Gang, hope you are staying warm. And you guessed it, school’s out. Maybe they should just hand out grades and call this puppy for the year. Who’s with us?
From the “Talks too much” studios, remember the mailbag.
Storming the court
Kansas guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) rebounds against Kansas State guard Jevon Thomas (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) Kansas State rallied for a fun win over Kansas on Monday night. It was a rivalry game with an emotional upset against a top-10 foe.
Good times.
Well, good times until in turned to dangerous times.
We stormed the court as a student at Auburn when Wesley Person hit a 3 with 2 seconds left to beat then-No. 13-ranked Arkansas 81-80 in March 1993. (Hey, Auburn hoops was starving for moments so beating No. 13 Arkansas was a deal, OK.)
It was fun, and we rolled an ankle in the process.
We also had zero idea how dangerous it was for the players involved.
Here’s the report from Monday night’s court-storming in Manhatten, Kan.
We’re not trying to kill the moment or the magic of big home wins and celebrating. And there’s no way to storm the court after a 20-second, clear the floor break.
But in today’s trigger-temper society, there’s going to be a bad scene develop out of one of these. An emotional player, who may or may not have missed a big shot or made a curcial turnover, gets pushed by a tipsy sophomore sociology major and shoves him back. Simon the sophomore sociology student tumbles to the ground and a melee ensues. Or Simon sues.
There’s trouble ahead, and it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when and after which win not if.
Maybe we could just storm the home side of the court? Maybe there’s a way to line a way to the locker room for the visitor with security? We’d love to have a solution because the last thing college basketball needs is another rule or policy detracting from the excitement.
But storming the court is a ticking PR bomb waiting to go off, maybe as soon as the next time the fans come on.
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UTC men’s basketball coach Will Wade directs players in this Jan. 24, 2015, photo.Taking the next step
For as long as I’ve been in Chattanooga, there have been whispers or wondering about how UTC could become the next Gonzaga in hoops or potentially the next Boise State in football.
Those sports are rolling right now. Will Wade’s Mocs are surging and have 20 wins in the regular season for the first in 20-plus years; Russ Huesman’s football team collected the top-ranked FCS recruiting class after a trip into the quarterfinals and had two players how out at the NFL combine. And that’s excellent news.
That said, the UTC women’s basketball team is taking the next step into the national picture. Seriously.
Jim Foster’s bunch wrapped up the SoCon title last night in Macon by besting Mercer.
Did we mention that the Mocs women are ranked No. 18 in the AP poll? No. 18.
Did we mention that as we approach the end of Foster’s second season with UTC he still has not lost a conference game? Zero.
UTC’s Chelsey Shumpert (25) dodges through the Spartan defense. The UNC Greensboro Spartans visited the Mocs in Southern Conference Women’s Basketball action at the McKenzie Area.Did we mention that as of right now, the Mocs have an RPI in the top 30 and are pegged as a No. 9 seed? Top 30. No. 9 seed.
The math seems pretty simple, and supports this statement:
We thought Wes Moore was an amazing basketball coach and achieved almost unapproachable success before he left Chattanooga for N.C. State. Then Hall of Famer Foster comes to town and recalibrates what’s possible.
Congrats Coach, and to the XX Mocs. The march – and potential arc – of this program is overly impressive.
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Final combine thoughts
The combine has come and gone, and while we love the draft – you know this – we are torn on how much it really means.
First and foremost, it’s ridiculous not to use the intel provided from the event in Indy. The question of course is how much does that intel translate.
Case in point: Vince Wilfork is a future Hall of Fame defensive lineman. His 40 time would be roughly the equivalent of a parked car, but unless there’s a limited amount of free soft serve ice cream at the end of the Patriots’ team buffet, Wilfork has never had cause to run 40 yards.
East defensive lineman Derrick Lott and linebacker Cole Farrand practice in this Jan. 13, 2015, file photo.Now the fact that some of these massive defensive linemen like Leonard Williams and even UTC’s Derrick Lott are in that 300-pound neighborhood and running sub-5.0 40s shows scary athleticism.
There are several points that directly convey skill sets, such as Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes making himself a ton of money with a 4.31 40 on Monday.
Here are five final thoughts:
* If Davis Tull clocks a sub-4.6 40 next week at his UTC pro-day, look out.
* T.J. Yeldon underwhelmed and scream Mark Ingram clone. That’s something that 10-months ago seemed amazing.
* All the buzz about “pro-style” readiness in regard to quarterbacks will help schools like Georgia and FSU and Alabama and the others that use a pro-based system. Mark that down.
* Randy Gregory may have cost himself millions. He showed up at 238 pounds with average speed.
* The biggest winner of the whole combine may be UConn corner Byron Jones, who did not run the 40 but put up a 44.5 vertical and a record 12-3 broad jump. If his 40 is sub-4.5 with that athleticism and his 6-foot-1 size, dude may find a spot in Round 1.
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This and that
– Speaking of the NFL combine, we love the fact that tree-trunk-legged prospect Robert Myers from Tennessee State earned the nickname “Quadzilla” because his thighs are so huge.
– Example No. 12,104 why you should not use words on air that you do not know the meaning: This Cleveland morning anchor used a racial slur in describing Lady Gaga’s Oscar performance. Wow.
– Did you see this on CBSsports.com? Here’s the link to check out a new-era look for the helmets of your college football team. And yes, the Mocs are there, too with a helmet that looks similar to a couple of decades ago.
Tiger Woods misplays a chip to the third green during the pro-am at the Farmer Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) – Butch Harmon, who is to swing doctoring what Zamfir is to the pan flute, says he’d work with Tiger if Tiger asked for help. Butch understandably thinks Tiger’s pride will not allow this happen. OK, fine, we’ll ask: “Butch, please find Tiger on the range and work with the man for crying out loud. You two stubborn bone-heads need to get together and get Tiger prowling. PLease. Golf needs you to do this.”
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Today’s question
A year ago today, Harold Ramis died. The world misses his humor.
Thirty-five years ago today, the U.S. hockey team completed the Miracle on Ice by being Finland.
FILE – In this Oct. 12, 2005 file photo, Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs holds up an iPod during an event in San Jose, Calif. Jurors in a class-action lawsuit against Apple Inc. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 saw emails from the late CEO and his top lieutenants that show Jobs was determined to keep Apple’s popular iPod music players free from songs that were sold by competing online stores. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File) Sixty years ago today, Steve Jobs was born.
It’s a pretty big day right – never mind two of the best 90-plus-year-old actors, Steven Hill from Law & Order and Abe Vigoda – were born in the early 1920s on this day.
We, however, are staying in sports with our daily question: Nike founder, poobah Phil Knight was born today in 1938. He’s 77. What’s the Rushmore of people who have shaped modern sports without playing the game at the pro level? Knight certainly is a candidate, considering he rewrote the pro golf narrative and NBA basketball superstars make more from their shoe deals than their playing contracts.
Go – and remember the mailbag.