NCAA D1-A Coaching Changes: The return of Tater Tot?

As I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs, this was a wild and wacky season for coaching changes for college football. You can thank Appalachian State for that. So, in honor of this 2007 season, I give you a list of some, with grades. Keep in mind that I factor in the type of hire, the search, the reason for termination, and my own personal opinion of those things as factors for the grades that are dished out. This is just purely for fun, as my opinion doesn't really matter anyway...but nonetheless, I promised, so here goes.

There will be a new post for each fire and hire, with a story/reason explaining the grade given.

1. Michigan
Old Coach: Lloyd Carr
New Coach: Rich Rodriguez
Overall Grade: A-

Reason's: Carr's opening day loss to the defending NCAA D1-AA champs pretty much sealed his fate, and sixth loss to Jim Tressel just put the final nail in the coffin. The Monday following the OSU-Michigan game, Carr announced his retirement, effective after the Wolverines Bowl Game. Several media outlets immediately linked LSU's Les Miles to the job, and had pretty much started that rumor in week two of the season. It certainly didn't help matters that Miles danced around the question and earlier in his career at LSU had stated the Michigan job was his dream job. By championship week, the rumors of Miles to Michigan were a full blown media circus, with ESPN announcing that the deal was already done. Miles denied it, Michigan denied it and by the end of championship weekend, Miles had basically taken his name out of the hat for the job, opting to sign an extension with LSU instead. A few names danced around about the job, and ESPN refused to believe that they screwed the pooch as they still linked Miles to Michigan. It wasn't until Rodriguez flew to a meeting/interview in Toledo, and subsequently danced around the questions concerning the opening in Ann Arbor, that he became a legit candidate. Less than two days following the interview, both Michigan AD Bill Martin and Rodriguez confirmed that he was the new head guy in Ann Arbor.

Search: The media made more out of this than there really was. Overall, the lack of legitimate info from Michigan, followed by speculation and dodging of questions just added fuel to the fire. The actual hire is a good one. Rich will have a large talent pool with virtually no problems of eligibility issues from which to recruit from, and his style of offense (option spread, which is basically just the spread offense) is something that the Big Ten needs (no offense, Illini).

Bottom Line: Rodriguez is the big name hire that the Wolverines needed and means that Carr is able to step aside with grace and dignity. Everyone (with the exception of ESPN and Les Miles) is generally happy with the hire. It may take him some time to build a team around his style of play, but Rodriguez has had success everywhere he has been. And Ann Arbor should be no different.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

No need to thank me...You are welcome.

My, how time sure does fly...

Well, I have been busy over the last few weeks (read lazy as hell) and have fallen behind on the blogging, so let's see if we can catch up on some of the events that have happened over the past few months in the football world.

1. Michael Vick has a new number and team: Federal Inmate #33765-183.
2. Atlanta Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino, as a motivational technique, ordered shirts for the team that said "FINISH", and left before they arrived.
3. Coach O (as in O-for-eight at Ole Miss this season) was given a boosting vote of confidence with three games remaining in the season. He was fired less than 24 hours after the season finale.
4. Alabama nearly turned down their invitation to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. They, apparently, are struggling on how to get past La.-Monroe.
5. Michigan's loss to Appalachian State sparked the weirdest, wildest season in College football off-season coaching rumors. Yet, no one offered their head coach a job in DI-A. (excuse me, the Football Bowl Series)
6. Norv Turner, on the hot seat earlier this season, is actually winning.?.?.?
7. The Patriots appear to be indestructible this season.
8. Miami, however, is not.
9. Apparently, old coaches suffer from dementia.
10. Les Miles is still a canidate for the Michigan HC job, according to ESPN and Kirk.
11. That's about it. But I know you don't want to just read about some of the highlights, so I will give you a run-down of all the coaching fires and hires shortly. Until then...

I'm back...and just in time for week 3!

Well, I started this thing mainly as a place to post thoughts concerning football, both college and the NFL.

Since then, I have had exactly one post concerning college football (mainly LSU), and none concerning the NFL, while posting my rage concerning Katrina and my joy over the fact that Aly from the Disney Channel is legal.

So....I guess I need to voice some opinions about this season.

Here goes:

1. Lloyd Carr is overrated.
2. Virginia Tech is too.
3. For the moment, so is Auburn.
4. LSU, on the other hand, is not.
5. Florida appears to have picked up right where they left off, even with a new starting crew on the defense.
6. The best website for prime info this season has none whatsoever.
7. Georgia may struggle again this year.
8. THE Ohio State University, for all their hype, hasn't really played anybody this year.
9. Texas may soon join the list of overrated.
10. As may Mack Brown. (Vince Young is gone buddy, let it go.)


And now...some favorite qoutes:

"Appy State plays in the Division 1-double A, excuse me, the Football Championship Subdivision. No matter how you say it, it STILL sounds like an elementary school kids short-bus joke." - Stewart Scott, ESPN.

"Trust me when I say: we DID NOT over-look Appalachian State." - Lloyd Carr, current Michigan head football coach. (and I use the word current loosely)

After watching Ole Miss QB Seth Adams start to scramble on a play: "This is not a good idea." - Will Bardwell.

"We don't showcase our ass-beatings on national television." - Steven Godfrey

Trust me, more will come.

2 Years Later, Native Southerners Show Bush Thanks for Katrina Aid.

As Hurricane Dean hit the gulf coast, I took it as a warning and looked up the FEMA Evac. plans should Dean head north. Here they are...

FEMA Evacuation Plans:

In the event of another Catagory 5 Hurricane on track to hit the Gulf Coast:

1. Run, Motherfucker, Run! (I mean, We ain't got no buses, no boats, no planes, and no levees.)

I hope you truely see the sarcasm in the above remark, since I am laying it on pretty fucking thick.

As a native Mississippian, I have long looked at the south as God's country. I may not be as southern as some would like, but I love the old deep down hospitality that only comes from being a southerner. There are still towns that leave the doors unlocked, neighbors that bring the yard-guy a glass of ice water, dinner is at 12:00 noon, and supper is what you eat in the evening. People still, for the most part, pull over on the side of the road and take their hats off when they see a funeral parade coming down the street. So, it pains me to see my native state, and neighbors still suffering TWO YEARS AFTER THAT BITCH KATRINA!

Pass Christian is still just a bunch of empty plots and concrete slabs. Waveland is still just a sign saying Waveland. New Orleans still is not rebuilt. Hell, it's still not even safe to go to. Coastal constuction for off-shore oil-drilling and pumping has destroyed the wetlands of Louisiana and left the city without any surge protection. And with the Army Corps of Engineers working to "repair the levees" to "pre-Katrina status," the Cresent City will never be safe again.

I love the status of pre-Katrina status. People think that New Orleans got hit by a Catergory 5 Hurricane. That's not correct. They got hit by the outwards of a Catergory 5 storm, rated at something close to a Catergory 2!!!!!!!!!!!! Yet, the levees failed. Why? To answer that, you must first ask yourself, what is a levee?

A levee is a earthern wall, generally man-made, four feet thick for every one foot of height. So what NOLA actually has is not a levee. It's more like a wall. supposed to driven 17 feet into the ground, made of steel, with a concrete barrier on the surface OVER THE ABOVE SECTION OF THE STEEL WALL, connected with steel support beams to hold them in place.

What we found out later, is that they were in fact only 10 feet in the ground, connected by plastic strips, and held in place by gravity. To qoute a resident of New Orleans, "I wouldn't build a fence for my dog like that."

Now, New Orleans may not have been the more typical southern town, but it was ours. Anyone would went to New Orleans just to visit felt some connection to it. The coast was ours. And two years later, they have not so much as been touched.

Am I looking for them to have been returned to their glory in two year following the diaster? NO, but a LITTLE progress would not have hurt! Yet, FEMA checks are "still pending," insurance claims are "not covered since the damage was caused by (insert whatever the hell you want to here)" and the people that could not have gotten out before the storm were given one-way tickets out of the city.

I guess the point of this ramble is I'm mad. I want to know were is the help that was promised. Where is the response that was promised? Where is the money that was promised? Where is the accountabilty that was promised by the Bush Admistration?

I'm sorry. I'll move on, cause this shit ain't working for me!

Thanks to man up above....

As most of you, I am what I am. I have no girlfriend, no money, not a really great job, and a reputation on have rather nasty thoughts.

As Big-Daddy, the host of a local radio show, I said some things that might get in trouble by today's standards. In the middle east, they would probably get me killed.

Too put it plain terms, I let my mouth get me trouble. That is something I have been working on for a while. Comment's in past have gotten the "Big-Daddy" on a few most lists in the local sorority houses. But one even picked up a few bar tabs.

The point I am making is simple: I have a dirty mind!

But, while I have wondered about my life and what might happen to it if in fact some of the things that have come across my mind where leaked out in a drunken state, I was hit with some good news this weekend. Our baseball SID pointed it out to me.

SHE'S LEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S HERRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE......

Fantasy Football is officially here!

Drafts have started (I've had two already, with a third tonight), and people you work with that have lives that would make you want to eat a bullet 9 monthes out of the year are suddenly a little more interesting because they believe every fucking thing they see on the 'net are choking at what some backup RB/WR/TE/P/K did in a preseason game.

I'm pumped.
Are you pumped?

You better be.

P.S. props to anybody that names their team the "Mike Vick Cares Kennels."

One week and counting.....

It's official. We are a week away from the start of college football in the good ole' SEC. That's right, August 30 is just around that corner. And it could not be better. It seems that in order to get ESPN to put more money into the conference's pockets, I mean show the game in primetime, the first conference game will feature SEC Western Division foes LSU at Mississippi State.

Now, I hope to be in attendence with friends at this game. And members of the group I am going with are predicting this to be a blowout of gigantic preprosones. LSU enters Stark-vegas ranked #2 in the nation, and is a preseason favorite by many to win the SEC outright.

Add to the fact that the Bulldogs have not posted a winning season in six years, and all the ingredients for a blowout are there.

SO AM I THE ONLY THAT IS QUESTIONING LSU HERE?

Well, maybe not LSU, but certainly their ability to overrun everybody. Let's face facts, the Tigers ARE good, don't get me wrong. But I don't see them as the same old LSU from last year that beat most teams like red-furred step-puppies of Michael Vick. I don't.

Let's just look at my point of view. Reason #1: The Tigers have lost a lot of depth that was recruited by Alabama governor Nick Saban. Gone are JaMarcus Russell, Skyler Green, and a host of others that I can't quite remember how to spell their names, but you get the idea.

Les Miles has done wonderful things at Death Valley, largely due to the fact that he was using Saban's depth chart. Now, he comes in with a largely growing depth chart of his players. And looking at Miles previous experience with his own players has me wondering just how good the Bayou Bengals really can be.

Looking at last year, LSU finished with just two losses for the second straight season. Pretty good, hell, that is fucking great. But in looking back, I have noticed a few things in those two losses from last year.

Last year, the Tigers had a team that would have competed, and probably could have beaten, a few NFL teams last year. So why didn't they? Reason #2: Simple, they were out-coached. The kitty-cats have long had the talent to out-last Auburn at Jordan-Hare. They were easily the most talented team on the field that day. Yet, a more recently laid-back Tommy Tuberville let the defense do it's talking, confusing the LSU offensive staff that easily could have drove down the field with the game on the line. Les is a good coach, don't get me wrong, but does any doubt that if Nick Saban were calling the shots, that outcome would have been different?

We shall see this year...

Today's first random thought...

I'm not really sure if me having a blog is a good thing or a bad thing.

I have been told that having a blog can allow me to post random shit that just pops up in my head with really only a select few knowing who I am.

That's a positive, since most of those who know me know I'm mostly full of shit anyway.

A negative to this is that having a blog can also get me in trouble. I have a temper (for the most part) that allows me to say things to/about others that can be, how shall I say this, brutally honest.

But we shall see how this goes...now on with posts...

Testing

Testing one, twoooooo.....