Archive
Arizona’s Plan D, E, F…
The University of Arizona is having a hard time filling that coaching job in the Pac-10, and I have no idea why. The Wildcats have a solid name, solid tradition… though following a coaching legend – and his stormy last years – is a hard job.
But Sean Miller would rather stay with the Xavier Musketeers. It’s a good job there in Cincy, and his team has a lot of potential, but that’s a little surprising.
Who’s next on their list? Maybe Utah’s Jim Boylen (who seems like an decent hire who has spent time in the pros). More at UA Hoops Coach, I’ve been following that blog.
Shorts Stacks 3.31.09
While the Chicago Sun Times files for bankruptcy…and as you wait for Google’s yearly April Fools’ joke… remember that some man was arrested for drunk driving on a bar stool… and you HAVE to check out this modernized telling of the Passover story… in Facebook form.
Jonathan Vilma’s apartment on Long Island was raided in connection to some drug beef that looks like it came out of a TV show (the reverse of “ripped from the headlines”): a Liberian immigrant with a suitcase filled with stolen cocaine or fake money, a body dumped in Paerdegat Basin, a person shot execution-style… how that ties in to the former Jets middle linebacker is unknown, but they were supposedly killed in his condo.
Ray Floriani, writing for College Chalk Talk, writes on Richmond’s run in the CBI, where they lost to UTEP (Texas El-Paso) in the semifinal game. He notes the ridiculously bad (30% of their possessions) turnover rate for St. John’s being the difference in the game… along with the inability to stop Richmond from hitting threes. Floriani also expresses hope that playing in the game helps St. John’s coach Norm Roberts, “one of the good guys,” as he calls him.
Haters to the front! with this Louisville Courier-Journal article about how some question John Calipari’s recruiting and temper. I touched on this in the coaching candidates post, about how his players have not been class acts, even if (by some metrics) they do well in school. I thought Kentucky fetishized clean cut players… maybe not as much as winning. If someone in Wildcat country has a problem with the look of the kids – and even the occasional problem with graduating – they should get over it. Kids have tattoos, kids have swagger, and these kids win games. They’re not all going to be crew cut Adolph Rupp kids, and I’m sure those guys weren’t saints by any means. Though memory does have a way of sanctifying folks.
Memphis boosters are working hard on getting Calipari to stay. Of course they are. Can they touch the reported 8 year, 35 million dollar offer? If Cal goes, will Roburt Sallie, Wes Witherspoon, and Angel Garcia leave? Inquiring recruiters want to know… and if Calipari leaves, the Memphis Commercial Appeal has some candidates to replace him… though Cal wants Tony Barbee, his former assistant coach now at UTEP, to replace him. Unofficially, a Kentucky TV station says Calipari is taking the Kentucky job.
The University of Virginia has hired Washington State coach Tony Bennett to pilot the Cavaliers’ men’s basketball team. Kind of a surprise – no runs at Jeff Capel or other prominent candidates, and a pretty quick, no-muss no-fuss hire. Bennett has not been a head coach for long, but has brought some talent to the talent-barren Wash State Cougar team. They play very, very slow, but they are crisp and NEVER turn the ball over. Sylven Landesberg could be an ace in this system… Is Portland State’s Ken Bone the man to keep the Cougars growling? Roaring? Do Cougars roar?
And interestingly, from ESPN’s Andy Katz:
Siena’s Fran McCaffery hasn’t heard from any of the high-profile jobs but did get an e-mail from a search firm on the Boston University job…. McCaffery has no issues if he stays put. He said he should have a really good team again next season after the Saints won consecutive first-round NCAA tournament games, beating Vanderbilt and Ohio State in back-to-back tournaments.
There has to be a job opening that has Fran McCaffery’s name on it. Then again, the coaches who have moved have either been assistants (like Shaka Smart to Virginia Commonwealth) or have been major conference-level head coaches. So it’s not time for the mid-major guys who move up, yet.
Ashley Biden, CitiField Sliding, Final Four Arriving, and Guitar Hero Metallica
Oh man. Ashley Biden (Joe’s daughter) has a “friend” trying to sell photos of her doing cocaine. Cue the "they did it to Bristol Palin" Republican crowd, the kind of people who prove our whole nation is filled with effing stupidity…
Word is coming out that Ashley Biden’s "friend" planted the camera out of sight. Nice work, tool. And which Presidential kids (Patti Davis, Dubya) DIDN’T do cocaine…? Dear America: rich kids still do lines. Photo taken from NY Post
And Northern Cali had an earthquake… thanks, Facebook friends for letting me know. The master of the end times, Glenn Beck, gets an article in the lib’rul New York Times…. Phantom Alert is software that allows your GPS to find red light and speed traps/ cameras so you can avoid them… a musical version of the movie Heathers is going to the stage – Kristen Bell has been reading for Winona Ryder’s role.
Now for Sports. College basketball links at the end.
* Thanks to Uni Watch I know about Google’s hosting of Life Magazine images from the 1860s through the 1970s. I could look at old photos for days, but this one of Tom Seaver crying gets me every time. Type in mets source:life in your google browser.
* There was a deadly stampede in an Ivory Coast/ Côte d’Ivoire football/ soccer match. 19 people died. I link to the BBC coverage because at least there, the comments below the article aren’t a-hole savages who say things like "typical black people" and "animals" and "Barack Obama blah blah hate" such… same stampedes happen worldwide when soccer is involved.
* In happier news, the US Women’s Professional Soccer League started play yesterday, and it was a solid game, a victory for the Los Angeles Sol. The Brazilian footballer Marta was quick as hell. The Fox Sports production left a little to be desired, and I’d like to hear better, more analytical announcing vs. "gosh this is historic!" talk (though both Jenn Hildreth and Mark Rogondino have some soccer/ football in their background), but I enjoyed watching it.
* Fans came out for the first game at CitiField, but the hometown St. John’s baseball team couldn’t beat Georgetown. FYI, the bathrooms are clean (quotes near end of article). I would hope, no one’s been in the freaking place yet.
* Wait, Spencer Hawes doesn’t suck? Even Shaq, the "Shogun of big men" is learning Hawes’ name.
College Basketball Links
* Get your Final Four storylines here! More analysis on the Final Four matchups by team.
* Video and analysis on how Michigan State’s offense wore out Louisville. I turned down the chance to go to this game, and boy, I should have stayed in Indianapolis! A pic or two of the games at Lucas Oil later this evening on the blog.
* Seth Curry is transferring from Liberty to Duke. He deserved better than some cut-rate non-basketball school in a low-level league. The education is far, far better in Durham. I hear at Duke, the girls are allowed to have sex, as well. In all seriousness, Duke, though? With guard after guard always coming in? And no big men to take the pressure off? Interesting, Steh Curry, interesting.
* Your 2009 college basketball All-Americans.
* Is Anthony Grant worth $2 million? Well, he doesn’t have the body of work that other coaches have, but $2 million ensures that Alabama won’t have to restructure his contract in a year if he does well. How the new Crimson Tide coach does will be interesting to watch, I’m rooting for him.
* The North Dakota State Bison men’s basketball team (who I had beating Kansas in my bracket, by the way) are volunteering along the Red River in Fargo, trying to stem the flood tide of the rising river.
And if you didn’t see the commercial over the weekend… Guitar hero Metallica commercial with Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach Bobby Knight, Coach Rick Pitino, and Coach Roy Williams.
Why Wouldn’t Calipari Go to Kentucky
When I wrote the profiles of hot coaching candidates, there is one thing I didn’t think of – the dislike of Coach Billy Clyde Gillispie in Kentucky. So once he was fired, if any school was going to make a play for the best in the business, it would be Kentucky. And now, Kentucky put the money and the deal on the table for John Calipari.
There’s little to quibble about with Coach Cal, except for the air of impropriety that follows Mr. Calipari. In fact, he can be even more selective with the characters he brings in to another school; Calipari has not coached at one of the storied programs yet in his career. And I am sure – and this is no real dig at Kentucky – that when it comes to providing perks or contacting the parents of recruits with boosters, Kentucky knows how to not get caught.
It’s a win-win. A man who loves a big platform, knows how to market and gladhand? It’s a perfect union, Calipari and Kentucky. And in terms of wins and losses, if the SEC is anything like it is this year, his team might go undefeated in the conference again. Just for fun, he’ll probably use his higher profile and actually bring in a college player from China.
If Cal does sign, the Kentucky fanbase can start worrying about topping UCLA in the number of NCAA championships (yes, I know Cal’s never won one, but he is very close).
I’ll be surprised if Calipari stays at Memphis. And Memphis, we’ll see what they do, if they turn the reins over to some up and coming young buck like assistant coach Josh Pastner or if they bring in a new staff.
College Basketball Hot Seat: Billy Clyde, from this distance
Man, he must have really acted like a jackass to get the Kentucky fans to throw him off the lawn in the Bluegrass State. Billy Clyde Gillispie says his fate is out of his hands, ridiculous rumors are flitting around the interwebs, like this one about Billy Donovan on a plane…
Tough place to coach, that Kentucky. A different hoops world. Some say Kentucky has no choice, and I agree that at a certain point, the well’s just poisoned. But even if the coach is a turd and a half, he deserves a few years to recruit his guys!
Some St. John’s fans would love that kind of decisiveness; but New York fans and media are almost the same kind of attack dogs. And a lack of patience gives the idea that NYC doesn’t wait for a winner, which gets non-rebuilding efforts like the Layden and Isiah Thomas NY Knicks eras. And it gets people calling for the St. John’s head coaches’ job from his first year (even if the hire was curious at the time). Then again, anyone going to Kentucky knows you have to deal with, as Rush the Court so aptly puts it, the political side of the job. That is something Norm Roberts is very good at, even if his x’s and o’s are underwhelming. The administration would go through a wall to protect the coach.
It would be interesting to see if former UK player Travis Ford gets a sniff this time; he understands the culture down there and could thrive.
edit: As for Donovan, as my friend Martha says, his team has played in the NIT for TWO straight years… maybe he’s not the excellence that Kentucky is looking for.
Anthony Grant meeting with Alabama officials
The University of Alabama has targeted Virginia Commonwealth’s Anthony Grant as the viable candidate in their coaching search, and they are having a second round of meetings now.
Read a little more on Anthony Grant here; this is an interesting turn of events. It’s great that they are targeting a candidate quickly, and I assume this means that Grant must be their man, or else they would wait on Mike Anderson and the weekend games. And having a coach in place gives him more time to try and attain those last-minute spring recruits.
2009 College Basketball Hot Seat: The Candidates, Part 2
A continuation of the first coaching candidates post.
Tubby Smith (personal site, with some booty bass soundtrack?! PG-13 language as well.)
For some reason, folks think that Tubby wants to come back south. 
Now, it is cold in Minnesota, but the man is building a great team again; and his time in the SEC was… well, I don’t know who would want to go back into that cauldron. Kentucky fans may be insane, but are Alabama fans much nicer, more patient? Well, probably, but still a long shot. He’s got a pretty good gig, and he’s nearly 60.
Why So Sexy: He’s won at a 70% clip overall at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, and now Minnesota. He’s sent a number of players into the NBA as draft picks, won a national championship, and has gone to the NCAA Tournament 14 times in 18 years.
Drawbacks: The winning is nice, but Kentucky was dissatisfied with the lack of championship banners in Tubby Smith’s 10 years. I don’t find much to quibble with, but those NBA players – the best of the lot would likely be Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo – were vilified in the Bluegrass state for their inability to match expectations, especially on offense. Is that Tubby’s recruiting, his player development, or just overly high expectations?
Good for: A team who has a lot of money and a private plane to lure Tubby out of Minneapolis… personally, I don’t see why he would go to yet another school, but money does talk.
The former assistant under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas – 
1994 NCAA champions with their “40 minutes of hell” style of play – has instituted the fastest 40 minutes in basketball (really, Virginia Military is faster, but not by much). Mike Anderson’s team has had some struggles, but he is in the NCAA Tournament with Missouri, who hadn’t “gone dancing” since 2003.
Why So Sexy: Anderson has Missouri playing some great ball and in an exciting uptempo style. He utilizes a number of players, young and old. Anderson recruits guys who can play his system. The team’s defensive field goal percentage is excellent, but their turnover rate is more spectacular. They handle the ball well. He rebuilt a Missouri program at a low point, and coming off of some scandal.
Drawbacks: If big success in the NCAA Tournament requires 2-3 NBA players, then Mike Anderson – who hasn’t sent anyone to the top American professional basketball association – isn’t yet primed for the big success. His style took 3 years to institute at Missouri, a period that also featured a few arrests and nightclub incidents that schools hate to be involved with. But he never said he wouldn’t be interested in a return to, say, Alabama, where he coached (Alabama-Birmingham).
Good for: A team who needs excitement, hustle, and has a little patience – it might take a year or two to get the proper mix of precision and pressure working for the team.
Former Tom Izzo assistant Frank Haith is on this list in part because of a rumor that he is looking to 
leave Miami, and might be a candidate at Alabama from CBS Sports. Now, I have no doubt that there is some truth to the rumor that Alabama is interested but…. Haith has a single NCAA appearance under his belt; his teams look like St. John’s on offense with much better players – little flow and a lot of physical hitting. There’s also the lack of a point guard… and the point guard they had getting arrested. Haith says he will absolutely return. We will see.
Why So Sexy: Haith’s team made a NCAA run last year. He has developed a nice rotation of tough, physical defenders who make scoring hard and don’t foul the other teams’ players; he has recruited some solid talent to a school that hasn’t often attracted quality players. The Hurricanes tend to rebound very well.
Drawbacks: They don’t have much point guard play and have not in a while. Frank Haith’s teams, while defensively tough, don’t pressure the ball enough, keeping them out of the elite chaos-bringing level of defense. Haith has only won 55% of his games. And yes, the ACC is a tough conference, but at least one year with single-digit losses would inspire more confidence in Haith’s ability to make a team elite.
Good for: A school that wants a tough, physical squad.
You may remember Reggie Theus from the Saturday morning NBC show Hang Time. 
Let’s just get that out of the way right now, shall we? Theus is a good team ambassador and former Rick Pitino assistant. He coached at New Mexico State for a pair of years, with transfers and holdover talent like Elijah Ingram (booted from St. John’s in that great Pitt incident). They got to the NCAA Tournament, but they lost in the first round… and then Theus coached the Sacramento Kings.
Why So Sexy: Theus managed a 10 win improvement in the New Mexico State Aggies. He attracted some solid recruits (Herb Pope being one) and was looked at as the next coach of Creighton before Dana Altman decided to stay a Blue Jay. He coached a season and a half with the Sacramento Kings.
Drawbacks: Theus has kind of a flimsy college resume, and is an unknown quantity. His New Mexico State teams turned the ball over quite a bit. The NBA is a different game, but he only won 41% of their games.
Good for: A west coast team who wants a coach with extensive playing and media experience.
Fran McCaffery gets some great performances from his Siena team. 
This is the second straight year they are in the NCAA Tournament, and this is the second year they have made the second round, even coming from the small MAAC conference. McCaffery gets his teams to play fast, force some turnovers, and not foul. The amount that Siena doesn’t foul is truly amazing, and has been impressive for the last 3 years. Also, Fran is a Wharton grad and has a wife who really cares about basketball (that’s a serious plus in my mind).
Why So Sexy: He’s done very well in conference everywhere he has been. McCaffery has developed solid players at Siena, and they have beaten two major conference foes (to date) with the group of Ubiles, Franklin, Hasbrouck, and Rossiter. He knows his way around the prep schools in the northeast. McCaffery’s team can win shooting from outside and inside, depending on his talent. The Saints force turnovers.
Drawbacks: McCaffery’s teams have not been elite, but that might be a question of the level/ conference they play in. There is some question as to why Fran has not gone for a higher profile job, coaching at Lehigh, taking assistant jobs for 10 years, and then coaching at UNC-Greensboro and then at Siena. Then again, his career winning percentage is 57%; his winning percentage at Siena is much better – 65% – while willingly taking on the nation’s best competition.
Good for: A team who needs a very good coach who develops players, and doesn’t want to break the bank for a coach who is already at a school with deep pockets. Fran McCaffery is close to Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage… which means that if St. John’s should remove the current head coach, there will be competition for McCaffery’s services.
The former Tom Izzo assistant has been with the Dayton Flyers for 6 seasons in his first head coaching stint. 
And he has been very, very good. Actually, he’s been excellent, and then his teams have had some injury issues in 2006 and last year, where the Flyers were a legitimate top-25 team before Chris Wright‘s injury. Under Gregory, the Flyers have been tough and defense-oriented, much like Tom Izzo’s teams, but with more pressure. They speed the other team up and don’t get the ball stolen (though they do have a number of non-steal turnovers) and rebound well.
Why So Sexy: Brian Gregory’s teams are getting better and better every year, and he gets his players to play against the best teams in the country. They play an exciting style (10+ deep) and with the pressure they bring, they’re always in the game. They play pressure but usually they don’t play a helter-skelter fast style – they actually are in the lower half of Division I in pace, and have been for years.
Drawbacks: I suppose one never knows how well a coach can recruit high-level players until he is at a high-level basketball school, and Gregory’s only real marquee recruit is Chris Wright. This year’s team is a poor-shooting squad, and the free throw shooting for Dayton hasn’t been very good in Gregory’s tenure. In fact, his teams have been so-so shooters, non-elite defenders, and force fewer turnovers than one would think with their defensive style. As well, he hasn’t developed a quality big man in his time at Dayton.
Good for: A team who needs an up-and-coming coach with an ability to adapt to his personnel and coach some players up. Though he did just sign a contract extension. It is not on paper yet.
Sports Links: Late as Orange, Black as Widow, Green as Backs
As I wipe the memory of the end of the St. John’s season out of my head, and think on the majesty of the coming tournament, it’s time to get back to links.
Out of the sports world, “Sexting“, the practice of teens sending racy pictures to each other via text, is one of the worst phrases I have heard in a while. Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band has a new album out, as does folksy M. Ward – I think I’ve been in a hole.
A bicyclist in Long Island caught fire and died (he was smoking as he rode).
The Jim Cramer vs. Jon Stewart smackdown was embarrasing… for Cramer. A review of “Which Side Are You On?” about labor struggles and labor law in the US. Towns known for encouraging non-whites to not let the sun go down on them while in the city limits (for fear of violence).
Recession cocktail recipes (I like the “broke and tan”).
Meanwhile, Friday Night Lights is in talks for 2 more seasons, despite low ratings.
And Scarlett Johanssen will be in the next Iron Man movie, starring as the Black Widow, one of those overly/ impossibly curvy femme fatales that comic artists like to draw, and a remnant of the Cold War… how they deal with her backstory will be interesting. There will also be Mickey Rourke playing Whiplash (who is a freaking LAME villain), Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard as Rhodey, and man, this is an expensive cast!
On to the Sports.
+ So apparently? There was this game last night? And it was absolutely epic. 6 (SIX!!) overtimes for Syracuse to come out on top over Connecticut, 127-117. Ridiculousness. Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician has the headlines, postgame links, and Eric Devendorf getting his salad tossed (he prefers syrup) for you to enjoy.
+ More photos from that game, including Eric Devendorf jumping in the air.
+ After the 6 overtime game, Jim Calhoun is a-whinin’ again, about the strength of the league (“someone’s got to lose”), how much he doesn’t like the expanded Big East Tournament (“I don’t like it”), and how his team doesn’t close out on opponents (which is very true and why I don’t think U Conn’s going to win it all).
+ Final Four tickets might come cheap this year.
+ Attendance is down at NCAA games; no specific numbers on the Big East but the range given is a dip of 1-5%.
+ The Wall Street Joutrnal with a few sports related articles: Andrew Zimbalist on the “mad” economics of college basketball (though he doesn’t bring apparel sales and the like into the equation); and an article on the cost/ benefit ratio of college basketball coaches’ compensation, with a pictuire of Dave Leitao as a man who isn’t earning.
+ Speaking of which, the Indiana Pacers say they need some taxpayer money to keep them in the city… the Indianapolis Star’s columnist Matthew Tully gives an emphatic middle finger to that notion.
+ A profile on the new Big East Commissioner, John Marinatto.
+ How far Cleveland State has come from heady heights in 1986 ’til now. With former St. John’s guard Cedric Jackson.
+ Your guide to the dates for all dates of conference finals.
+ Chris Bosh gives you the weather – hat tip to NBA FanHouse.
Citigroup explores breaking naming rights deal with Mets
Concerns about how Citi is using US Federal bailout money is prompting Citigroup to reconsider the naming rights deal, valued at over $400 million over 20 years.
The Mets deal was attacked last week as an example of misplaced spending by financial institutions that needed bailout funds, according to the paper.
A Citigroup spokesman in New York told Reuters on Tuesday that “no TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) capital will be used for Citi Field or for marketing purposes.”
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Kucinich and Ted Poe wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last Wednesday, asking him to push Citigroup to dissolve the Mets deal, the paper said.
Most of me says “aw, crap. A visible team in NYC and a naming rights deal? Certainly, the deal has been signed, but the government can find ways of helping Citi nullify the deal, which would be bad press all around for a time.. But if AIG can blow cash on a resort trip, why can’t Citi halp out a baseball franchise… boy, the logic isn’t strong on this one, huh.
The naming rights deal is still valuable, and the Mets franchise is in the public eye; someone else will pony up for some (less rich, dammit) naming rights. But this waffling, and likely breaking of the deal is a tough blow for the Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon, who has already had a tough loss from Bernie Madoff’s financial scheme. According to the Metsblog, Wilpon might even have to sell a minority interest in the team.
Maybe “Jackie Robinson Field” is the most viable naming idea out there, until the Mets can get some corporation to slap their name on the outside of the rotunda.
Linx: Terrible Towel for Good, Hewitt too Pricey to Fire, Citigroup Naming Rights, Super Bowl, Puppy Bowl and More
It’s Chinese Lunar New Year! Underwater dragon, anyone? Folks still have confidence in Obama, and that’s good, he was sworn in less than 2 weeks ago! Illinois Governor is now Former Governor Blagojevich, after his eventful last day in office; new Governor Pat (Hallelujah) Quinn promises to “fumigate state government.” Some curious comments on The American Institute for Economic Research’s Cost of Living Guide.
US Airways Flight 1549 (the one famously waylaid by geese) passengers will get a year of free “elite status” upgrades; Wall Street Journal commenters think they’re greedy because of one guy’s comment saying it doesn’t go far enough. I think, like those people are going to be flying any more than they need to in the next year? Hells no. Speaking of the flight, Addicting Games is staying classy with a flight simulator game – just prevent the plane from crashing into the Hudson! I’ve been giggling all week about this article on East Breast, Penistone, and other embarassing names of British towns from the NY Times… and Tumbledown Dick Road. It never stops making me laugh.
I am such a sucker that I am going to be watching the Puppy Bowl this Sunday as well as the Superbowl… enjoy the puppy starting lineup. My wife’s big on Mercy (pictured below, photo courtesy of Animal Planet).
+ Those damned socialists in Congress (Kucinich and Republican Ted Poe are quoted) want Citigroup to ditch the $400 million deal for naming rights at the new Mets Stadium/ CitiField.
+ David Wells, still punk-ass after all these years. Who gives him a microphone? Oh yeah, other loudmouths. He calls Torre, ah, J-Fraud.
+ John Maine avoids arbitration and will make 2.6 million next year.
+ In college basketball, an auto-bid watch from Storming the Floor.
+ USA Today finds the recent college firings “disturbing“, and name-check Gary Williams, St. John’s Norm Roberts, and Ernie Kent. Addendum: an article on Ernie Kent and the new Matthew Knight arena opening in 2011. And why would Jeff Capel leave Oklahoma for Georgia, anyway?
+ Paul Hewitt, safe at Georgia Tech… in part because they can’t afford to fire Hewitt:
If that weren’t enough, there’s this: Hewitt’s contract renders him almost fireproof.
His deal was reworked in April 2004 after he led Tech to the NCAA title game. Dave Braine, the AD who hired Hewitt in 2000 and had seen his vision realized, rewarded his coach with a six-year contract that rolls over automatically and that provides a buyout in full for each remaining season if he’s fired “without cause” (meaning, just for losing).
Hewitt is making $1.9 million this season — $1.3 million in salary, $250,000 for radio/TV shows, $200,000 in speaking fees and $150,000 in deferred compensation. Were Tech to dismiss Hewitt today, it would owe him $9.5 million.
By way of contrast, Tech was compelled to pay Chan Gailey $4 million when it fired him as football coach, and Georgia is on the hook for $1.5 million after canning Dennis Felton.
Georgia’s athletics department is flush with cash. Tech’s is not. Tech is paying Gailey through 2011 not to coach, and it just handed Paul Johnson a 50 percent raise — to $2.4 million per season. Bottom line: Nobody is rooting harder for Hewitt than Radakovich.
Football Links!
+ Something awesome that I never knew about the Terrible Towel (I love my Terrible Towel!) – the proceeds go to a special needs school:
But the great part comes from what each of those towels does for people like Danny Cope, Myron’s son and Elizabeth’s older brother.
Myron Cope left behind something far more personal than a legacy of terrycloth, a battle flag for a city and its team. In 1996, he handed over the trademark to the Terrible Towel to the Allegheny Valley School. It is a network of campuses and group homes across Pennsylvania for people with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. It receives almost all the profits from sales of the towels.
Danny Cope is one of the roughly 900 people the school serves. He has been a resident since 1982, when he was a teenager. He was diagnosed with severe mental retardation when he was 2. He is now 41.
+ The NFL is either losing money (according to the NFL Commissioner)… or flush with cash (according to the Players’ Association). Yes, there’s a Collective Bargaining Agreement that needs to be negotiated by both sides in the next couple of years.
+ Kurt Warner is not a Hall-of-Famer. Jason Whitlock apparently disagrees.
+ The NFL loves younger coaches these days.
+ Brett Favre doesn’t return Aaron Rodgers’ calls. Hasn’t for a year.
+ A Super Bowl Ad preview. Do they strike a “delicate balance” between upbeat and sympathetic?
And Barack Obama on the Super Bowl… he’s for Pittsburgh.
