Primetime College Football: Trojans vs Warriors
TALENT
This game goes down on the ESPN network and it features the University of Southern California Trojans and University of Hawaii Warriors. This ushers in a new ear of USC football as the school is under sanctions and cannot play in a bowl game as well a new head coaching regime under Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, who came to take over after for Pete Carroll left for the NFL, had left Tennessee after one year and a record of 7-6 record 4-4 in SEC play. USC however finished 9-4 but was a mere 5-4 in the Pac-10 after being such a dominant force in the league for so many years. The team finalized the season with a win over Boston College in the Emerald Bowl, the first non-BCS bowl for the program since 2001.
The Trojans are lead by sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley, 2,735 yards 15 touchdowns 14 INTS and will be joined in the backfield by junior Marc Tyler, missed all but one game. One of Barkley’s main targets will again be Stanley Havli, a three-year starter who to this point already has made more catches than any other fullback in USC history. Ronald Johnson who also only played half the season is expected to put up strong numbers after catching 34 balls for 3 touchdowns.
The biggest reason for the Trojans fall last season was their defense which fell to 22nd in the nation and gave up 19.9 ppg. This unit has lost five of its top 10 tacklers from a year ago but do see a return of tackle Jurrell Casey, 59 tackles 9 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Michael Morgan, who led the team with his 13 tackles for a loss is also back.
Hawaii finished the year ranked 3rd in the country with 337 ypg through the air and a record of 6-7 and 3-5 in the WAC. Quarterback Bryant Moniz filled in and passed 2,396 14 touchdowns 10 INTS after Greg Alexander went down with an injury. Moniz will have the luxury of leaning on receiver Greg Salas again, 1st Team All-WAC. However really has no running game to speak off.
The Warriors are 19-15 in home openers at Aloha Stadium and are are kicking off a campaign against the Trojans for the third time since 1999, even though they are just 15-34 all-time against members of the Pac-10 Conference.
USC has taken all six previous encounters the most recent in 2005 when the Trojans posted a 63-17 blowout.
PICK: University of Southern California Trojans
Primetime College Football: Golden Eagles vs Gamecocks
TALENT
This game goes down on ESPN and it features Southern Miss and South Carolina who will be facing off for their first ever meeting at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
Southern Miss hasn’t suffered a losing season since 1993 and is coming off to back to back 7-6 finishes under third year head coach Larry Fedora. The Golden Eagles however lost to Middle Tennessee in the New Orleans Bowl to finish out the year.
The Golden Eagles return both quarterbacks Austin Davis, 1,665 yards 10 touchdowns, and Martevious Young, who filled in during Davis’s foot injury to throw for 1,861 yards 16 touchdowns. Will coach Fedora rotate the quarterbacks or simply stick with one and ride him all season long is a definitely a question I will be watching all season to. Who ever is under center will have a play-maker in wide receiver DeAndre Brown, 6-6 231-pound who had 114 catches for 1,902 yards and 21 scores through two years. That’s about where all the positives stop for Southern Miss on the offensive side as they lost four starters on the line and the school’s all-time leading rusher.
The defense though returns all seven starters are on the front, more importantly tackle Anthony Gray, 40 tackles, and end Cordarro Law, 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. At linebacker they return Korey Williams, 121 tackles, Ronnie Thornton, 114 stops, and Martez Smith, 82 tackles.
Steve Spurrier starts his sixth season as the Gamecocks head coach compiling a 35-28 record so far but a far cry his success as Florida’s head man. The Gamecocks finished 7-6 return an experienced quarterback in Stephen Garcia, 2,862 yards and 17 touchdowns with 10 INTS. Garcia will once again look to hook up with sophomore Alshon Jeffery, 46 catches for 763 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Gamecocks suffered a setback on the offensive side when senior tight end Weslye Saunders was suspended indefinitely.
Where as a Spurrier coach squad is thought to be all about offense the Gamecocks defense is now his strength. South Carolina returns seven starters back from a defense which ranked 15th in the nation. Defensive end Cliff Matthews is back after posting 7 sacks. Shaq Wilson the top returning linebacker will go from the inside spot, where he had 85 tackles, to outside. The defense as a whole last season also only allowed 163 ypg through the air to rank 8th nationally.
PICK: University of South Carolina Gamecocks
Former NFL Player Tim Couch To Be Analyst For Fox Sports South
Bust
Tim Couch the one-time University of Kentucky star and former NFL quarterback bust is returning home to begin a weekly gig as an analyst on Fox Sports South’s SEC Gridiron Live, devoted to hitting the topics on Southeastern Conference football. Couch will also work this fall as color analyst for the SEC football games shown on beginning September 4 with Arkansas State at Auburn. Couch’s early view of the SEC is, the West is best and in the East, figures the path to the title runs through Florida.
In 1999 the Cleveland Browns made Couch the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and now is working in the television industry after lasting only five years in the NFL.
I love how this Sports Illustrated features Couch and Akili Smith and asks if this is the best quarterback class since the infamous 1983 NFL draft class. So I thought I would list the quarterbacks drafted in order for you and ask you to judge for yourself where 1999 compares. Starting with the bust that is Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, Cade McNown, Shaun King, Brock Huard, Joe Germaine, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Daft, Michael Bishop, Chris Greisen, and Scott Covington.
Former Arkansas RB Michael Smith New Razorback Reporter After Florida Cap Firing
Sooooooooooie
Back on August 17, we posted the story of Renee Gork who was fired from her Arkansas radio station for wearing a Florida cap to a press conference as now found a replacement. The station hired former Razorback running back Michael Smith, who was once arrested and suspended for using a stolen credit card. Smith was arrested on felony charges of forgery and theft by receiving. His only radio experience was only helping out with the spring game but he did rush for 2,018 yards for Arkansas between 2006-09 after being reinstated to the team.
University Of Alabama Rob Ezell Imitates Head Coach Nick Saban
In honor of Calvin Casey, who won’t be on today’s show as he attends to a personal matter, here’s this video of University of Alabama Crimson Tides walk-on quarterback turned wide receiver R ob Ezell doing a spot on impression of his favorite college coach Nich Saban.
Stay in the moment.
Dorothy Davidson Photoshops Herself With Nick Saban For Political Race
WTF
If your alright with University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban than your alright with the state of Alabama. That’s why Bessemer mayoral candidate Dorothy Davidson decided to photoshop herself with Saban and used it to post onto fliers declaring his endorsement of Davidson around town. But the University of Alabama athletics officials said there is no such endorsement.
“Coach Saban has not been contacted for a political endorsement of any kind,” Associate Athletics Director Jeff Purinton wrote in an e-mail.
Davidson at first said the image of her and Saban together was real and taken about three weeks ago. However, when presented later with a 2007 photo of Saban and his wife that appears to be the base photo onto which Davidson’s image was added, the candidate acknowledged that her image was digitally added to the 2007 photo.
Arkansas Broadcaster Fired For Wearing Florida Gators Gear
Sooooooooooie
Renee Gork, an Arkansas radio personality announced on Twitter that she was fired by KAKS, two days after wearing a Florida Gators hat to an Arkansas Hogs news conference. The radio station calls itself Hog Sports Radio. Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Bobby Petrino, whose team lost to the Gators last season 23-20 at Florida, commented on Gork’s hat after answering a question she asked.
“And that will be the last question I answer with that hat on,” Petrino said.
Gork, a Florida graduate, said she grabbed the hat without thinking Saturday because it was raining outside. She also said she sent a letter of apology to the university and Petrino.
“Was hoping to publicly apologize to coach Petrino and UA fans on the show today … but I won’t get that chance,” Gork wrote on KAKS’ Twitter account. “I’ve been fired.”
The power of the Hog.
Nick Saban Documentary To Premier In August
"I'm not going to be the Alabama coach"
University of Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban will be the sole focus in the upcoming documentary “Nick Saban: Gamechanger” which is set for an August 24 premier. The film produced by Flashlight Media Group of Memphis, delves into uncharted waters with Saban and interviews those closest to the two-time national championship coach.
It will supposedly go behind the depths of which the public knows the coach and show the influences that shaped his organizational philosophy, how he runs the Crimson Tide operation runs on a day-to-day basis. The movie will also be available on DVD after the theater run ends. Flashlight Media Group produced a five DVD set on Alabama football in 2008 called “Defining Moments.”
The crew was granted undeinable access to the orivate coach and where allowed to shot everything staff meetings, film sessions and scenes in the locker room while trailing him throughout a scrimmage. The filmmakers also flew with Saban in May to California where he and Texas coach Mack Brown shot an ESPN promo for College Game Day.
Detroit Lions Coach Gets Aroused Watching Jahvid Best
Everything Is Up
The NFL Draft has come and gone and now we can start linking the careers of players to the coaches that drafted them, like Bronco’s Josh McDaniels and the Tim Tebow selection. Now matter what the outcome of Tebow’s career is, they are forever joined at the hip.
McDainels isn’t the only coach this happens to though as Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has to answer as to why they traded back into the first round to select California’s running back Jahvid Best. Schwartz has taken it upon himself to embrace the role and the move for Best.
On Thursday as the first round was winding down the Lions made a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to take over their 30th overall pick. Schwartz said he could hardly control his emotions as he waited for the trade to be finalized so they could select Best. Even with their man now a Lion, Schwartz couldn’t contain his emotion as to why he fell in love with the pick.
“Some people watch adult videos on their computer. I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That’s what gets me aroused.”
It’s probably a good thing the Lions no longer employ defensive line coach Joe Cullen anymore. He definitely could show Schwartz a few ways he liked to get aroused.
Alabama Crimson Tide Receives Three Rings For National Championship
Stolen Rings
Spring football for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide ended with it’s players receiving their three championship rings for last season’s success. Their SEC championship ring is on the left left, the national title ring issued by the BCS is in the middle, and the ring on the right is Alabama’s own national championship ring.
Three rings is that for the three plays Colt McCoy got to play in the BCS National Championship Game.
NCAA Institutes No Eye Black Messages Rule
Thank God It Wasn't Implemented Last Year
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel has banned all personalized messages on the eye black of it’s student athletes as well beefed up it’s taunting penalties and wedge blocking on kickoffs.
Beginning in 2011, live-ball penalties will be assessed from the spot of the foul and eliminate the score. Examples include players finishing touchdown runs by high-stepping into the end zone or pointing the ball toward an opponent. Celebration penalties following a score will continue to be assessed on conversion attempts or the ensuing kickoff.
Seriously, if high-stepping is the NCAA’s biggest worry, then they haven’t been watching SEC football like I have when it comes to their officiating. There’s a thing such as being excessive, but it really necessary to expect players to act like they cold.
Football isn’t like golf and a gentleman’s sport, so why does the NFL and NCAA insist on trying to turn it into it.
Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown: John Calipari
John Calipari
Every Thursday Sports Grind Entertainment will present you with the Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown. The recipient of this honor goes to University of Kentucky’s Wildcat’s men’s basketball coach John Calipari who will be losing five of his players to the NBA.
Calipari’s meltdown comes about because he’s losing freshman’s John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton and junior Patrick Patterson all within a day of each others announcement.
Wall and Cousins where assumed to be one and dones with the season and the potential they possessed. Patterson could have gone to the NBA last spring but opted to stick around to expand his game in Calipari’s “dribble-drive” offense. But Bledsoe’s and Orton’s decision to join their teammates in the draft came as a bit of a surprise.
It now leaves Calipari with a rebuilding project on par with the one he inherited a year ago. The departure of Wall and company combined with the graduation of Ramon Harris, Perry Stevenson and Mark Krebs leaves Kentucky with just five players returning next year, only three played any kind of significant minutes this season.
The Wildcats already have commitments from center Enes Kanter and Stacey Poole and players have until May 8 to change their minds, as long as they don’t hire agents but it’s highly unlikely any of the five players will come back for another season with the Wildcats.
Kentucky went 35-3 this season, Calipari’s first as Wildcats coach, winning the Southeastern Conference regular season and conference tournament titles before falling to West Virginia in the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky Fan Not Happy When You Leave Early For The NBA
Kentucky Jackass
University of Kentucky Wildcats freshman Daniel Orton recently decided he’d test the draft waters, but not hire an agent. Apparently, the thought of losing his 3 points and 3 rebounds per game was just too much for one Wildcats fan to endure.
Mark Hamilton decided that Orton needed to hear about what a terrible decision he was making by writing a Facebook message to him. Hamilton’s logic in pursuing Orton to rethink his decision is to tell him how terrible he is.
My favorite line is without a doubt “quit using your mother as and escape goat.” Wow talk about being dumb.
But the trump card is the class that Orton handles it with his reply of “Thanks mark.”
West Virgina Celebrates Final Four Appearance With John Wall Dance
What is West Virginia doing stealing Daniel Tosh’s “I’m Better Than You Na-na Na-na Boo-boo, Stick Your Head in Doo-doo” segment?
Florida Gators Urban Meyer Blast Reporter
Urban Meyer lashed out at a reporter yesterday for what the Florida football coach felt was an unfair article about Gators receiver Deonte Thompson. Thompson was quoted earlier in the week praising Florida quarterback John Brantley with words that many felt were critical of ex-Gators quarteback Tim Tebow:
“You never know with Tim. You can bolt, you think he’s running but he’ll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything’s with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback.”
Thompson was embarrassed by the remark and the attention it got, because as he said he likes Tebow and never wanted to say anything negative about him.
Meyer took up the issue with the Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler, who ran the piece, saying “You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel’s not welcome here ever again. You’ll be out of practice- you understand that? If you do that again. I told you five years ago: Don’t mess with our players. Don’t do it. You did it. You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel’s not welcome here ever again. Is that clear? It’s yes or no.”
Later he added “You’re a bad guy, man. You’re a bad guy,” Meyer said. “If that was my son, we’d be going at it right now.”
I would have asked the Gators coach hows the retirement going?
Ex-Giant Mark Ingram Gets 27 Months Added In Prison For Watching Son Play
"oh,oh,oh,oh,fallin fall fall fall fall"
Ex-Giants Mark Ingram has had another 27 months added to his sentence for jumping bail to watch his son play football against Utah in last years Sugar Bowl.
After a judge refused to let him watch his son play football a judge now will let him spend extra time behind bars for the descion. Ingram Sr. failed to surrender in December 2008 to begin serving a prison term of seven years and eight months after pleading guilty to money laundering and bank fraud. He’ll now have to spend nearly 10 years behind bars. Ingram, 44, has had a long criminal history since retiring from the NFL.
Ingram Sr.’s sentence on a money laundering and bank fraud conviction followed a 2005 guilty plea. He admitted laundering money he believed to be proceeds from narcotics deals and to bank fraud for cashing counterfeit checks.
In 2001, he was sentenced to six months in federal prison after he was caught with thousands of dollars in counterfeit cash. He then served a year in jail in 2004 after pleading guilty to stealing a credit card from a Flint, Michigan, area golf course. A later felony charge of breaking and entering to steal a purse from a parked car was dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
Ingram Sr. acknowledged that his failure to surrender was the wrong move.
“I know with bad decisions there is consequences,” he told the judge before being sentenced. “I have to own up to what I did and be sentenced today.”
No one from Ingram’s family appeared at the sentencing.
#14 Murray State Buzzer Beater Of #3 Vanderbilt
One Shinning Moment.
No doubt this will be shown for years.
No chicken scratch in my bracket with that one.
U.S. Secretary Of Education Wants Ban Of Low Graduating Teams
Duke To Win It
Pretty sure that this story won’t get to much attention and if it does will sure cause a lot of debate. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has pushed a proposal to bar men’s college basketball teams from postseason play if they fail to graduate 40 percent of their players. It already hasn’t gone over well with coaches and NCAA officals who are enjoying the college basketball equillant to Christmas, March Madness.
If put into practice this year, a dozen teams in the NCAA tournament would be ineligible. Which includes No. 1 seed Kentucky, which graduated 31 percent of its players.
Duncan emphasized the troubling disparities between graduation rates for black and white players. Of the NCAA tournament field 45 teams graduated 70 percent or more of their white players, up from 33 teams last year. But only 20 teams graduated at least 70 percent of their black players, the same as last year. Maryland and California graduated none of their black players who started school from 1999 through 2004.
However graduation rates for black basketball players are 18 percent higher than for male black students who are not athletes.
The men’s basketball teams that would barred from postseason play this year if Duncan’s idea were adopted: Maryland (8 percent graduation rate), California (20 percent), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (29 percent), Washington (29 percent), Tennessee (30 percent), Kentucky, Baylor (36 percent), Missouri (36 percent), New Mexico State (36 percent), Clemson (37 percent), Georgia Tech (38 percent) and Louisville (38 percent).
For those that agrue that you can’t hold a school responsible if players jump to the NBA to what many believe as a high paying job, those schools that have such players wouldn’t be penalized for those players that move onto the NBA are in good academic standing at the time.
Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl said his program is “disappointed and apologetic in many, many ways to be on that list.”
Pearl also said Duncan should concentrate his efforts on secondary education, saying the real problems lie in under-equipped schools beset with budget issues.
Whether you are or disagree it sure is one hell of an argument that would spark up a great debate.
SEC Implements Use Of HDTV For Replay Officials
Safe To Sip Bath Water Again
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…you saw numerous and quite often there was officiating problems. To make matters worse the officiating problems seemed to always be a critical play in the game.
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…and made a comment wondering what must these officials be looking at to blow the call. You sitting on your couch had a much clearer view than the officials, that is if you are not stuck in prehistoric dinosaurs days of non HDTV. See SEC was the only major conference last season to still be using “standard” monitors for their officials to view replays. In fact, you probably got better views of such controversial plays on YouTube than the replay officials had.
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…it’s an outrage that one of the most richest and most prestigious conferences in all of college football is using time machine technology. My mistake, I still am talking about the South which lives in a time machine society at times.
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…it’s comforting to know that the SEC has announced that it will implement next generation HD instant replay system for this upcoming football season and I can go back to sipping it’s bath water.
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…it’s an outrage that the XOS HD Replay system was not installed at some point in mid season like MLB did in ruling home runs. The XOS HD Replay system will provide SEC officials with a variety of distinct capabilities like exporting video and game data to its media delivery platforms, including XOS Studio, for further analysis by conference officials.
Let me tell you something, if you watched as much SEC football as I did this past season…
University Of Alabama’s Nick Saban Requesting SEC Schedule Changing
"I'm not going to be the Alabama coach"
At the request of Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban, the Southeastern Conference is continuing to look into possible changes to the league’s 2010 football schedule to ease the burden on the Crimson Tide due to it’s final six opponents have bye weeks before facing Alabama.
Of the eight SEC teams scheduled to play Alabama in 2010, the final six are set to have idle weeks before the game which includes South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn.
Changes could be as soon as next season to those include conference matchups, SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said. He stressed that any potential changes would be a “tweak here or there,” and not an overhaul of the league’s schedule.
“We’re looking into anything that can be done to provide relief to this issue,” Bloom said.
Relief? Let’s be frank on whose relief we are talking about, Saban’s it’s definitely not a relief for Steve Spurrier, Houston Nutt, Derek Dooley, Les Miles, Dan Mullen, or Gene Chizik.
Bobby Bowden Gets Owned By University Of Miami Fan
WTF!
First let me say that it’s good to see the former Florida State great Bobby Bowden out shopping at a normal folk store like CVS. Second the University of Miami Hurricane fans haves some balls.
If you remember back on February 17, we brought you former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow getting owned by a female Hurricane fan and now they staking claim on Florida State icons.
Can you image the balls to stop what your doing at your CVS job to ask Bowden, who’s stopping in just to get a refill on his blood pressure medication, for a picture. Then you walk to someone else in the store whether it be an employee or customer and ask them to stop what they are doing like shopping or working to take the photo and right before cheese, you flash the U on the icon. WTF! Really?
Why even waste Tebow or Bowden’s time? So you can flip out your phone and show your friends and family that you sneaked attacked them, like the Japanese did Pearl Harbor. What to soon?
WTF: University Of Tennessee
I'd Buy One Though
Isn’t time to get over it, I mean hell you already have a new coach in place with Derek Dooley and it’s not like University of Southern California is even on the schedule.
The Official Song Of The John Wall Dance
It’s definitely Friday because that’s gotta explain why I’m helping kill hip hop by posting this stupid video by Raleigh, North Carolina artist Cash. The problem with these dance video songs is that they get played out so quick. Quicker than it takes me to eat a piece of cake. Are you still doing the Ricky Bobby, no. How about the Stanky Leg, not unless your name is Bobby Hebert. Halle Berry ain’t even doing the Halle Berry anymore.
There corny and won’t go away. But I’ll tell you who will be going away and that’s Cash, just like those Ed Hardy tees. The both will be played out and a thing of the past by end of 2010.
WTF: Douchebag
LOSER!!!
Some fan thought he should show his love for the former Florida Gator quarterback and get Tim Tebow’s last name tattoo on his back and that’s what I call a real loser. Just put his balls in your mouth while your at it.
