I'm Jamarcus Russell. I grew up and everybody knew I was going to be special. I'm an unbelievable athlete and an incredible physical specimen. I went to play football at LSU, and did pretty well. At the end of my redshirt sophomore year, I was named to the All-SEC team. I had a solid junior year, too, and my Tigers went 10-2. We thrashed Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, and I had an awesome game. People finally noticed me when I was running and throwing all over the Golden Domers. Things were going so well, I decided to enter the NFL Draft. I was unreal at the combine and my individual workouts, because I'm 6-6, 285 pounds, and ran the 40 yard dash in 4.83 seconds.
So, when it came time for the draft, me going No. 1 was a foregone conclusion. Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders took me because they had seen me in that Sugar Bowl and then in those workouts.
Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned in the pros. People realized that I'm not actually as good as I looked the one time they saw me on national TV. My career stats, after being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft: 52.1 percent completion, 18 TDs, 23 INTs. Good enough for a 65.2 quarterback rating in my career. Right now, I'm just a free agent. I haven't played football since 2009.
Now, I'm Billy Gillispie. I spent my first eight years coaching as an assistant, some of them under Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois, so I learned some good stuff about basketball. Then, UTEP decided to give me an opportunity to be a head coach. My first year was a disaster. My Miners went 6-24. The following year, however, I got to show off my recruiting prowess, and got some of my players involved in the program. We went 24-8 that year, the biggest turnaround in the entire NCAA Division 1. My coaching job was so impressive, that I wasn't gonna be sticking around El Paso for long. Texas A&M offered me some big bucks, and I jumped at the opportunity. It was like a dream come true. All I did was coach for two years, and only have one good one, and now I'm already getting paid to coach at a huge school like Texas A&M? Pretty easy decision.
Things went well in Aggie-ville right off the bat. I inherited a team that had gone 7-21 the year before, and I led them to a 21-10 record in my first year. Now, it should be mentioned that we started off 11-0, and then only finished 10-10 when we actually had to play some tougher teams, but still, things were improving. In my second year, we were legit. We went 21-8, and 10-6 in the Big 12. We made the NCAA Tournament and lost a tough one in the second round. Still, I had made my mark. I was on the coaching map.
In my third year at A&M, we made an unbelievable run. It may have been mostly due to the fact that Acie Law IV was on my team, and had one of the great clutch seasons a guard ever has in college basketball, but after the season, nobody remembered him. It was the coaching job I had done that stuck with them.
So much so, that after just three years at my second program and five years total as a head coach, I was offered one of the premiere positions in the country: Kentucky. Again, it was a no-brainer for me. I was still in the prime of my life, had been a head coach for just five years, and only had two really good seasons, and I was at a top 3 job in the country?! Awesome.
Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned in Lexington. I led the Wildcats to two mediocre seasons, which at Kentucky means two bad seasons. We lost both our season openers during my tenure to Gardner-Webb and Virginia Military Institute. And, after two years, I was booted from my job. Guess the Wildcats might have put a little bit too much faith in me.
Now, I'm Shaka Smart. I'm in my second year with Virginia Commonwealth. My first season went well. I inherited a solid team, and we went 27-10 and won the CBI championship. Not too shabby. Now this year, We had another strong season, but backed into the NCAA Tournament. Everybody, including me, was surprised to see our names come up in the bracket. But I've made sure to make the most of it. I've done a masterful job motivating my team to play tough defense and be relentless with their energy all tourney long, and we've gone on one of the more memorable runs in tourney history, with a shot at the Final Four. We're playing juggernaut Kansas, but whether we win or not really doesn't matter. Of course I'd like to win, but we've done the damage to get me the notoriety I want. My team only went 23-11 during the regular season, and we were fourth in our conference. We lost to Georgia State and Drexel this year. But all of that has been forgotten. It doesn't matter now that I've gotten my team to the Elite Eight.
I have no doubt that I'll be hearing from some bigger programs this offseason about hiring me, and offering me some huge sums of money. I don't know if I'm going to take those jobs yet, only time will tell. Of course I think I'm a good coach, but when I really sit down and think about it, I've only been doing this for two years. Would some team be making a mistake hiring me? Would it be a mistake by me to accept it? Would I last in a big-program, big-conference situation, when I'm just 33 years old?
I'm just not sure, but all the cha-chinging in my ears is getting hard to ignore.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Youuuu'rrrre Outta Here
Life as a New York Mets fan can be pretty depressing, and this year doesn't look like it will be any different. With very much the same team as last year, with the notable exception of ace pitcher Johan Santana being out recovering from shoulder surgery through the first half of the season. With the Phillies and Marlins looking like strong contenders for the postseason, it's going to be a long season for the Metropolitans.
But there is some sunlight on the horizon. The stories are starting to pour out of New York that the Mets are making some movies. First it was aging second baseman Luis Castillo who was cut, with the Mets still needing to pay him $6 million. Now, the stories have come out that pitcher Oliver Perez is out as well.
This is perhaps the best Mets news in the past three years, because it shows the organization is finally admitting to its mistakes. All the Mets have done in that time is add, add, add. All the moves sounded good at the time: Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Bay. All of them seemed to fill a needed role on the team, but none of them have worked out well. None of them have lived up to expectations.
So thats why dropping Oliver Perez, while still owing him $12 million, is an awesome thing to hear. Perez had a mediocre season, and the Mets paid him big. Too big. And now it has taken two years, but they're finally admitting to their error. It was a joke to pay him that much money that quickly, and they've tried to keep him around, move him to the bullpen, pitch him in the minors. Finally, it's over. Get him out of here. And the organization finally did it.
Now the Mets can move on. A year from now, $12 million will be freed up, and they can attempt to make a good move for once. Things may not go well for them this year, but they've finally given themselves a chance to move on.
But there is some sunlight on the horizon. The stories are starting to pour out of New York that the Mets are making some movies. First it was aging second baseman Luis Castillo who was cut, with the Mets still needing to pay him $6 million. Now, the stories have come out that pitcher Oliver Perez is out as well.
This is perhaps the best Mets news in the past three years, because it shows the organization is finally admitting to its mistakes. All the Mets have done in that time is add, add, add. All the moves sounded good at the time: Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Bay. All of them seemed to fill a needed role on the team, but none of them have worked out well. None of them have lived up to expectations.
So thats why dropping Oliver Perez, while still owing him $12 million, is an awesome thing to hear. Perez had a mediocre season, and the Mets paid him big. Too big. And now it has taken two years, but they're finally admitting to their error. It was a joke to pay him that much money that quickly, and they've tried to keep him around, move him to the bullpen, pitch him in the minors. Finally, it's over. Get him out of here. And the organization finally did it.
Now the Mets can move on. A year from now, $12 million will be freed up, and they can attempt to make a good move for once. Things may not go well for them this year, but they've finally given themselves a chance to move on.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
It's just about tourney time! Stop whining
It is selection Sunday, everybody is abuzz with tournament talk, but this year has been a bit different. The tournament has been surrounded by a lot more negativity this year. And just because we've got 68 teams.
I've had several conversations with other college ball fans lately, talking tourney, and each time the conversation has gone the same way. Eventually it gets to the point where we talk about the fact that the bubble is just a little bit wider, and there are going to be some pretty bad teams in that receive at-large bids.
It's true. The fact that the bubble extends just a bit farther is going to mean we've got slightly worse teams in the tournament every year. And it's true that this year, it seems like every single bubble team has played poorly since February started, making the bubble squads look even worse.
Yeah, we're probably going to see teams like Marquette (20-14, 9-9 Big East) and Villanova (2-7 in their last 9 games, with the only wins over DePaul and Seton Hall) and Colorado (21-13, 8-8 Big 12). All those teams have been on the bubble and won the bare minimum to keep on receiving consideration. So yeah, there are going to be some pretty bad teams in the NCAA Tournament. But honestly, stop whining. It's going to be an awesome tournament.
Haven't you been watching these conference tournaments? Every game has been awesome. Including the ones played by Marquette, Villanova and Colorado.
The point is this: this games will continue to be exciting as we hit tournament time. Even between the teams who have performed so poorly the past month and will back into the the First Four games. The passion and energy played with in every game during this tournament season is all we need.
So enough of the naysaying, just let the committee do its just, then sit back and enjoy the fun of the tournament. You've got 4 good games coming up Tuesday and Wednesday, even if they are between some bad teams.
I've had several conversations with other college ball fans lately, talking tourney, and each time the conversation has gone the same way. Eventually it gets to the point where we talk about the fact that the bubble is just a little bit wider, and there are going to be some pretty bad teams in that receive at-large bids.
It's true. The fact that the bubble extends just a bit farther is going to mean we've got slightly worse teams in the tournament every year. And it's true that this year, it seems like every single bubble team has played poorly since February started, making the bubble squads look even worse.
Yeah, we're probably going to see teams like Marquette (20-14, 9-9 Big East) and Villanova (2-7 in their last 9 games, with the only wins over DePaul and Seton Hall) and Colorado (21-13, 8-8 Big 12). All those teams have been on the bubble and won the bare minimum to keep on receiving consideration. So yeah, there are going to be some pretty bad teams in the NCAA Tournament. But honestly, stop whining. It's going to be an awesome tournament.
Haven't you been watching these conference tournaments? Every game has been awesome. Including the ones played by Marquette, Villanova and Colorado.
The point is this: this games will continue to be exciting as we hit tournament time. Even between the teams who have performed so poorly the past month and will back into the the First Four games. The passion and energy played with in every game during this tournament season is all we need.
So enough of the naysaying, just let the committee do its just, then sit back and enjoy the fun of the tournament. You've got 4 good games coming up Tuesday and Wednesday, even if they are between some bad teams.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tough to Stomach
By now we've all heard about BYU forward Brandon Davies's dismissal from the basketball team for violating the school's honor code, and how that is going to really hurt the Cougars' chances in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, the report is that Davies's violation was having sex with his girlfriend. For those of us that are not familiar with the Mormons or BYU beyond their basketball and football teams, it seems crazy. But like BYU head coach Dave Rose said in the article, those kids made a commitment, so they knew what they were getting into. Davies knew he was violating and did it anyway.
So despite the fact it's impossible for me to relate to an honor code that prohibits one from drinking tea, this isn't just a case of the institution being a bully.
Pat Forde wrote a column and hit the nail on the head: maybe it's weird, but respect BYU for doing it. Upholding their standards is more important than winning games, and that is admirable.
But all my respect for BYU will stop at this point. As I understand it, Davies still might get kicked out of school. For having sex. With his girlfriend. Davies didn't go pay for a prostitute on the other side of town and take her to a hotel. No, he was with a girl that is important to him, that perhaps he loves.
If the University were to kick him out of school for that offense, then I will no longer be impressed. It will just become another typical case of administration being too power hungry, and ruining another kid's year because they turned minutiae into something bigger.
You've done well so far, BYU. Don't blow it.
Now, the report is that Davies's violation was having sex with his girlfriend. For those of us that are not familiar with the Mormons or BYU beyond their basketball and football teams, it seems crazy. But like BYU head coach Dave Rose said in the article, those kids made a commitment, so they knew what they were getting into. Davies knew he was violating and did it anyway.
So despite the fact it's impossible for me to relate to an honor code that prohibits one from drinking tea, this isn't just a case of the institution being a bully.
Pat Forde wrote a column and hit the nail on the head: maybe it's weird, but respect BYU for doing it. Upholding their standards is more important than winning games, and that is admirable.
But all my respect for BYU will stop at this point. As I understand it, Davies still might get kicked out of school. For having sex. With his girlfriend. Davies didn't go pay for a prostitute on the other side of town and take her to a hotel. No, he was with a girl that is important to him, that perhaps he loves.
If the University were to kick him out of school for that offense, then I will no longer be impressed. It will just become another typical case of administration being too power hungry, and ruining another kid's year because they turned minutiae into something bigger.
You've done well so far, BYU. Don't blow it.
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