Thanks to an open week for Coastal, I was able to get my first look in person at the 2011 Gamecocks. I can certainly understand the frustration of being a USC fan right now. After all, you have two potential top 5 NFL picks on the offensive side of the ball (Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Lattimore) and yet the offense is in the midst of a horrific two game slump. Here are some of my thoughts from Saturday's upset loss to Auburn:
The end of the game
I was shooting the last play of the game and saw Bruce Ellington go down to put the Gamecocks in field goal range. I was expecting to see Stephen Garcia scurry to the line and try and snap the ball to the ground and set up a game tying field goal attempt. Instead, what I saw was Auburn celebrating. When you look back at the TV feed, it's clear to me that the clock should have been stopped with two seconds left. The SEC stood by the officials call, but I don't know why you can't go up to the replay booth and get it right. It would have been a 46 yard field goal attempt - by no means a guarantee, but USC at the very least should have had the chance to force overtime.
The eyeball test
It's always different to see players up close as opposed to on television. It is stating the obvious, but the two guys that jumped out to me on defense were Melvin Ingram and Antonio Allen. I think both of these players have the credentials to be considered for All-American honors. Allen just does it all - he made so many great run stopping plays and just seems to be in the right place to make big plays.
Stephen Garcia
I almost want to take the challenge of being Garcia's defense attorney, but it's tough to defend his past two performances. He had just nine completions against Auburn. Of those nine, I think he only threw four good balls (his 35 yard pass to Bruce Ellington to set up the go ahead Marcus Lattimore TD was the best of the bunch). Take that throw, along with his 13 yard pass to Ellington deep in his own territory and the last two passes on the final drive and that's all you have. The Alshon Jeffery TD pass was just an amazing play by an elite receiver. When it comes to interceptions, sometimes you can place blame on other things other than the QB, but in this case, both picks were on Garcia. The INT's came on a 2nd and 2 and a 1st and 10 and were both overthrown balls. Garcia did not talk to the media after the game. His grandfather had passed away late in the week and requested to not have media responsibilities on Thursday.
Spurrier promised changes after the game to the offense. Does that mean benching Garcia? Perhaps it would be beneficial to take out some old film of Garcia beating Alabama or winning at the Swamp and figure out a way to get his confidence back. He's proven that he can win in the SEC. While Gamecock fans are ready to pull the plug on Garcia, I wonder if he shouldn't get one more chance to get back on track against Kentucky before ushering in Connor Shaw.
Field Position
One thing that hurt the Gamecocks offense in a big way was field position. Six of USC's 15 possessions started inside the 12 yard line (you can throw out one of those thanks to the Melvin Ingram interception at the end of the half). The other big field position stat comes from CC Whitlock's interception that was fumbled away. If Whitlock had fell on the ball instead of going for some extra yards, the Gamecocks would have had the ball in Auburn territory with a 13-9 lead late in the third quarter. Instead, Auburn got the ball back, ran off nine more plays and 41 more yards before Whitlock redeemed himself with a tremendous pick in the corner of the end zone. Perhaps, a little bit better field position could have gotten the ground game going with Lattimore and one more score would have likely given USC a victory.
Getting Right
I was standing on the sidelines at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia. Earlier in the week, David Bennett shared another one of his unique phrases that was part coach-speak and part Southern charm. When looking at the film of Mark Richt's Bulldogs, he told me that Georgia was going to "get right" and have a great year. Unfortunately, for Bennett, Georgia started to get right at the expense of his Chanticleers. With Georgia already up 21-0 in the first quarter, I glanced up at the Sanford Stadium scoreboard to see that Auburn had a 21-7 lead over Clemson in Death Valley.
Like many, I was ready to write Clemson off. If you could take an instant poll at that moment, the majority of Tiger faithful would have written off the season and had cardboard boxes at Dabo Swinney's office ready to send him off forever. But Clemson got right just in time. The Tigers went on to beat the defending national champs and then backed it up with wins against Florida State and Virginia Tech. Three weeks earlier, they barely got by FCS Wofford and looked like they were on the road to medicority. Now, Clemson is a legitimate top 10 team and the favorite to go to the Orange Bowl.
Which brings us back to the Gamecocks. There's plenty of time for USC to "get right". Steve Spurrier reminded the media after the Auburn loss that USC lost to Auburn and Kentucky last year and still found its way to Atlanta and the SEC championship game. This team is 4-1 and can still get to the Georgia Dome.
The internet seems to be the place where players and coaches can be instantly condemned. I can remember a lot of Tahj Boyd bashing in the summer months, but that's certainly not the case anymore. Today, you can find plenty of anti-Spurrier and anti-Garcia sentiments. I assume that both Spurrier and Garcia are not investing any energy in the negativity and working on getting right.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Rich's Blog: Thigpen's perfect storm
Coastal Carolina's football locker room has the look of an NFL locker room. Normally, there's the chaos of a hundred athletes occupying the space. During the summer months, everything is quiet. There's no dirty towels, no athletic tape stuck to the floor. Last week, we hosted our high school media day there. I entered the room and took in the serenity. I had never really been in there without any hustle and bustle. I thought I was alone. After spending a good minute unloading my camera gear, I saw someone in the far left corner sitting in a locker stall with a towel draped over his head. It was Tyler Thigpen.
The NFL might have been locked out, but Thigpen was not. You would think that the NFL quarterback working out at his alma mater would have fanfare, an entourage or a "look at me" attitude, but Thigpen blended into the background in the empty locker room. His humbleness, work ethic and quiet leadership are why he's respected by teammates and revered at Coastal for being the first "legend" in the program's history.
Playing quarterback in the NFL is getting thrown into the fire. There are endless scenarios that play out in a quarterback's mind during one play and he has seconds to pull the trigger and live with the decision. Throughout his NFL career, Thigpen has been thrown into intense situations with little time to prepare. On Monday night, it happened again. When the NFL lockout ended on Monday, four months of off season activity were about to be condensed into four days. Before the lockout, Thigpen was ready to return to Miami as a restricted free agent, but thanks to the new labor deal he was on the open market.
The dominoes were going to fall quickly on Tuesday when free agency began. Joel Turner, Tyler's agent, got the phone calls right away. Six teams in all: Miami, Tennessee, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota and Buffalo. It became a two horse race. The Vikings and the Bills. Minnesota drafted him in 2007 and tried to sneak him on the practice squad before the Kansas City Chiefs snapped him up. It was said that head coach Brad Childress was furious that Thigpen slipped through the cracks. Buffalo's head coach, Chan Gailey, was the man who retooled the Kansas City Chiefs offense to fit Thigpen's ability to work out of the spread and become the NFL's leading rusher for quarterbacks in 2008.
Minnesota has Christian Ponder, a rookie from Florida State who may or may not be ready to step in on week one. The Bills have Ryan Fitzpatrick who is the starter for sure in 2011, but has just one year remaining on his current contract. The first phone call Chan Gailey made when the NFL was back open for business was to Tyler Thigpen. And now, in his Myrtle Beach home, Tyler Thigpen was in the pocket. Not the pocket he was used to, but the pocket that was his career. In a normal off-season, Thigpen might have had a little time to mull things over and make a move. But, the free agency quarterback merry go round was in full effect and he had to pull the trigger. On late Monday night, Thigpen made his decision. He became a Buffalo Bill. Quarterbacks survive on instinct. It was instinct that ultimately led Tyler Thigpen to Western New York.
Gailey has brought the Kansas City offense to Buffalo. Learning an NFL offense is like speaking another language. Thig will know the terminology and get up to speed quickly. He'll be reunited with the person who made him a fantasy football dream in 2008.
Thigpen hasn't had the breaks go his way in his NFL career. He played much better than his 1-10 record as a starter in Kansas City (six losses by seven points or less). He had just two days to prepare for a Thursday night start against the Bears last year in Miami. He's gotten endorsements from two of the biggest names in the game (Tony Gonzalez and Brandon Marshall), yet is branded as a "wild stallion" or someone who can't be a starter in the NFL.
But the new labor contract opened the door for something that is rare for a non-superstar in the NFL: leverage. In a free agent market where Matt Hasselbeck was the top QB name, Thigpen was a commodity. It gave Tyler two things - a choice of where he wants to play and a handsome pay raise.
The terms of the deal have not been announced, but he's gone from the $500,000 per year range to probably six times that amount. If you woke up tomorrow and you found out you had gotten a 600 percent pay raise, what would you do? I think some type of celebration would be in order. What did Tyler Thigpen do? His contract was done just before 11pm on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Thigpen was zipping balls in the Adkins Fieldhouse weight room to former CCU wide recevier Marquel Wilis and he was back in that same empty locker room. He's ready to blend in the background at Buffalo.
The NFL might have been locked out, but Thigpen was not. You would think that the NFL quarterback working out at his alma mater would have fanfare, an entourage or a "look at me" attitude, but Thigpen blended into the background in the empty locker room. His humbleness, work ethic and quiet leadership are why he's respected by teammates and revered at Coastal for being the first "legend" in the program's history.
Playing quarterback in the NFL is getting thrown into the fire. There are endless scenarios that play out in a quarterback's mind during one play and he has seconds to pull the trigger and live with the decision. Throughout his NFL career, Thigpen has been thrown into intense situations with little time to prepare. On Monday night, it happened again. When the NFL lockout ended on Monday, four months of off season activity were about to be condensed into four days. Before the lockout, Thigpen was ready to return to Miami as a restricted free agent, but thanks to the new labor deal he was on the open market.
The dominoes were going to fall quickly on Tuesday when free agency began. Joel Turner, Tyler's agent, got the phone calls right away. Six teams in all: Miami, Tennessee, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota and Buffalo. It became a two horse race. The Vikings and the Bills. Minnesota drafted him in 2007 and tried to sneak him on the practice squad before the Kansas City Chiefs snapped him up. It was said that head coach Brad Childress was furious that Thigpen slipped through the cracks. Buffalo's head coach, Chan Gailey, was the man who retooled the Kansas City Chiefs offense to fit Thigpen's ability to work out of the spread and become the NFL's leading rusher for quarterbacks in 2008.
Minnesota has Christian Ponder, a rookie from Florida State who may or may not be ready to step in on week one. The Bills have Ryan Fitzpatrick who is the starter for sure in 2011, but has just one year remaining on his current contract. The first phone call Chan Gailey made when the NFL was back open for business was to Tyler Thigpen. And now, in his Myrtle Beach home, Tyler Thigpen was in the pocket. Not the pocket he was used to, but the pocket that was his career. In a normal off-season, Thigpen might have had a little time to mull things over and make a move. But, the free agency quarterback merry go round was in full effect and he had to pull the trigger. On late Monday night, Thigpen made his decision. He became a Buffalo Bill. Quarterbacks survive on instinct. It was instinct that ultimately led Tyler Thigpen to Western New York.
Gailey has brought the Kansas City offense to Buffalo. Learning an NFL offense is like speaking another language. Thig will know the terminology and get up to speed quickly. He'll be reunited with the person who made him a fantasy football dream in 2008.
Thigpen hasn't had the breaks go his way in his NFL career. He played much better than his 1-10 record as a starter in Kansas City (six losses by seven points or less). He had just two days to prepare for a Thursday night start against the Bears last year in Miami. He's gotten endorsements from two of the biggest names in the game (Tony Gonzalez and Brandon Marshall), yet is branded as a "wild stallion" or someone who can't be a starter in the NFL.
But the new labor contract opened the door for something that is rare for a non-superstar in the NFL: leverage. In a free agent market where Matt Hasselbeck was the top QB name, Thigpen was a commodity. It gave Tyler two things - a choice of where he wants to play and a handsome pay raise.
The terms of the deal have not been announced, but he's gone from the $500,000 per year range to probably six times that amount. If you woke up tomorrow and you found out you had gotten a 600 percent pay raise, what would you do? I think some type of celebration would be in order. What did Tyler Thigpen do? His contract was done just before 11pm on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Thigpen was zipping balls in the Adkins Fieldhouse weight room to former CCU wide recevier Marquel Wilis and he was back in that same empty locker room. He's ready to blend in the background at Buffalo.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Twin Killings lead to Twin Titles for Gamecocks
"Defense Wins Championships"
It's the cheesy cliché that usually applies to football. You don't hear it tossed around when you talk about a baseball champion, but when it comes to the 2011 national champion South Carolina Gamecocks, it truly was defense that won them a second straight title.
I marveled at this team's ability to deliver a clutch double play when it needed to and then went to the boxscores to confirm how remarkable it was to see how many double plays the Gamecocks converted in the post-season. As a matter of fact, the Gamecocks had at least one double play in every single one of their post-season wins, 18 in all:
Gamecocks Double Plays in the Post-Season
Georgia Southern 2
Stetson I 1
Stetson II 1
UConn I 2
UConn II 3
Texas A&M 1
Virginia I 2
Virginia II 4
Florida I 1
Florida II 1
It would be awfully tough to rank the key defensive plays in this championship run. The John Taylor induced 1-2-3 DP's and the double plays in the extra inning Virginia game is a good start. But Scott Wingo's 4-2-3 DP against Florida in game one has to take the top prize. 18 double plays in ten games is a pretty stellar stat and then when you factor in the pressure of post-season play, it shows why this team is holding the national championship trophy.
Ray Tanner knew exactly what kind of team he had. He talked on more than one occasion that he didn't have the kind of club that could roll out and put up a crooked number. The Gamecocks had 11 players drafted in the MLB Draft, but when it comes to the high draft picks, just two.
Top 10 Round MLB Draftees in CWS by School
1. Vanderbilt - 9
2. Virginia - 5
3. Texas - 4
4. Florida - 3
4. California - 3
5. North Carolina - 2
5. Texas A&M - 2
5. South Carolina - 2 *Jackie Bradley in Rd 1A, Matt Price in Rd 6*
With two local products on the roster making key contributions in Colby Holmes and John Taylor, local Gamecock fans should get even more attached to this club with the possibility of Shon Carson and Tanner English roaming in the outfield. Carson has said he's definitely a Gamecock, English makes his decision sometime soon.
Ray Tanner's legacy is cemented as one of the all-time Gamecock greats in athletics. Beyond the obvious of winning back to back championships which is rarified air and the shuffling of over 40 different lineup combinations during national championship number two, there are two stories that will stick with me that tell the real story about Ray Tanner.
Two of Tanner's former assistants who are now head coaches, Monte Lee from the College of Charleston and Stuart Lake at Charleston Southern, both received a package in the mail last December. It was Gamecock championship rings and a handwritten note from Tanner thanking them for helping to build USC into a champion.
Then there's the Gamecocks annual trip to the Omaha Children's Hospital when they make it to the College World Series. The furthest thing from a ploy to get good publicity, Tanner and his USC team met a boy named Charlie Peters in 2003. The youngster fought through and beat cancer as a five year old. Now 11 years old and healthy, Peters has been the Gamecocks batboy in Omaha for the past two years.
And just like the Gamecocks double play combination sparked a national title, Ray Tanner brings a double play combination of his own: an elite manager in between the lines and an even better person off the field.
It's the cheesy cliché that usually applies to football. You don't hear it tossed around when you talk about a baseball champion, but when it comes to the 2011 national champion South Carolina Gamecocks, it truly was defense that won them a second straight title.
I marveled at this team's ability to deliver a clutch double play when it needed to and then went to the boxscores to confirm how remarkable it was to see how many double plays the Gamecocks converted in the post-season. As a matter of fact, the Gamecocks had at least one double play in every single one of their post-season wins, 18 in all:
Gamecocks Double Plays in the Post-Season
Georgia Southern 2
Stetson I 1
Stetson II 1
UConn I 2
UConn II 3
Texas A&M 1
Virginia I 2
Virginia II 4
Florida I 1
Florida II 1
It would be awfully tough to rank the key defensive plays in this championship run. The John Taylor induced 1-2-3 DP's and the double plays in the extra inning Virginia game is a good start. But Scott Wingo's 4-2-3 DP against Florida in game one has to take the top prize. 18 double plays in ten games is a pretty stellar stat and then when you factor in the pressure of post-season play, it shows why this team is holding the national championship trophy.
Ray Tanner knew exactly what kind of team he had. He talked on more than one occasion that he didn't have the kind of club that could roll out and put up a crooked number. The Gamecocks had 11 players drafted in the MLB Draft, but when it comes to the high draft picks, just two.
Top 10 Round MLB Draftees in CWS by School
1. Vanderbilt - 9
2. Virginia - 5
3. Texas - 4
4. Florida - 3
4. California - 3
5. North Carolina - 2
5. Texas A&M - 2
5. South Carolina - 2 *Jackie Bradley in Rd 1A, Matt Price in Rd 6*
With two local products on the roster making key contributions in Colby Holmes and John Taylor, local Gamecock fans should get even more attached to this club with the possibility of Shon Carson and Tanner English roaming in the outfield. Carson has said he's definitely a Gamecock, English makes his decision sometime soon.
Ray Tanner's legacy is cemented as one of the all-time Gamecock greats in athletics. Beyond the obvious of winning back to back championships which is rarified air and the shuffling of over 40 different lineup combinations during national championship number two, there are two stories that will stick with me that tell the real story about Ray Tanner.
Two of Tanner's former assistants who are now head coaches, Monte Lee from the College of Charleston and Stuart Lake at Charleston Southern, both received a package in the mail last December. It was Gamecock championship rings and a handwritten note from Tanner thanking them for helping to build USC into a champion.
Then there's the Gamecocks annual trip to the Omaha Children's Hospital when they make it to the College World Series. The furthest thing from a ploy to get good publicity, Tanner and his USC team met a boy named Charlie Peters in 2003. The youngster fought through and beat cancer as a five year old. Now 11 years old and healthy, Peters has been the Gamecocks batboy in Omaha for the past two years.
And just like the Gamecocks double play combination sparked a national title, Ray Tanner brings a double play combination of his own: an elite manager in between the lines and an even better person off the field.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Rich's blog: The Gamecock Dad who quit his job for the CWS
Here's an example of public relations nightmare 101. It all started with a simple tweet:
@MRoth29: How's this for dedication? My dad had to quit his job to make it out to Omaha. #novacationdays
Michael Roth's father works at a car dealership in the Upstate. His son came out of nowhere in 2010 and went from reliever to College World Series hero, helping the Gamecocks win its first baseball national title. David Roth couldn't be there in Omaha and wasn't about to miss his son pitch there in 2011. With no more vacation time, Roth amicably resigned from his job and saw his son pitch on Father's Day in the Gamecocks 5-4 win over Texas A&M. The story went from a sidebar to national attention.
Yahoo.com: Father quits his job to see son pitch for the Gamecocks
It didn't take long before the name of the dealership surfaced. I'm sure Steve White VW/Audi of Greenville got more than its fair share of phone calls and emails about the situation and had to release a statement on its web page, citing that "The decision to terminate employment with our organization was entirely David Roth's.
Steve White statement regarding Roth
David Roth has turned down interviews with every outlet both in the state as well as ESPN who is covering the College World Series. There's no question that the car dealership is being painted as the "bad guy" in this even though both sides are saying that the split was amicable.
The trip to Omaha and the College World Series is a long one and an expensive one. If the Gamecocks go the distance like they did last year they will have been there for 13 days. That's a whole bunch of vacation time and when you factor in the fact that David Roth used a lot of vacation time to see his son pitch during the regular season, you can see the dilemma on both sides.
But for the car dealer, it's an absolute PR nightmare. Gamecock nation is loyal and strong and will soon not forget this story. As for David Roth, at 57 years old he has made a risky move to say the least in this current economy, but I'm sure there will be plenty of car dealers who would jump at the opportunity for the great PR by hiring David Roth. My guess is he won't be without a job for long.
Once again, we've learned about the passion of sports in the Palmetto State. College baseball is a niche at best around the country, but in South Carolina it makes the slow summer months awfully exciting. I keep hearing how special the overall experience is at Omaha and the College World Series is. David Roth would agree and paid quite a price to be a part of it.
@MRoth29: How's this for dedication? My dad had to quit his job to make it out to Omaha. #novacationdays
Michael Roth's father works at a car dealership in the Upstate. His son came out of nowhere in 2010 and went from reliever to College World Series hero, helping the Gamecocks win its first baseball national title. David Roth couldn't be there in Omaha and wasn't about to miss his son pitch there in 2011. With no more vacation time, Roth amicably resigned from his job and saw his son pitch on Father's Day in the Gamecocks 5-4 win over Texas A&M. The story went from a sidebar to national attention.
Yahoo.com: Father quits his job to see son pitch for the Gamecocks
It didn't take long before the name of the dealership surfaced. I'm sure Steve White VW/Audi of Greenville got more than its fair share of phone calls and emails about the situation and had to release a statement on its web page, citing that "The decision to terminate employment with our organization was entirely David Roth's.
Steve White statement regarding Roth
David Roth has turned down interviews with every outlet both in the state as well as ESPN who is covering the College World Series. There's no question that the car dealership is being painted as the "bad guy" in this even though both sides are saying that the split was amicable.
The trip to Omaha and the College World Series is a long one and an expensive one. If the Gamecocks go the distance like they did last year they will have been there for 13 days. That's a whole bunch of vacation time and when you factor in the fact that David Roth used a lot of vacation time to see his son pitch during the regular season, you can see the dilemma on both sides.
But for the car dealer, it's an absolute PR nightmare. Gamecock nation is loyal and strong and will soon not forget this story. As for David Roth, at 57 years old he has made a risky move to say the least in this current economy, but I'm sure there will be plenty of car dealers who would jump at the opportunity for the great PR by hiring David Roth. My guess is he won't be without a job for long.
Once again, we've learned about the passion of sports in the Palmetto State. College baseball is a niche at best around the country, but in South Carolina it makes the slow summer months awfully exciting. I keep hearing how special the overall experience is at Omaha and the College World Series is. David Roth would agree and paid quite a price to be a part of it.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Rich's Blog: Meet the John McKissick of HS Hoops and how to take SC high school sports to the next level
South Carolina is the home of the most accomplished high school football coach in Summerville's John McKissick who has accomplished numbers that are absolutely mind boggling. The dean of high school basketball comes from Jersey City, NJ. People in the Carolinas know the name Hurley. Bobby Hurley, Junior was one of the great Duke point guards of all time. His father, Bobby Hurley, Sr. is the legendary coach at St. Anthony's in Jersey City. The Friars finished a perfect 33-0 season by winning the New Jersey Tournament of Champions and for the 4th time in the Hurley era will finish #1 in the USA Today Top 25. Here are some numbers which make this feat even more impressive:
What is St. Anthony's home record: 0-0
St. Anthony's does not have a gym. Every single game is a road game.
What is Bob Hurley's salary: $9,500
That's his stipend this year. He has turned down numerous college offers, but elects to stay at St. Anthony's.
Beyond the sports story is the fact that this school in a pretty rough neigborhood survives because of its basketball prowess. 60 Minutes profiled Hurley and the school following the Elite 8. There's always a fear of promoting "another network", but this is worth watching:
Adrian Wojnarowski, who's on the NBA beat for Yahoo Sports today, followed St. Anthony's during the 2003-2004 season in the Miracle at St. Anthony's. It's a great read that shows the balance of the old school coach and his mission of making lives better for young people.
The Miracle of St. Anthony's book excerpt
St. Antony's won New Jersey's Tournament of Champions. What New Jersey does, which I think is brilliant, is take every state champion and have them play each other to determine one school that is the best in the state.
Imagine, if you will, if South Carolina let the state champions play each other in a tournament format. This wouldn't work for football as the season would go too long and I don't think you would want to see Byrnes play Scott's Branch in a first round Tournament of Champions game.
I'm thinking of this because of an article I saw in GoUpstate.com about the SCHSL expanding the football playoffs yet again:
GoUpstate: Class 2A to split into two divisions
So now, if this passes this summer, you are going to have seven state champions in high school football. Only Class 3A will have one state champion. If I was in charge of the SCHSL, here's what I would do:
First, I would lose the Divsion I and Division II monikers. I would rename the classes to Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A. Doesn't it sound better to say that you won a Class 5A state title instead of a Class 4A Division II title???
The next thing I would do is institute the Tournament of Champions format in every sport except football. 5A and 6A get first round byes with 4A playing 1A in one round, and 3A playing 4A in the other matchup. If you want to expand to seven divisions like football, fine: Let's invite the SCISA champion and have eight state champs playing for the overall title.
Think of the excitement it would bring. You have the Hoosiers element where the little 1A school that won a state title tries to pull off the improbable. Would Raymond Felton's Latta teams had the moxy to win a T of C? How much fun would it have been to see if Khadijah Sessions and Myrtle Beach were good enough to be the overall state champ. If Saint James wins the 3A baseball title this spring, how much excitement would there be if they went all the way and claimed a true state champ.
There's enough support and passion among all sports is South Carolina to make this a no-brainer. The Tournament of Champions format would take high school sports in this state to another level.
What is St. Anthony's home record: 0-0
St. Anthony's does not have a gym. Every single game is a road game.
What is Bob Hurley's salary: $9,500
That's his stipend this year. He has turned down numerous college offers, but elects to stay at St. Anthony's.
Beyond the sports story is the fact that this school in a pretty rough neigborhood survives because of its basketball prowess. 60 Minutes profiled Hurley and the school following the Elite 8. There's always a fear of promoting "another network", but this is worth watching:
Adrian Wojnarowski, who's on the NBA beat for Yahoo Sports today, followed St. Anthony's during the 2003-2004 season in the Miracle at St. Anthony's. It's a great read that shows the balance of the old school coach and his mission of making lives better for young people.
The Miracle of St. Anthony's book excerpt
St. Antony's won New Jersey's Tournament of Champions. What New Jersey does, which I think is brilliant, is take every state champion and have them play each other to determine one school that is the best in the state.
Imagine, if you will, if South Carolina let the state champions play each other in a tournament format. This wouldn't work for football as the season would go too long and I don't think you would want to see Byrnes play Scott's Branch in a first round Tournament of Champions game.
I'm thinking of this because of an article I saw in GoUpstate.com about the SCHSL expanding the football playoffs yet again:
GoUpstate: Class 2A to split into two divisions
So now, if this passes this summer, you are going to have seven state champions in high school football. Only Class 3A will have one state champion. If I was in charge of the SCHSL, here's what I would do:
First, I would lose the Divsion I and Division II monikers. I would rename the classes to Class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A. Doesn't it sound better to say that you won a Class 5A state title instead of a Class 4A Division II title???
The next thing I would do is institute the Tournament of Champions format in every sport except football. 5A and 6A get first round byes with 4A playing 1A in one round, and 3A playing 4A in the other matchup. If you want to expand to seven divisions like football, fine: Let's invite the SCISA champion and have eight state champs playing for the overall title.
Think of the excitement it would bring. You have the Hoosiers element where the little 1A school that won a state title tries to pull off the improbable. Would Raymond Felton's Latta teams had the moxy to win a T of C? How much fun would it have been to see if Khadijah Sessions and Myrtle Beach were good enough to be the overall state champ. If Saint James wins the 3A baseball title this spring, how much excitement would there be if they went all the way and claimed a true state champ.
There's enough support and passion among all sports is South Carolina to make this a no-brainer. The Tournament of Champions format would take high school sports in this state to another level.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Rich's Blog: The best cinderella story of March
While the brackets played themselves out and Cinderellas like Richmond and VCU emerged in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, there was another bracket going on that provided a truly inspirational story.
At the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, Anthony Robles of Arizona State won the individual national title at 125 pounds. Robles was born without a right leg. Watch the video from our ABC affiliate in Phoenix: it might be my favorite entrance into the ring.
Robles will not pursue the Olympics and instead become a motivational speaker:
USA Today: Anthony Robles retires
March Madness is great. The first four days of the tournament are among the most enjoyable days for a sports fan. Now that I've been covering sports for nearly 20 years (old guy alert!), I can say that going to "The Dance" is at the top of the list of things I haven't experienced in my TV career. Three times I came close with Coastal, but I have not yet been to the Tourney.
Things I'd like to cover
1. NCAA Tournament - what will come first, CCU in the Dance or my alma mater Saint Bonaventure? I was supposed to go to Cleveland in 2000 when the Bonnies lost in 2OT to Kentucky, but it was my first Darlington race weekend.
2. The Masters - I've been trying for 11 years to get credentials to Augusta and I'm hopeful that I'm getting closer to accomplishing that. Dustin Johnson...help!
3. Olympics - It's tough to cover the Olympics if you are not an NBC affiliate. Perhaps I can talk the bosses into a trip to London to cover Amber Campbell
Things I've covered
========================
1. Super Bowl - went to Houston for the Panthers loss to New England and had a one on one interview with Adam Vinatieri after kicking the game winning field goal (a real thrill). I also attended Super Bowl XXI (The Giants first Super Bowl win against Denver) as a fan (thanks Dad)
2. World Series - I was covering the Red Sox in Bangor, Maine and in a glitch by MLB was given World Series credentials in 1999 when the Yankees won it all. I went live on the field from game four before Roger Clemens won and got all the celebration afterwards.
3. NBA Finals - 1995 working in New York....what I'll always remember about this was not the Rockets and Knicks, but being at MSG when the OJ van chase began.
4. Stanley Cup - another thrill - the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and I was there for game seven and all the hoopla. I did an interview with Mark Messier that was used on the CBS Evening News the following day.
5. NCAA Hockey Tournament - The Maine Black Bears won it all in 1999. I went to Worcester, Mass and Anaheim for an amazing season. Maine won the Frozen Four and Championship game in overtime. The game ended at 11:07 pm on a Saturday night and we were able to do a live interview in the locker room in the midst of the championship. Kurt Russell (pre Herb Brooks in Miracle) was there and I closed the show holding the national championship trophy.
6. NBA Draft - Raymond Felton getting selected by the Charlotte Bobcats. I remember the room upstairs at MSG and the ABC people not promising that I would be able to get Raymond for an interview. He saw me and walked right over and sat down with me and gave me his first interview after being drafted. I'll never forget that.
7. 1999 MLB All-Star Game at Fenway - Ted Williams meeting all the players at the pitchers mound, Mark McGwire before steroids tainted his legacy and going live with Mike Mussina when he was with the Orioles (why?, because he was on with the ABC in Washington DC before my shot - he was great)
There was plenty of other cool stuff (US Open at Pinehurst, two NIT's, two NCAA Women's Tournaments, all the Gamecock and Clemson bowl games). The best part of the job is watching our local kids at the highest level of their sport. I enjoy catching up with Raymond Felton and Ramon Sessions at NBA games and look forward to seeing Everett Golson at Notre Dame and Jordan Lyles with the Houston Astros. Thanks to the great talent in this area, I'm excited to be adding to this list.
At the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, Anthony Robles of Arizona State won the individual national title at 125 pounds. Robles was born without a right leg. Watch the video from our ABC affiliate in Phoenix: it might be my favorite entrance into the ring.
Robles will not pursue the Olympics and instead become a motivational speaker:
USA Today: Anthony Robles retires
March Madness is great. The first four days of the tournament are among the most enjoyable days for a sports fan. Now that I've been covering sports for nearly 20 years (old guy alert!), I can say that going to "The Dance" is at the top of the list of things I haven't experienced in my TV career. Three times I came close with Coastal, but I have not yet been to the Tourney.
Things I'd like to cover
1. NCAA Tournament - what will come first, CCU in the Dance or my alma mater Saint Bonaventure? I was supposed to go to Cleveland in 2000 when the Bonnies lost in 2OT to Kentucky, but it was my first Darlington race weekend.
2. The Masters - I've been trying for 11 years to get credentials to Augusta and I'm hopeful that I'm getting closer to accomplishing that. Dustin Johnson...help!
3. Olympics - It's tough to cover the Olympics if you are not an NBC affiliate. Perhaps I can talk the bosses into a trip to London to cover Amber Campbell
Things I've covered
========================
1. Super Bowl - went to Houston for the Panthers loss to New England and had a one on one interview with Adam Vinatieri after kicking the game winning field goal (a real thrill). I also attended Super Bowl XXI (The Giants first Super Bowl win against Denver) as a fan (thanks Dad)
2. World Series - I was covering the Red Sox in Bangor, Maine and in a glitch by MLB was given World Series credentials in 1999 when the Yankees won it all. I went live on the field from game four before Roger Clemens won and got all the celebration afterwards.
3. NBA Finals - 1995 working in New York....what I'll always remember about this was not the Rockets and Knicks, but being at MSG when the OJ van chase began.
4. Stanley Cup - another thrill - the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and I was there for game seven and all the hoopla. I did an interview with Mark Messier that was used on the CBS Evening News the following day.
5. NCAA Hockey Tournament - The Maine Black Bears won it all in 1999. I went to Worcester, Mass and Anaheim for an amazing season. Maine won the Frozen Four and Championship game in overtime. The game ended at 11:07 pm on a Saturday night and we were able to do a live interview in the locker room in the midst of the championship. Kurt Russell (pre Herb Brooks in Miracle) was there and I closed the show holding the national championship trophy.
6. NBA Draft - Raymond Felton getting selected by the Charlotte Bobcats. I remember the room upstairs at MSG and the ABC people not promising that I would be able to get Raymond for an interview. He saw me and walked right over and sat down with me and gave me his first interview after being drafted. I'll never forget that.
7. 1999 MLB All-Star Game at Fenway - Ted Williams meeting all the players at the pitchers mound, Mark McGwire before steroids tainted his legacy and going live with Mike Mussina when he was with the Orioles (why?, because he was on with the ABC in Washington DC before my shot - he was great)
There was plenty of other cool stuff (US Open at Pinehurst, two NIT's, two NCAA Women's Tournaments, all the Gamecock and Clemson bowl games). The best part of the job is watching our local kids at the highest level of their sport. I enjoy catching up with Raymond Felton and Ramon Sessions at NBA games and look forward to seeing Everett Golson at Notre Dame and Jordan Lyles with the Houston Astros. Thanks to the great talent in this area, I'm excited to be adding to this list.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Rich's Blog: The Trick Shot QB and is he really plugging soccer and the View?
In the world of the internet, things can go viral in a hurry. Last week, I stumbled upon this video and meant to share it with everyone. Next thing I know, there's over 4,000,000 YouTube hits. So if you've seen it already, I'm sorry I'm not on the cutting edge, but for those of you who haven't it's a fun watch.
Johnny McEntee is a third string quarterback at UConn. He may not be in the starting lineup, but his trick shots are incredible. Sure, he probably needed a few takes, and what he's doing in shorts in an empty fieldhouse doesn't translate to success on Saturday's, but I'm a fan.
I'm a lukewarm soccer fan. I get excited during the World Cup and I always root hard for the US, yet I'm not rushing to get MLS season tickets or watching the table in the English Premier League. However, I did get to see Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and his goal last weekend and it was off the charts! YouTube doesn't have the rights, but this British newspaper has the video below:
Wayne Rooney's Bicycle Kick Goal
Like most males, I have not seen the View (weekdays at 11am right here on WPDE) for more than three minutes. However, I did get to see this story which was heartwarming and inspirational. A 13 year old boy from the Philadelphia area was the victim of senseless bullying. When you read the story, it breaks your heart. But the fact that he was able to go public with his story gave him the chance to meet his sports hero, Eagles WR DeSean Jackson. ESPN.com's Rick Reilly tells the story.
Reilly: Eagles over the Wolves in a rout
I always remembered DeSean Jackson as a showboater who excessively celebrates. This was better than any touchdown he'll score.
Johnny McEntee is a third string quarterback at UConn. He may not be in the starting lineup, but his trick shots are incredible. Sure, he probably needed a few takes, and what he's doing in shorts in an empty fieldhouse doesn't translate to success on Saturday's, but I'm a fan.
I'm a lukewarm soccer fan. I get excited during the World Cup and I always root hard for the US, yet I'm not rushing to get MLS season tickets or watching the table in the English Premier League. However, I did get to see Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and his goal last weekend and it was off the charts! YouTube doesn't have the rights, but this British newspaper has the video below:
Wayne Rooney's Bicycle Kick Goal
Like most males, I have not seen the View (weekdays at 11am right here on WPDE) for more than three minutes. However, I did get to see this story which was heartwarming and inspirational. A 13 year old boy from the Philadelphia area was the victim of senseless bullying. When you read the story, it breaks your heart. But the fact that he was able to go public with his story gave him the chance to meet his sports hero, Eagles WR DeSean Jackson. ESPN.com's Rick Reilly tells the story.
Reilly: Eagles over the Wolves in a rout
I always remembered DeSean Jackson as a showboater who excessively celebrates. This was better than any touchdown he'll score.
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