SEC is down this year from last year. The SEC East is mediocre. The SEC West is a dog fight, but I don't think they have a team at the top as good as last years Bama squad. The SEC fans are very obnoxious as well. Maybe for good reason, but this year, possibly not.

After a Big 10 disaster on New Years Day, Ohio State pulled it out against the hill billies from Arkansas. Both teams tried to gift wrap the game to the other team. Arkansas had so many big plays dropped.

I will say this about Ohio State. In a dirty business, their man at the top, the Sweater Vest, Jim Tressell, is pure class. He is a gentleman and the people I know who know and have dealt with him say his is for real. Bobby Petrino, I am not so sure.

Also, even though Kirk Herbstreit cannot help his Ohio State bias come through, he is a total class act as well. His insights on the "tattoo 5" and Tyrell Pryor held back no punches and were a pleasure to listen to. He emphasized team...I bet he was a great team mate back in the day.

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I thought it was cool for the little guys that TCU beat Wisconsin. That was a very good Badger team. TCU had a little too much speed. Again, Wisconsin had 3 really good running backs and a great ground attack. Hats off to the Horny Toads. Also, HAHA on Ohio State's president for saying they didn't belong. Just another pompous snow blind buffoon.

Also of note was Stanfords' thrashing of Va. Tech. They do not let everyone into Stanford. That made the win all the more impressive.

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During one of the commercials, I heard the opening bass line from the song "Get Ready" by the Temptations. It is a timeless line that rocks and it almost grabs you and says let's dance. It written by the incomporable Mo-Town master and bass session master James Jamerson. (At that time in our history, musicians and artists actually read music. In fact most of the Mo-Town Artists were proficient on a musical instrument.)

Unfortunately what followed was some sorry rap/hip-hop self promoting lame lyrics. They were performed by an attractive lady...could have been lip synched for all I know...and really ruined and disrespected a great song. Again, if you cannot cover a classic, have enough creativity to make your own. Heck, make it funny or a parody, but the self promoting egotistical, lame posturing lyrics are just sorry.

When I was driving with my son, I heard some really sorry rap...the worst of the worst...and I asked who was it...some guy named Gucci. Again, people are buying this garbage.

Lastly, I caught Keri Hilson on David Letterman. This seemed to be a band that had some talent and some power...back up vocalists, good choreography, a horn section. I found the song they performed very lame lyrically, but overall I could see this artist developing into a strong performer. The good part is the music had a nice groove and swing to it. The group came on a little like the Supremes. She is surrounding herself with good talent and showmanship. Keri Hilson, break this curse of crappy music out there and step it up. Let your generation see it! To see a full blown neo-Soul movement would be just awesome. It was so nice to see a singer with a talented band sing on key and on time with a nice bit of showmanship added to top it off. Step your game up Keri Hilson, the music world needs to get back to music.