It was a great weekend of softball at Katie Seashole Pressley Stadium on the University of Florida’s campus. Perfect weather if you were a Gator, very hot and humid if you had to make the trip from UCLA. The weather might have played a bigger part than expected when you factor in the two double headers UCLA had to play to bring the Gainesville Regional to the “If Needed” game on Sunday. Officially it was 92F at game time for game one but being in the stands, it sure felt warmer than that.
Senior, Donna Kerr pitched masterfully for the Bruins despite the heat. We began to notice her cramping a little as early as the third inning. She made it through the sixth inning only because Gator runner Kelsey Bruder was called for leaving early on a steal attempt in the top of the fifth with two outs. Kerr looked like she was about to pass out in the circle prior to the pitch. Much to our surprise her coach ran her back out for the sixth where the Gators would take the lead. A lead they could not hold as UCLA came back to win the game in the bottom of the 7th forcing the “if needed” game. She was obviously having trouble dealing with the heat and the effort exerted by her over the weekend.
That’s what made it even more amazing that she tried to go or her coach let her go out for the start of game two of the day. By the start of game two the temp had risen to 95 and the sun continued to beat down. Kerr gave it her best shot but only lasted one-third of an inning and gave up four runs before being replaced. Her replacements didn’t fare much better and Florida scored 9 runs and essentially won the ball game in their first at bat. It is easy to understand why you would want your Senior pitcher to start in that game, but what is hard to understand is how you could let her go back out there when less than a hour earlier she was barely able to stand in the circle from the heat and dehydration issues.
UCLA’s coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is obviously a great coach. She’s at one of, if not, the most prestigious programs for softball. But her decisions on the day might have been clouded somewhat by feeling disrespected by the NCAA for sending her and the mighty Bruins across country to play at UF. Not only did she send a player out that shouldn’t have been in the game for her own safety, she complained about her players being hit intentionally by UF pitcher Hannah Rogers.
Gatorsports.com quoted her as saying: "Because of the history of this program, they continue to hit our best players in those situations," Inouye-Perez said. "It's just a fact. Call it what you want. Call it lucky. Call it a fluke. It just continues to happen. And we're down right now. We're definitely beat up. We're beat up as a team. For it to continue to happen, and consistently happen, to me there's more control. I think Hannah Rogers is a great pitcher. I think she's a phenomenal pitcher. And for her to lose control consistently against my best hitters is inexcusable. If she was a wild all over the place pitcher I might say something different. But she’s not.”
In a classic case of “Pot meet Kettle” let’s take a look at the stats from the three games between UCLA and UF over the weekend. In Saturday’s game both teams hit one opposing batter. Kerr hit UF leadoff hitter Michelle Moultrie in the first inning. Rogers hit UCLA’s B.B. Bates in the sixth inning in a two run game to bring the tying run to the plate. Sure Bates had hit a home run in the first, but you don’t wait two at bats and then hit her when all she can do is cut the lead to one with another home run. The Gators win that game 4-2 and put the Bruins in the losers’ bracket.
In the first game on Sunday, UF hit two batters and UCLA hit one. In the bottom of the fifth inning in a scoreless game, UF pitcher Stephanie Brombacher hit the lead off batter, Grace Murray. Murray came into Saturday’s game to replace UCLA’s injured catcher. She’s not an everyday player or even a pinch hitter, but a replacement runner for most of her four year career. After a conversation with her head coach she moves up toward the front of the box and as close to the plate as possible and leans over the plate and is hit by the first pitch. Both Brombacher and UF catcher Tiffany DeFelice both argue that she was over the plate but the umpire awards her first base anyway. Murray eventually scores the go ahead run on a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning UF’s shortstop, Cheyenne Coyle, who chose UF over UCLA in a close recruiting duel was hit with a runner on at first. Coyle would eventually score the go ahead run for UF on a fielding error by the third baseman for UCLA. In the bottom of the 6th, Rogers hit the number 7 hitter in the UCLA lineup, Amy Crawford with one out and no one on to bring the tying run to the plate. Rogers was able to strike out the next two batters but UCLA won the game in the bottom of the 7th inning.
In the final game, coach Inouye-Perez complained to the umpires and eventually both teams were in fact warned, UF hit three UCLA batters. However, UCLA hit three Gators batters as well, one being SEC Player of the Year, Kelsey Bruder a native of California who was hit twice almost in the same spot. After a leadoff double by UCLA’s DiSalvatore, Rogers struck out Schroeder. She then hit 1B Harrison who has been hit 9 times this season and said after the game that she didn’t think Rogers intentionally hit her. If anyone was going to be hit it would have been her after her tossing the helmet celebration after scoring the winning run in game one of the day. But Harrison flipped the bat toward the UCLA dugout and glared at Rogers as she made her way to first. UCLA didn’t score in the inning. With two on in Florida’s half of the first, Kerr hit Bruder for the first time to load the bases. She would score in the inning. After DeFelice hit a home run to make it 6 to 0, Florida’s DH, Kelsey Horton was hit by UCLA’s Aleah Macon. UF replaced her with pinch runner Ensley Gammel who scored as well and at the end of the inning UF led 9-0. In the third inning, DiSalvatore was hit to lead off the inning. UCLA loaded the bases after that but didn’t score after the Gators turned a 1-2-3 double play and Rogers struck out Fox. In the bottom of the third, Bruder was hit again this time by Destiny Rodino after two outs with a runner at first. Bruder held up two fingers as she made her way down to first. Both teams were given a warning at this point and no more batters were hit.
So over the weekend, UF hit 6 and UCLA hit 5. Oh and there was another time in game two where Moultrie was either hit on the helmet or the ball hit the bat that the umpire totally missed and just called a ball that would have evened the bean ball stats. There was no way Florida was intentionally trying to hit the Bruin batters given the situations listed. I don’t think the Bruins meant to hit the Gator batters either, with the possible exceptions of Horton after the home run and Bruder’s last time up. But even if that were the case, it was just competition. What makes it something more are the comments of the UCLA coach basically, saying that this is something Coach Tim Walton and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha try to do against UCLA. She also made the comment loud enough for fans to hear that she was just trying to protect the safety of the athletes while in the third base coaching box just in front of the Gator dugout.
If you want to keep your players safe coach, don’t tell them to lean over the plate to get on base. Tell them not to crowd the plate and stand up straight and stay in the box. Tell them to move out of the way if the ball is going to hit them. You might want to even check with the trainer to see if you should send someone back out to pitch who was on the boarder of heat exhaustion and if the trainer said she was good to go, get another trainer. But don’t complain about Florida’s pitching when your staff was just as wild or just as intentional.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Rivalries and Respect
Rivalries and Respect. Do those two words belong together in the minds of most fans or players? At first blush, I have to admit that I didn’t see it either. You hate your rivals don’t you? You can’t stand anything about them. You don’t like their colors, their field, their stadium, their players, their managers and coaches, their fans make you sick, heck, and you even hate the food and drinks at their place, right? That is what makes for a great rivalry, a seething dislike for all things related to your opponent.
I am not a fan of either team but in Major League Baseball no rivalry can equal the Red Sox - Yankees feud. The Yankees - Red Sox rivalry extends way beyond my lifetime. I get that people born in either New York or Boston get amped about playing those other guys. What strikes me as significant about this rivalry is that people who have never even set foot in either city will take a side in the battle of bragging rights. I see people all the time in Florida wearing either a Sox or Yankee hat and upon inquiry about why they love their teams; often I am surprised to find out that they have no real reason. They just sort of chose one day and the rest as they say is history. Sometimes their choice goes back to a spring training game they attended with their dad or some other memory but many have never made it a game in Fenway or Yankee Stadium, new or old. But if you ask them if they like the other team, you always get the same answer with varying shades of colorful expletives, NO! While other teams have divisional foes, there doesn’t seem to be the same hatred level in the rivalry with the possible exception of the Giants – Dodgers but since I live on the east cost that rarely makes the sports shows. This year that is not the case due to the violent attack that seems to be motivated by the rivalry. I say seems to be because I don’t know the details of the case except what has been broadcast by the sports shows. If you know of any other rivalries in MLB that you think are worthy of mention, please let me know in the comments.
College baseball and softball have more traditional rivalries and some that are situational. Florida and Florida State, Alabama and Auburn, UCLA and USC, Arizona and Arizona State, Oklahoma and Texas, Texas and Texas A&M, and Kentucky and Louisville are always going to be rivals no matter what the sport or competition. You could list a dozen more easily and it wouldn’t take you long to come up with a much longer list of classic rivalries among collegiate athletics. But there are also situational rivalries that develop because two schools have great programs within a sport that may not be traditional rivalries. Florida plays Lacrosse now and will develop rivalries with schools from conferences outside the SEC because of who they play. Alabama comes to Gainesville today to play Florida in softball and this has developed into a huge rivalry because both programs are fighting for the same recruits, a right to go to the Women’s College World Series, and win the SEC on a yearly basis of late. Add to that the fact that Alabama and Florida have met for the a few SEC football titles and you see why fans are starting to pay attention to a new rivalry.
But consider this, a rivalry is only a rivalry so long as both teams are relatively good in the sport you are playing. You don’t usually consider it a rivalry game if you have beaten that opponent the last 20 times you have played them. The rivalry loses its luster somewhat if the won-loss record is heavily skewed in one direction. The team that has lost the last 15 in a row may want to win badly, but does the winning team and their fans really worry about beating a team you have owned for that long? That is the point where respect for your rivals comes into play. You know that you have to bring your “A Game” when you play your rival not only because you want to win but because you know if you don’t they will beat you because they are as good as you are. Nobody really cares about a rivalry with a constant cellar dweller in any league. We want our rivals to be good at some level because that makes us feel better when we beat them and lessens the pain should they beat us.
As fans we like to rag the other team and their fans. We mock their cheers, we make fun of their mascot, and we might even have great nicknames for their team, but at some level we realize that the reason we don’t like them is that they have a good team and we can’t stand to see them beat us. Fans may not dish out much respect on the surface for opposing players but let one of the Yankees or Red Sox trade jerseys and see how much love we give them then! But players on the other hand often have a deep appreciation for the talent of their rivals. I have witnessed this many times over the years with Gators and Noles after football games and I have seen this after many Gator softball games with the Crimson Tide. All of us who are fans would do well to learn from the players and remember to appreciate the talent on both sides of a rivalry. Perhaps then the rivalries will not spill over to stupid behavior like killing trees or punching people in the back of the head. Let’s keep the rivalries in perspective people and treat them with respect!
I am not a fan of either team but in Major League Baseball no rivalry can equal the Red Sox - Yankees feud. The Yankees - Red Sox rivalry extends way beyond my lifetime. I get that people born in either New York or Boston get amped about playing those other guys. What strikes me as significant about this rivalry is that people who have never even set foot in either city will take a side in the battle of bragging rights. I see people all the time in Florida wearing either a Sox or Yankee hat and upon inquiry about why they love their teams; often I am surprised to find out that they have no real reason. They just sort of chose one day and the rest as they say is history. Sometimes their choice goes back to a spring training game they attended with their dad or some other memory but many have never made it a game in Fenway or Yankee Stadium, new or old. But if you ask them if they like the other team, you always get the same answer with varying shades of colorful expletives, NO! While other teams have divisional foes, there doesn’t seem to be the same hatred level in the rivalry with the possible exception of the Giants – Dodgers but since I live on the east cost that rarely makes the sports shows. This year that is not the case due to the violent attack that seems to be motivated by the rivalry. I say seems to be because I don’t know the details of the case except what has been broadcast by the sports shows. If you know of any other rivalries in MLB that you think are worthy of mention, please let me know in the comments.
College baseball and softball have more traditional rivalries and some that are situational. Florida and Florida State, Alabama and Auburn, UCLA and USC, Arizona and Arizona State, Oklahoma and Texas, Texas and Texas A&M, and Kentucky and Louisville are always going to be rivals no matter what the sport or competition. You could list a dozen more easily and it wouldn’t take you long to come up with a much longer list of classic rivalries among collegiate athletics. But there are also situational rivalries that develop because two schools have great programs within a sport that may not be traditional rivalries. Florida plays Lacrosse now and will develop rivalries with schools from conferences outside the SEC because of who they play. Alabama comes to Gainesville today to play Florida in softball and this has developed into a huge rivalry because both programs are fighting for the same recruits, a right to go to the Women’s College World Series, and win the SEC on a yearly basis of late. Add to that the fact that Alabama and Florida have met for the a few SEC football titles and you see why fans are starting to pay attention to a new rivalry.
But consider this, a rivalry is only a rivalry so long as both teams are relatively good in the sport you are playing. You don’t usually consider it a rivalry game if you have beaten that opponent the last 20 times you have played them. The rivalry loses its luster somewhat if the won-loss record is heavily skewed in one direction. The team that has lost the last 15 in a row may want to win badly, but does the winning team and their fans really worry about beating a team you have owned for that long? That is the point where respect for your rivals comes into play. You know that you have to bring your “A Game” when you play your rival not only because you want to win but because you know if you don’t they will beat you because they are as good as you are. Nobody really cares about a rivalry with a constant cellar dweller in any league. We want our rivals to be good at some level because that makes us feel better when we beat them and lessens the pain should they beat us.
As fans we like to rag the other team and their fans. We mock their cheers, we make fun of their mascot, and we might even have great nicknames for their team, but at some level we realize that the reason we don’t like them is that they have a good team and we can’t stand to see them beat us. Fans may not dish out much respect on the surface for opposing players but let one of the Yankees or Red Sox trade jerseys and see how much love we give them then! But players on the other hand often have a deep appreciation for the talent of their rivals. I have witnessed this many times over the years with Gators and Noles after football games and I have seen this after many Gator softball games with the Crimson Tide. All of us who are fans would do well to learn from the players and remember to appreciate the talent on both sides of a rivalry. Perhaps then the rivalries will not spill over to stupid behavior like killing trees or punching people in the back of the head. Let’s keep the rivalries in perspective people and treat them with respect!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Triumph and Tragedy in Titletown
This past weekend was the epitome of the line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" for those living in Gainesville. The events of the weekend show the range of emotion one experiences from living in a college town and being involved in the lives of college students.
The best was obviously the success of Gator athletics over the weekend. The #5 ranked softball team traveled to Clearwater to open their season. They completely overpowered all their opponents en route to a 5-0 start outscoring their opponents 53-3. Florida ace Stephanie Brombacher tossed her second career perfect game against NC State and the new freshmen contributed both in the field and at the plate. The mens basketball team defeated Tennessee on a clutch layup by Ervin Walker and then a defensive stop as time expired in front of a great crowd in the O'Dome! The Mens golf team won their own tournament. The Womens tennis team defeated two top ten ranked teams on the road in NC and Duke. The Gator Gymnastics team crushes the Georgia team in Athens where the crowd in unusually rude and crude for the sport in front of a sold out crowd recording one of it's highest totals for the year. All around it was a great weekend to be a Gator sports fan.
The worst came with the news late on Saturday evening that two UF students had died in a caving accident in Georgia. Grant Louderbach and Michael Pirie were among a group of 10 Fellowship of Christian Athletes members who had traveled to the cave to explore for the weekend. Grant is the president of the UF chapter and Michael was a freshman member of the group. While the details are still coming to light, Grant went back to retrieve a bag and apparently fell down a waterfall becoming lodged somehow and then Michael went down the rope to help his friend. When they didn't hear anything from Michael the group went for help but by the time the cave rescue unit arrived an hour or so later, the two had died. Cause of death will be determined later but hypothermia is considered to be a factor.
The death of two members of the faith community at UF was marked last night by a memorial service attended by almost 400 students and friends of the two men. Grant was a member of the ROTC and Michael of the Florida Drum Line. Many members of both groups were present at the memorial service along with the members of the FCA group. I was there along with most of the members of the Evangelical Campus Minister's Association and several area pastors of churches attended by college students. The memorial was organized by students and many shared their memories of Grant and Michael. It was a sad time, but it was marked by the certain hope that Grant and Michael had finished their race and were at home with Jesus. There was a marked difference among the way the groups grieved. The Christian students prayed, hugged, cried, and even laughed together as they shared the memories and the hope they have of seeing their friends again. The friends that were a part of the ROTC or the FDL who didn't know Christ grieved as well only without that hope of eternal life. The gospel was shared in an appropriate way from those on the platform and from the prayers of those within the ROTC and the FDL who are Christians. Who knows what good God will bring about from the tragic loss of these two fine young Christian men, but at least the full impact of their lives on those in the two non-Christian groups cannot be denied after that service last night.
Michael and Grant were definitely ready to meet Jesus. Their friends offered positive testimony of their love for the Lord and their friends. There was no hoping that they were in heaven or that they were saved, there was certainty because they had left behind evidence in the way they treated others, the way they worshiped the Lord, and the way they shared their faith with their friends. Would the same be said of you and me if a memorial service was held for us tomorrow? Live your life for the Lord today so that your testimony will linger tomorrow! Be like Mike and Grant!
The best was obviously the success of Gator athletics over the weekend. The #5 ranked softball team traveled to Clearwater to open their season. They completely overpowered all their opponents en route to a 5-0 start outscoring their opponents 53-3. Florida ace Stephanie Brombacher tossed her second career perfect game against NC State and the new freshmen contributed both in the field and at the plate. The mens basketball team defeated Tennessee on a clutch layup by Ervin Walker and then a defensive stop as time expired in front of a great crowd in the O'Dome! The Mens golf team won their own tournament. The Womens tennis team defeated two top ten ranked teams on the road in NC and Duke. The Gator Gymnastics team crushes the Georgia team in Athens where the crowd in unusually rude and crude for the sport in front of a sold out crowd recording one of it's highest totals for the year. All around it was a great weekend to be a Gator sports fan.
The worst came with the news late on Saturday evening that two UF students had died in a caving accident in Georgia. Grant Louderbach and Michael Pirie were among a group of 10 Fellowship of Christian Athletes members who had traveled to the cave to explore for the weekend. Grant is the president of the UF chapter and Michael was a freshman member of the group. While the details are still coming to light, Grant went back to retrieve a bag and apparently fell down a waterfall becoming lodged somehow and then Michael went down the rope to help his friend. When they didn't hear anything from Michael the group went for help but by the time the cave rescue unit arrived an hour or so later, the two had died. Cause of death will be determined later but hypothermia is considered to be a factor.
The death of two members of the faith community at UF was marked last night by a memorial service attended by almost 400 students and friends of the two men. Grant was a member of the ROTC and Michael of the Florida Drum Line. Many members of both groups were present at the memorial service along with the members of the FCA group. I was there along with most of the members of the Evangelical Campus Minister's Association and several area pastors of churches attended by college students. The memorial was organized by students and many shared their memories of Grant and Michael. It was a sad time, but it was marked by the certain hope that Grant and Michael had finished their race and were at home with Jesus. There was a marked difference among the way the groups grieved. The Christian students prayed, hugged, cried, and even laughed together as they shared the memories and the hope they have of seeing their friends again. The friends that were a part of the ROTC or the FDL who didn't know Christ grieved as well only without that hope of eternal life. The gospel was shared in an appropriate way from those on the platform and from the prayers of those within the ROTC and the FDL who are Christians. Who knows what good God will bring about from the tragic loss of these two fine young Christian men, but at least the full impact of their lives on those in the two non-Christian groups cannot be denied after that service last night.
Michael and Grant were definitely ready to meet Jesus. Their friends offered positive testimony of their love for the Lord and their friends. There was no hoping that they were in heaven or that they were saved, there was certainty because they had left behind evidence in the way they treated others, the way they worshiped the Lord, and the way they shared their faith with their friends. Would the same be said of you and me if a memorial service was held for us tomorrow? Live your life for the Lord today so that your testimony will linger tomorrow! Be like Mike and Grant!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
We still need a playoff
I have spent most of the last two days watching college football bowl games. I love college football and I will watch most games even if I don't have a dog in the fight. I know a lot of people are like me and really want a playoff system of some type for the Division 1 football championship. I am like the Coke Zero commercial guy, isn't it time for a true champion to be crowned on the field!
The games this weekend are all meaningless in the larger scheme of college football. Oh yeah, they mean something to the alumni, players and fans of the schools who are playing in the bowls. The way the teams have competed attest to the fact that the games mean something. But in the larger picture they are just an appetizer to the main entree which is the BCS Championship Game that will take place on January 10th of this year. Many of us are old enough to remember when College football ended on January 1st with the exception of the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game. You younger guys may have to google those! All those games mattered because you could be #4 in the polls and still win the national championship if the bowls played out just right for your team. Now they are just about bragging rights and next year's pre-season polls.
The powers that be used to say it was about not extending the season for the student-athletes, but come on man. Classes start at UF next Wednesday. There are still a number of bowls after that date including the championship game almost a week into the Spring semester. How does that not extend the season into the next academic semester? The argument was that the playoffs would extend the season too much, but a four week playoff would still end before the current setup does. It's not even like the teams are the same as the ones that finished the regular season over a month ago. All you have to do is look at the offensive production from many teams and you see what a month layoff does to the timing. Sure some teams play well one week, but could they do it for three weeks in a row? TCU beat a good Wisconsin team, but so did the entire SEC that played the Big Ten today. But could TCU get ready to beat Alabama next week? Wouldn't that be a fun game to see? We all know we want it, but nobody seems to really want to do it.
I think it is easier for folks to say we like the money, only paying out one road trip, and we will just settle for the way it is. But the fact is the way it is isn't good enough for every other NCAA championship. Over the holidays, I read about the Mark Cuban idea for a tournament. I hope he succeeds but I doubt even his money can change the good ole conference network that has the championship routed through the SEC, Big East (Joke), Big Ten, Pac 10 or Big 12. Maybe it would always end up with a couple of those teams playing anyway, but at least we would have a chance to see it play out on the field, where it should be.
I'll keep watching the games, but I sure wish I could watch with some anticipation that if my team wins this game, they will move on one step closer to the championship rather than just celebrating the fact that Urban Meyer won his last game as a Gator coach. Albeit a meaningless Outback Bowl victory. Now maybe it that came with a free Blooming Onion to all Gators, I might just change my tune!
The games this weekend are all meaningless in the larger scheme of college football. Oh yeah, they mean something to the alumni, players and fans of the schools who are playing in the bowls. The way the teams have competed attest to the fact that the games mean something. But in the larger picture they are just an appetizer to the main entree which is the BCS Championship Game that will take place on January 10th of this year. Many of us are old enough to remember when College football ended on January 1st with the exception of the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game. You younger guys may have to google those! All those games mattered because you could be #4 in the polls and still win the national championship if the bowls played out just right for your team. Now they are just about bragging rights and next year's pre-season polls.
The powers that be used to say it was about not extending the season for the student-athletes, but come on man. Classes start at UF next Wednesday. There are still a number of bowls after that date including the championship game almost a week into the Spring semester. How does that not extend the season into the next academic semester? The argument was that the playoffs would extend the season too much, but a four week playoff would still end before the current setup does. It's not even like the teams are the same as the ones that finished the regular season over a month ago. All you have to do is look at the offensive production from many teams and you see what a month layoff does to the timing. Sure some teams play well one week, but could they do it for three weeks in a row? TCU beat a good Wisconsin team, but so did the entire SEC that played the Big Ten today. But could TCU get ready to beat Alabama next week? Wouldn't that be a fun game to see? We all know we want it, but nobody seems to really want to do it.
I think it is easier for folks to say we like the money, only paying out one road trip, and we will just settle for the way it is. But the fact is the way it is isn't good enough for every other NCAA championship. Over the holidays, I read about the Mark Cuban idea for a tournament. I hope he succeeds but I doubt even his money can change the good ole conference network that has the championship routed through the SEC, Big East (Joke), Big Ten, Pac 10 or Big 12. Maybe it would always end up with a couple of those teams playing anyway, but at least we would have a chance to see it play out on the field, where it should be.
I'll keep watching the games, but I sure wish I could watch with some anticipation that if my team wins this game, they will move on one step closer to the championship rather than just celebrating the fact that Urban Meyer won his last game as a Gator coach. Albeit a meaningless Outback Bowl victory. Now maybe it that came with a free Blooming Onion to all Gators, I might just change my tune!
Friday, December 24, 2010
The joke that is the NCAA
I know it is Christmas Eve and there is so much more important things to think about but I missed the Ohio State story because of traveling to Alabama to spend Christmas with Lica's family! Well they are my family too, so it's not so bad. But I couldn't let this story go by without adding my spin to the joke that is the NCAA. So it appears that the way to get around any violation is the simple phrase "I didn't know"!
The athletic director wants to excuse the behavior of his athletes because the economy is down so they only sold their items to help their family. You can argue the ethically value of paying athletes all you want, but the fact is there are rules against what they did on the books now so that makes it wrong. And then there is the whole tattoo parlor discount thing. That's a big enough story but the way it has been handled by the NCAA is what gets me.
An SEC receiver sells a jersey and his suspension comes immediately. Another couple of SEC players and a bunch of ACC players go to a party at an agents house and they are suspended from a few games to having their whole career taken away from them. Yet these guys who are probably not coming back anyway get to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and then serve a 5 game suspension. Sure Pryor was always coming back! Yeah not so much now! I will be very surprised if any of these guys were planning on coming back. That's why they knew it didn't matter if they got caught or not. So the penalty is nothing that bothers them at all. It doesn't hurt the team, it doesn't hurt their draft status, and it sure doesn't hurt their bottom line, but the tattoos might have hurt a little.
Seems a little like the Daddy Newton incident. The rules just don't matter if there isn't any real teeth in the NCAA's penalties. If there is not any more at stake than it appears to be from the last couple of infractions, then why bother even trying to play by the rules? So the NCAA should just place itself on probation. They should not be allowed to offer any rulings for a two year period and no longer be able to determine how we determine a national champion in football!
And a merry Christmas to all!
The athletic director wants to excuse the behavior of his athletes because the economy is down so they only sold their items to help their family. You can argue the ethically value of paying athletes all you want, but the fact is there are rules against what they did on the books now so that makes it wrong. And then there is the whole tattoo parlor discount thing. That's a big enough story but the way it has been handled by the NCAA is what gets me.
An SEC receiver sells a jersey and his suspension comes immediately. Another couple of SEC players and a bunch of ACC players go to a party at an agents house and they are suspended from a few games to having their whole career taken away from them. Yet these guys who are probably not coming back anyway get to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and then serve a 5 game suspension. Sure Pryor was always coming back! Yeah not so much now! I will be very surprised if any of these guys were planning on coming back. That's why they knew it didn't matter if they got caught or not. So the penalty is nothing that bothers them at all. It doesn't hurt the team, it doesn't hurt their draft status, and it sure doesn't hurt their bottom line, but the tattoos might have hurt a little.
Seems a little like the Daddy Newton incident. The rules just don't matter if there isn't any real teeth in the NCAA's penalties. If there is not any more at stake than it appears to be from the last couple of infractions, then why bother even trying to play by the rules? So the NCAA should just place itself on probation. They should not be allowed to offer any rulings for a two year period and no longer be able to determine how we determine a national champion in football!
And a merry Christmas to all!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A Year to Remember
Today marks the end of the regular season for the Florida Gator football team. Thank goodness our bowl game will be early in the season so all of us will put this behind us before the start of 2011! This is a year to remember. Did I write that? Yep, it is a year to remember.
It's a year to remember just how good the players who left here the last two years were. They had to overcome this offensive staff to actually win games. Do you realize how much talent that took? Well we do now! That's something to remember. So maybe it really is the Jimmies and Joes that make great coaches, because the coaches took this year's group of supposedly talented players and made them look average at best.
It's a year to remember your rivals celebrating both at home and on the road. It's that feeling that I hope the players remember all year long as they lift and run. But I don't think any of them with the exception of Ahmad Black have the heart, brains, or ... well you know what else they lack to learn anything from it. They say no one hurts like the players but I've been near them and they didn't seem to hurt after the game, unlike many of the fans I've seen and heard from after the losses. So I hope the fans remember what it was like to lose 5 games in a season because those of you born after 1987 have no idea what's that like as a Gator fan. Now you get the chance to prove that you are a real fan and get behind the team for next year starting right now!
It's a year to remember FSU celebrating with fireworks and carrying out a gator head to mid field after the game for the second time in the last 7 years. So that means that we get to bring a broken spear out next year or better yet the stuffed head of renegade or Chief Osceola doesn't it? No, it means we get to stay classy and just get back to the business of beating the clown college and acting like that it is always supposed to be that way. It's a year to remember to be humble when you win and gracious when you lose.
It's a year to remember that sometimes coaches need to realize that moving up is not always a good thing. Sometimes being the line coach is the best level you should attain. It is also the season to remember that losing coaches to other schools can set your program back as much as losing star players. Both of which happened to us this year on both sides of the ball. So we need to remember that it may take some time to get back to playing at the level we expect. And we need to remember that sometimes the best coach you need is the one you already got! So let's just keep our heads Gator fans and let Urban hold those on the staff accountable. Some of them need to do the honorable thing and submit the letters before they are requested!
It's also a year to remember that all kinds of crazy things happen in football. Texas plays for the title and then fails to play in any bowl game. Alabama wins it all and then loses three games. Heck, Oregon looks like they are going to play in the National Championship game and they have always been more known for their uniform combinations than their winning ways. And a guy who everybody wrote off when he transferred from Florida will probably win the Heisman. And just when you think it will be Boise and TCU in the championship game, Nevada comes up and beats BSU! It's a crazy game. That is what makes us love it so much.
So it truly is a year to remember. Just not a pleasant memory!
It's a year to remember just how good the players who left here the last two years were. They had to overcome this offensive staff to actually win games. Do you realize how much talent that took? Well we do now! That's something to remember. So maybe it really is the Jimmies and Joes that make great coaches, because the coaches took this year's group of supposedly talented players and made them look average at best.
It's a year to remember your rivals celebrating both at home and on the road. It's that feeling that I hope the players remember all year long as they lift and run. But I don't think any of them with the exception of Ahmad Black have the heart, brains, or ... well you know what else they lack to learn anything from it. They say no one hurts like the players but I've been near them and they didn't seem to hurt after the game, unlike many of the fans I've seen and heard from after the losses. So I hope the fans remember what it was like to lose 5 games in a season because those of you born after 1987 have no idea what's that like as a Gator fan. Now you get the chance to prove that you are a real fan and get behind the team for next year starting right now!
It's a year to remember FSU celebrating with fireworks and carrying out a gator head to mid field after the game for the second time in the last 7 years. So that means that we get to bring a broken spear out next year or better yet the stuffed head of renegade or Chief Osceola doesn't it? No, it means we get to stay classy and just get back to the business of beating the clown college and acting like that it is always supposed to be that way. It's a year to remember to be humble when you win and gracious when you lose.
It's a year to remember that sometimes coaches need to realize that moving up is not always a good thing. Sometimes being the line coach is the best level you should attain. It is also the season to remember that losing coaches to other schools can set your program back as much as losing star players. Both of which happened to us this year on both sides of the ball. So we need to remember that it may take some time to get back to playing at the level we expect. And we need to remember that sometimes the best coach you need is the one you already got! So let's just keep our heads Gator fans and let Urban hold those on the staff accountable. Some of them need to do the honorable thing and submit the letters before they are requested!
It's also a year to remember that all kinds of crazy things happen in football. Texas plays for the title and then fails to play in any bowl game. Alabama wins it all and then loses three games. Heck, Oregon looks like they are going to play in the National Championship game and they have always been more known for their uniform combinations than their winning ways. And a guy who everybody wrote off when he transferred from Florida will probably win the Heisman. And just when you think it will be Boise and TCU in the championship game, Nevada comes up and beats BSU! It's a crazy game. That is what makes us love it so much.
So it truly is a year to remember. Just not a pleasant memory!
Friday, November 19, 2010
You Find Out Who Your Friends Are
There is a country music song with the lyric “You find out who your friends are!” As you might imagine it involves lots of hardships and some tragic situations as the source of the revelation of who your friends truly are. Friends seem easy to come by when you are on top, whether that’s professionally, financially, or any other way. Everyone wants to be your friend when things are going great. But as the song says, you really find out who your friends are at 2 am when you need a favor, when your luck runs out, or when tragedy overtakes you at any moment. Maybe that is the difference between a friend and an acquaintance. Friends are there before the streak begins and remain long after your circumstances change for the worse.
You see that all too often in athletics. Those who have played the games at higher level know that all too well. Everyone is a fan when it is going well but starts to slip and so does the fervor of many of the faithful. Gator fans of late have been extremely spoiled. We are used to our teams being on top of the SEC in every sport. Heck, we are used to be in the top of national polls in most sports. Somewhere along the line we have begun to embrace the entitlement mentality that is so prevalent in our society. We think it is our “right” to be treated to the best possible example of sporting entertainment. We pay our coaches well and we expect a good return on our investment. Believe me, the coaches know that. At least the ones I know personally are fully aware of that sentiment. They embrace it or they would not have accepted the gig. This is not about expectations because fans can never expect more of a team than the coaches and players place on themselves.
This year has been a disappointment to say the least for our football team. Three losses at home just never happen at UF. In fact, it has been over 20 years since that happened the last time. That’s the point. It has been an incredible 20 year run that may not be repeated again. Just look at the national landscape, when TCU and Boise State can amass the talent and coaches to rank in the top 5 in November, the world of college football has changed and it ain’t going back! Coaches have learned that the lure of bigger programs might just be the lure to a noose around your own neck! The grass isn’t always greener on someone else’s field. In fact at Boise, they like their smurf turf! And Coach Peterson has turned down several offers from “Bigger” and supposedly “Better” programs to remain at BSU. The result has been a loyal fan base and the ability to lure top athletes away from bigger and better programs. The landscape has changed indeed. I think it will continue to move this way because now everyone has a bigger share of the dollars thanks to the ESPN and other networks bidding for more TV games. This means more players are getting seen every week, so the recruiting pitch that if you come to school x, you will get on TV more often doesn’t hold as much sway as it once did. The fact that NFL scouts go to other schools other than the BCS conferences can be seen by watching the introductions of NFL teams every week. Sure the majority of players are from schools you recognize as a casual fan, but notice how many players are from schools that you have no idea what conference they play in or even where the school is located. IF you are talented enough, the NFL will find you!
So the next time you wonder why the Gators are not the champs of the SEC East, remember that neither is Georgia or Tennessee. It’s the first time anyone else has represented the East. Maybe it’s a sign of the times in college football and not so much a reflection of poor coaching and execution. Unless by that you also mean recruiting the right players and having them work hard enough to out develop the other 3 or 4 star athletes that the other schools are recruiting. The national title may go to a school that doesn’t share an automatic bid, but I doubt it. Not because they aren’t talented enough to win it, but because the system is skewed in the favor of the BCS conferences to such a degree that it is almost impossible to overcome. But that’s a story for another blog!
You see that all too often in athletics. Those who have played the games at higher level know that all too well. Everyone is a fan when it is going well but starts to slip and so does the fervor of many of the faithful. Gator fans of late have been extremely spoiled. We are used to our teams being on top of the SEC in every sport. Heck, we are used to be in the top of national polls in most sports. Somewhere along the line we have begun to embrace the entitlement mentality that is so prevalent in our society. We think it is our “right” to be treated to the best possible example of sporting entertainment. We pay our coaches well and we expect a good return on our investment. Believe me, the coaches know that. At least the ones I know personally are fully aware of that sentiment. They embrace it or they would not have accepted the gig. This is not about expectations because fans can never expect more of a team than the coaches and players place on themselves.
This year has been a disappointment to say the least for our football team. Three losses at home just never happen at UF. In fact, it has been over 20 years since that happened the last time. That’s the point. It has been an incredible 20 year run that may not be repeated again. Just look at the national landscape, when TCU and Boise State can amass the talent and coaches to rank in the top 5 in November, the world of college football has changed and it ain’t going back! Coaches have learned that the lure of bigger programs might just be the lure to a noose around your own neck! The grass isn’t always greener on someone else’s field. In fact at Boise, they like their smurf turf! And Coach Peterson has turned down several offers from “Bigger” and supposedly “Better” programs to remain at BSU. The result has been a loyal fan base and the ability to lure top athletes away from bigger and better programs. The landscape has changed indeed. I think it will continue to move this way because now everyone has a bigger share of the dollars thanks to the ESPN and other networks bidding for more TV games. This means more players are getting seen every week, so the recruiting pitch that if you come to school x, you will get on TV more often doesn’t hold as much sway as it once did. The fact that NFL scouts go to other schools other than the BCS conferences can be seen by watching the introductions of NFL teams every week. Sure the majority of players are from schools you recognize as a casual fan, but notice how many players are from schools that you have no idea what conference they play in or even where the school is located. IF you are talented enough, the NFL will find you!
So the next time you wonder why the Gators are not the champs of the SEC East, remember that neither is Georgia or Tennessee. It’s the first time anyone else has represented the East. Maybe it’s a sign of the times in college football and not so much a reflection of poor coaching and execution. Unless by that you also mean recruiting the right players and having them work hard enough to out develop the other 3 or 4 star athletes that the other schools are recruiting. The national title may go to a school that doesn’t share an automatic bid, but I doubt it. Not because they aren’t talented enough to win it, but because the system is skewed in the favor of the BCS conferences to such a degree that it is almost impossible to overcome. But that’s a story for another blog!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
