Sunday, January 30, 2011

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".

Thursday, January 6, 2011

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.