College Sports

Time for a little griping. I know I am a few months late on this one, but this is a fairly new blog, so I am giving myself a freebie to go backwards in time a bit.

I don’t know why this is bothering me today, in the middle of spring, but exactly what was gained when the NCAA changed Division IA and IAA to Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively.

The reason given is that the new titles more accurately reflect what the divisions stand for. Obviously, the FBS denotes that the division plays bowl games instead of a championship bracket that determines a REAL national champion (thanks, BCS). And DI-AA (oops, I mean FCS) denotes the division that actually man’s up and plays a real championship game.

But pretty much everyone who pays any attention to college football knew what the divisions stood for, and how post-season was played out. And now, when the talking heads on ESPN get going on a story, and try to spit out that new mouthful, it takes me a minute to figure it out… kind of goes against the old KISS theory (keep it simple, stupid).

Oh, here’s another light bulb moment… Division I-AAA has been discontinued. Betcha didn’t even know there was a DI-AAA in football, right? That’s because it was a division created for the schools that don’t play football. That’s right… a football division for schools that don’t play football.

Hmmm…

All this got me to thinking, what will the powers that be rename next?

The Southeastern Conference will become “The Schools located in the southern portion of the United States of America that have banded together in the effort to dominate the athletic climate in the name of education.”

The Big Ten (11) will become “The Schools of the Great Lake States that excel at numerous sports, but are obviously challenged at counting their own members.

The PAC 10 will become “Westernmost schools within the contiguous United States that decry an East Coast bias”

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

LT

Normally I try to come up with something informative, or something to get your juices flowing or give you something to think about.

Not today.I was surfing through the NCAA’s fan web site, NCAA.com, and came upon a little poll they are running… “Which is the Best College Fight Song.”They have narrowed it down to five candidates:

• Notre Dame “Victory March”
• Michigan “The Victors”
• Tennessee “Rocky Top”
• Southern Cal “Fight On for Old SC”
• Other

Now, obviously the wise folks at the NCAA knew that many would vote for their own fight song, which is why the “other” category was included, and when I last checked it was leading the pack with 37% of the votes. Next was Notre Dame with 18.5%, followed by Tennessee (18.2%), Michigan (17.9%), and bringing up the rear, USC (8.3%). A total of 1483 votes had been cast at 12:25 a.m.

So I got to thinking about college fight songs. I grew up loving them. My grandparents had a copy of the Georgia Tech fight song on one of those old, old one sided records from the 1930’s, and I used to enjoy listening to it as a kid… heck, you could use a few bad words and nobody cared!

I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer,

A helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, hell of an engineer,

Like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear,

I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of an engineer.

Oh, if I had a daughter, sir, I’d dress her in White and Gold,

And put her on the campus, to cheer the brave and bold.

But if I had a son, sir, I’ll tell you what he’d do.

He would yell, “To Hell with Georgia,” like his daddy used to do.

Oh, I wish I had a barrel of rum and sugar three thousand pounds,

A college bell to put it in and a clapper to stir it around.

I’d drink to all good fellows who come from far and near.

I’m a ramblin’, gamblin’, hell of an engineer.

Heady words for a kid. My dad and I also liked to play “Name That Tune” using fight song words… I know, sounds crazy, but I can sing the fight songs from all over the nation.

And you would be surprised at the album I used to learn the words… “The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings College Fight Songs.” I kid you not. Still have it, in fact.

Each of the four listed fight songs has it’s own flair… Notre Dame’s truly is a march, and when you hear it you think of the Irish. Michigan’s fight song is more “in your face”, with it’s raised hands commanding “Hail.” USC’s is probably a little less known to most sports fans (you know, East Coast bias!), but it is regal and sounds like a true Trojan war march (kind of reminds me of the music from “Cleopatra”). And Tennessee’s fight song, Rocky Top, is straight from the hills fun, singing about moonshine and home (I should point out here that Rocky Top is not the official fight song of UT, a song called “Down the Field” has that honor, and is played after every touchdown - but Rocky Top has become Tennessee’s identifier over the last 30 years, along with the checkerboard endzone).

So head on over to NCAA.com and vote for your favorite, or fire off a comment and let me know what your favorite is. Personally, I don’t think there is such a thing as a “bad” fight song.

Every time I turn a sports page these days, it seems I am seeing the same question in bold type: Should the US Boycott the Olympic Games in China?

A lot of people have very strong opinions on both sides of the matter. China has a horrific record with human rights. There continues to be oppression of religion, and those who dare speak out against the regime wind up imprisoned… or worse. Remember the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989? Depending on which source is to be believed, between 200 (the Chinese government) and 3000 (Chinese Student Government and Chinese Red Cross) were murdered. The foreign press was ordered out of the country, and wide-spread arrests of protesters and those who supported were used to crack down on the uprising. Not exactly what Pierre de Coubertin had in mind when he founded the modern day Olympics, I’m sure.

Here we are 19 years later, and China has emerged as a world leader, and the city of Beijing will be hosting this summer’s Olympic games.

Talk about extreme make-over!

But that is just the point, according to those worldwide who believe there should be a boycott of the games. There has been no wholesale make-over, just some lipstick and rouge slapped on the face of an aging tyrant.

The hot button in all this is China’s recent crackdown on those who sympathize with Tibet and the Dalai Lama, as well as China’s support of the Sudanese genocide in Darfur. Virtually everywhere that the Olympic torch has traveled during it’s trip around the world, there have been protests. In this nation, the torch’s voyage through the streets of San Francisco was interrupted repeatedly, and some in the media claim that San Francisco was selected as a site for the torch run specifically because there would be demonstrations, in a city with a large Chinese-American population.

As many of you remember, there is a history to nations withdrawing from the Olympics. In 1980, the U.S., along with more than 50 other countries, boycotted the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Four years later, the Soviet bloc of nations stayed home from the Los Angeles games, in a kind of tit-for-tat boycott.

All well and good, but if you look closer, behind all the “speechifying” (as we say down south), behind all the political bragadacio, there were athletes who had spent years of their lives training for their one moment… and that was gone in an instant.

My question is, was the world better off? Did the Soviet Union crumble when the U.S. and it’s allies stayed home? Did the U.S. crumble four years later? The answer to both questions is no.

When the modern-day Olympics was founded, it was on the belief that sports rose above the political, above boundaries, to bring out the best in mankind. I think going into China, network cameras rolling, will give the world a look at a secret society that wants to put on it’s best face, but whose cracks and wrinkles will show.

Sure, China will get some PR. But do you think for one minute that the world will suddenly forget the rioting monks in Tibet? Heck, if anything, it may put the pictures into the minds of those who usually skip the front page and go straight for the sports section (you know who you are!).

So let the Games begin, full-strength. And maybe, as China makes it’s steps out into the world, the revolution can begin from within.

Johnny Dawkins, former Duke player and longtime assistant to head coach Mike Kryzewski, will be introduced on Monday as the new head coach at Stanford University.

Normally, I wouldn’t write about something that is going to be covered by every media outlet, but this one caught my eye because Dawkins has been with the Duke program for so long.  He has been an assistant with the program since the 1997-98 season, and served the last nine as associate head coach.  Not only that, but Dawkins departure breaks apart the longest continuous serving staff in the ACC, a highly loyal group of assistants who all played for Kryzewski.

And Kryzewski knows Dawkins value to the Duke program will be sorely missed.  “In my 28 years at Duke,” said Kryzewski, ”no one did more to build our program as a player, coach or a person than Johnny Dawkins.”

Big words from a Hall of Fame coach.  But words that ring true.

Dawkins will be leaving one coast for another, but the situations have many similarities, beginning with the emphasis that each puts on education.  No gimmies at either institution.

 This will be Dawkins first head coaching position.  I have long wondered if he is being groomed at some level to take over for Kryzewski when he retires.  Of course, Coach K is showing no signs of retiring, and Dawkins is only 44.  The Stanford job is a great coaching position.  He is left with a team that advanced to the regional semifinals, although they are losing twin seven footers Brooke and Robin Lopez, who have declared for the draft.  No matter, I bet the Cardinal will thrive under their new head coach.  Stanford is a wonderful opportunity… a beautiful campus, great school, and strong athletic traditions.  Win Win Win situation.

Stanford is getting a good man, and Dawkins is getting a good University.  We wish them both success.

LT

Today will be a big day in the lives of some college football players.  Today they will become millionaires.

Today is the Day 1 of the NFL draft.  Once upon a time, you would pick up the Sunday sports section to find out if your favorite university had any players drafted.  Now it is a big deal, a very big deal.  ESPN will televise the draft, the endcap to months of pre-draft shows, interviews, and speculation.  Miami has been “on the clock” since last December, and experts have been debating who will be drafted #1, who will be drafted mid-second round, who will go undrafted, and who will be left sitting, uncomfortably, in the holding room, the entire nation watching (see Brady Quinn and Matt Leinart).

Yes, the NFL draft has ingrained itself into our sports DNA, a weekend event that will include tickets that are scalped, war rooms, and the promise that maybe this is the year that the Lions break through.

I am pretty sure that the reason my husband married me is because one April morning in 1998, he called and asked if I wanted to go to breakfast, and I told him that I couldn’t because the NFL draft was coming on.  Marriages have survived on less, and now even our four year old daughter knows that Draft Day means… although she is curious why there is no draft for cheerleaders and mascots.

To jazz things up, here is a little game you can play.  After the draft, count how many days it takes the new jersey of the top pick (Jake Long of Michigan) to show up in your local sporting goods store… my bet?  Less than a week, especially if you live in Miami (or Ann Arbor).

LT

Coaches seem to live on the perennial hotseat. Even successful coaches are constantly under attack from one faction or the other. That’s why, when my sister-in-law told me about the billboards springing up around Lansing and East Lansing, Michigan, I was surprised… and happily so.

In the past month, at various locations around town, a simple billboard with “Thank you, Tom” and a basketball has appeared. No question who “Tom” is… Tom Izzo, men’s basketball coach at Michigan State.

Yes, the folks in East Lansing know a good thing when they see it, and in Izzo they have one of the best. He has proven his loyalty to MSU, having served as assistant coach from 1983-1990, associate head coach from 1990-1995, and as head coach for the Spartans since 1995. OK, there was a brief, one month stint as assistant at Tulsa in the summer of 1986… he returned to MSU when another assistant left the university.

I could go on and on about Izzo’s accomplishments as head coach… 12 consecutive NCAA tourney appearances. a national championship, seven Sweet 16 appearances in the last 11 years (only Duke has more, at nine, while UCLA also has seven). But to list only his accomplishments on the hardwood would do a disservice to the man. Izzo puts a premium on education, and entering the 2007-2008 season 82% of his players had graduated… 82%! Does anybody else find that amazing in this day and age? And during the off-season in both 2005 and 2006, Izzo participated in “Operation Hardwood Hoops with the Troops,” during which Izzo and other NCAA coaches, former players and media personalities coached and played with different military teams in Kuwait.

And catch this quote:

“All those stories you hear about Tom are true. He’s just one of the greatest guys. I can see why the guys want to go play for him, because he’s straightforward and he’s just a nice guy. Certainly he’s a guy that, if I was playing ball, he’s the type of guy that I’d want to go play for.” Tiger Woods (July 27, 2005).

That’s right, Tiger Woods.

So let’s recap:

• 82% graduation rate
• has stayed with the same university since 1983, despite job offers from numerous college and pro teams
• gives back not only to his own community, but to his country by traveling half a world away to let the troops know that we haven’t forgotten
• one national championship and tremendous successes on the court
• the respect of not only his peers, but athletes and coaches from other areas of the sports world
• runs a clean program, and runs it the right way
• oh, did I mention that 82% graduation rate?

So yes, Thank You, Tom… not just from the fans at MSU, but from all of us in the sports world.

LT

Once upon a time, spring football was a time when players could practice in peace. When new coaches could install their offense or defense on a quiet practice field, preparing the team for the fall, when the season would take off.

Not any more.

Spring football is big business these days. Games sell out, a whole weekend of activities are planned. The cheerleaders and bands are on hand. High school signees, who graduated in December so they could take part in spring practice, make their debut.

It’s big time, baby.

Schools can have fun with the day. At Florida, head coach Urban Meyer offered a full scholarship to any student who could beat his fastest players in the 40 (running back Chris Rainey won the race, defeating the students who competed). Another lucky fan’s name was selected to catch a pass from Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. And the game was televised on ESPN.

Personally, I like the spring game. You can’t lose, so there is no pressure. You get a look at what the fall might hold. And it is great to get back into the stadium and start the countdown till the first regular season game.

In one of the best all-time spring football quotes, when Alabama’s Ray Perkins was asked (sometime in the mid-80’s) why the Crimson Tide cheerleaders and pep band hadn’t accompanied the men’s basketball team to the NCAA tournament, he responded “spring football practice has started.” If you don’t believe it, on April 12, Bama had 78,200 at A-Day, the spring football game. This must have been a disappointment. Last year, under new coach Nick Saban, they filled the Bryant-Denny with 92,138.

So get ready, kickoff is a mere four and a half months away… unless you take in the spring game.

LT

Why can’t Geno Auriemma give it a rest?

The University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball coach has a tendency to open mouth, insert foot. He isn’t shy around the media, and doesn’t mind expressing his opinion, no matter how insulting or one-sided.

He has been quoted railing against Big East rival Rutgers, dissing the entire state of New Jersey in the process (”They hate everything about us because we’re what they want to be”, “I have a home in New Jersey [on the shore]… I wouldn’t want to live there full time”, “They have trouble putting sentences together… most of it you can’t understand.” Lovely.

I especially like the part where he claims that Rutgers is the only place where the fans hate him… really? I have been many, many places, and frankly, while he is greatly respected for his knowledge and coaching ability, he isn’t exactly anybody’s first choice to share a meal with. A few years back SI did a story on how Auriemma and the UConn men’s coach Jim Calhoun don’t get along.

Well, now he is back at it.

Auriemma’s favorite nemesis, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, ended the series with UConn this past summer. It was a loss to the women’s basketball world, as this rivalry was guaranteed to pull in the viewers, if for no other reason that to see if the two coaches would break protocol and go at it on live TV. Summitt has never publicly given a reason for ending the series, saying only that “Gino knows” why.

Most fans know that the reason had to do with Tennessee and Summitt taking exception to UConn’s recruitment of Maya Moore, specifically that UConn scheduled a tour of the nearby ESPN facility for Moore and her mother, Kathryn, during a recruiting trip in October of 2005. This was considered an “extra benefit,” a secondary violation. There were no penalties involved.

Auriemma goes on to say that Summitt “doesn’t have the courage to say it publicly.”

Not so fast, my friend.

Pat Summitt lacks nothing in the courage department. She has never backed down from a fight, and was among the first coaches to take an attitude of “bring it on”, playing the best teams year in and year out. She has never dodged any team, any time… and now she lacks courage?

I think that what may be at play here is more likely disappointment and frustration. 2007-2008 looked to be the season that UConn would return to the top of the women’s basketball mountain. Indeed, the Huskies had a great season, advancing to the Final Four, where they fell to Stanford. So instead of UConn cutting down the nets, it was Pat Summitt and her Lady Vols, claiming their eighth national championship, second in a row.

Ouch!

And here’s the kicker. When Summitt was asked during the tournament about Auriemma, she responded that she thought he had done a great job this season at UConn, and she had voted for him for Coach of the Year.

Double ouch!

Maybe Auriemma feels he needs to make Summitt into the boogie man. After all, once upon a time he did call Pat and the Lady Vols the “Evil Empire.” Maybe he feels this will give him an edge in recruiting. Maybe he thinks by trashing others, he is gaining respect.

But maybe he should just let it go.

LT

I was surprised to hear that long-time University of Arkansas cross country and track & field coach John McDonnell is retiring at the end of this season.

McDonnell isn’t just one of the most successful track and field coaches ever… he is THE most successful. Add to that, he has won more national championships in track & field than most schools have won in all their sports, combined. Whew!

Look at the numbers:

• 36 Years as head coach at Arkansas
• 42 NCAA Championships
• 83 Conference Titles
• 12 Consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships (1984-1995), the longest national championship streak in any collegiate sport
• More national championships than any coach in any NCAA sport in any division

And get this… the 42 NCAA National Championships Arkansas has won during McDonnell’s tenure is even more impressive when you consider that only four other university men’s athletic programs in the nation have won more titles… in all sports combined! (Southern Cal-72, UCLA-69, Stanford-57, and Oklahoma State-46). Wow.

After listening to the press conference, it sounds like he just wants to step down and spend some time with his family. He mentioned that he missed his kids high school graduations. Coaches pay a high price to do what they do, and successful coaches pay an even higher price. He’ll be staying in Fayetteville, and remarked that “once a Razorback, always a Razorback.”

The past couple of years has been rough, with NCAA sanctions that included losing two national titles and receiving three years probation; however, Arkansas is appealing the ruling.

But none of that negates what this man has done in the world of track and field, and we wish him a happy, healthy, and long retirement.

LT

Hey, all you lacrosse fans (and you know who you are), ESPN will be serving up a treat this spring.  The sports television behemoth will be televising  many regular season games and all NCAA tournament games in 2008.

The games will be spread out over ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, beginning April 23.  Regular season games will be on ESPNU, with tournament games on ESPN2 and the championship match on ESPN.

For a complete listing of games, either click on the ESPN link on the left and go to college sports, or follow this link to go directly to the listing of televised matches:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3212078

 If you have never watched lax, I highly recommend it.  It is fast-paced, with a lot of passing, catching and strategy.  The goal is simple… get the ball in the net.  But the net is small (VERY small) and well-defended, so offensive strategy is key.  Oh, and it is one of the only sports where you can play the ball BEHIND the goal.

So if you are a fan of lax, tune in and enjoy, and if you have never watch the game before, you are in for a treat!

Linda