John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Thinking out loud…and wondering whatever happened to Lefty Driesell…
• They might be dancing in Houston, but they’re also crying in Nashville…Bud Adams, who moved the Oilers to Tennessee after the 1996 season and teamed with Lamar Hunt to launch the old AFL in 1959, passed away earlier this week. Adams, you might recall, fired Bum Phillips as coach of the Oilers in 1980 after two unsuccessful tries in the AFC title game against Pittsburgh. Since Phillips also passed away a week ago – and also at the age of 90 – wonder if he was at Heaven’s Gate to greet him?
• Former Patriots defensive back and current Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather isn’t well liked, apparently. Chicago WR Brandon Marshall said Meriweather should be “taken out of the game completely” after suffering a wrist injury thanks to a helmet hit by the erstwhile Patriot this past week. As a result, Meriweather was suspended for two games, forfeiting almost $150K in salary. The suspension was reduced to just one game later in the week, but his fine totals during his seven NFL seasons have run well into six figures…
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST• Win some, lose some…the Colts (5-2) beat the Broncos 39-33 last Sunday night to hand Denver its first loss. But the Colts also lost WR Reggie Wayne to an ACL tear in the process…which will stop a streak of 189 consecutive games played, most among active players. His streak was the 3rd longest by a receiver in NFL history. Did you hear that, Danny Amendola?
• Not for nuthin’…but if Tom Brady was my fantasy quarterback, he’d be on the bench. Or trade bait…
• Do you think, just maybe, that some inside info was exchanged between the Ryan brothers (Rob and Rex) last week concerning the Patriots and their kick teams? We learned this week that the Patriots used the same controversial play (with Chris Jones and Will Svitek) against the Saints on a field goal attempt two weeks ago, and no penalty was called. Yet the identical play WAS called by the officials during Nick Folk’s 56-yard attempt last Sunday…pushing it to a 42-yard kick that led to New England’s defeat. Revenge is a dish best served cold…
• Regardless of whether or not the NFL did anything to amend/change/erase the rule in the rulebook after the play occurred last week, as some in the media allege…it’s still on the Patriots to coach that situation and make players aware of the potential down side if they cannot execute properly. Bill Belichick was right to fall on the sword for Jones, who also showed an ability to “man up” after the game. That was actually impressive…
• Did someone say “pushgate?”
• Tweet of the Week I – from NFL Network’s @AlbertBreer: “I’m told Jets coaches did alert officials to several things to watch for w/Pats special teams, inc potential FG push, before Sunday’s game.” So…if you can’t beat ‘em, rat ‘em out…
• Still, does an official without SOME kind of a grudge, somewhere, really make that call? And considering the Patriots were beneficiaries of the “tuck rule” in 2001, don’t you think that the NFL – or someone in a high place – really wanted to see the Pats “get theirs?” After all, the league is all about parity, right? What goes around comes around…
• Bottom line…there’s just no way that the Jets loss came down to Jones pushing Svitek in the back…when Folk wasn’t going to make that kick from 56 yards, anyway. That game was lost because the Patriots went an astounding 1-for-12 on 3rd down conversions…and may have played the worst quarter of football (in the 3rd) they’ve played in 15 years. They were also 1-for-12 on 3rd down against Cincinnati – which was their other loss. Stupid is as stupid does…
• Oh, by the way…wasn’t it the Jets and former coach Eric Mangini who allegedly snitched on the Patriots to create the “Spygate” controversy? Hmmm…now we have to wait until NEXT YEAR to play the Jets again?
• Hey Friar fans – did you see where Kentucky coach John Calipari told his fans at UK’s Big Blue Madness that “we don’t just play college basketball, we are college basketball. As you know, we are everyone’s Super Bowl?” That December 1 date in Brooklyn can’t get here fast enough…
• Not a great start for #1…Marquette got the nod as the pre-season top team in the Big East this year, even after losing three backcourt players from their Elite 8 team a year ago. Now, they’ve lost freshman Duane Wilson for several weeks with a stress fracture in his left leg…leaving just three players to man the guard slots when the season tips off – Derrick Wilson, Todd Mayo and JaJuan Johnson…
• A better start for #2…Georgetown got great news this week as UCLA transfer Joshua Smith is immediately eligible to play for the Hoyas, despite playing in six games last fall for the Bruins. That’s big-time (as in 300+ pounds) depth for the Hoyas, where they need it…
• Former Big East member Miami got its comeuppance this week from the NCAA…and it could have been much worse had the NCAA not botched the investigation. Convicted felon Nevin Shapiro, serving a 20-year sentence for masterminding a $920 million Ponzi scheme, was alleged to have entertained UM prospects and student-athletes at home, on his yacht and in restaurants and clubs over a 10-year period…while the school turned its’ back and largely ignored him. As a result of the “lack of institutional control,” Miami might have qualified for the “death penalty,” due to the egregious nature of some of the violations. Instead, thanks to NCAA screw-ups (they worked with and paid Shapiro’s lawyer for information, among other things), they get three years’ probation and lose 12 total scholarships over that time from football and men’s basketball, after serving a self-imposed two-year bowl ban. They’re eligible for a bowl this season – and just happen to be undefeated and ranked 6th nationally. Nice timing…
• Former Miami hoop coach Frank Haith – a onetime assistant at Texas to former PC coach Rick Barnes – will serve a five-game suspension at his present place of employment, Missouri, as a byproduct of the NCAA’s ruling…
• The next Friar Jersey retirement is set…January 25th, Tracy Lis (#22), Kevin Stacom (#25) and my PC broadcast partner Joe Hassett (#10) will be honored as the men face Xavier and the women play Seton Hall. Each will have their banner and jersey number raised to the rafters, as part of the Friar Legends Forever Tradition. To earn the honor, a player or coach must have made a significant impact on Friar basketball and they must have received national recognition during their career at Providence. Lis is just the second women’s player (after Kathy Finn Hill, ’84) to be honored…
• As for my 25-year broadcast partner on the radio, no one bleeds Black & White like Joe Hassett. He won a ring with Seattle during his NBA career, and still possesses a deadly outside shot. Besides, 36 years after he left PC, he still goes by the nickname of “Sonar.” How do you keep someone like that out of the rafters?
• PC sophomore guard Kris Dunn was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Bob Cousy Award Watch List for the upcoming season, as the nation’s top point guard. UConn’s Shabazz Napier, Georgetown’s Markel Starks, Chaz Williams from UMass (a Friar opponent last year, and again this year)…Ryan Arcidiacono of Villanova and Semaj Christon from Xavier are also on the list. The final Top 20 will be announced in February, and a Final Five in March…
• The PC hockey Friars are ranked 8th nationally this week in the USCHO poll…and complete a two-game set with 3rd ranked Miami (Ohio) Saturday at Schneider Arena. As an aside, the men’s hoop exhibition on November 2nd against RIC at the Dunk has been moved up to 5:30 pm, to accommodate fans for the hockey game that night against Boston University at 8 pm, at Schneider Arena…
• Who is really running the show at Grambling? The football team walked out on their interim coach (George Ragsdale) last week, had him removed, and ultimately forfeited their game at Jackson State because they stopped practicing. They’re back at practice this week, only after getting some assurances their issues would be looked into – issues that include the staff, traveling and facilities on campus. The team has lost 12 straight, and 18 of their last 19…
• Tweet of the Week II – from @DoYouBelieveIt: “Coffee drinkers have more sex than non-coffee drinkers.” Kinda makes that trip to the Dunkin’ on the corner a little more important, doesn’t it?
• Coffee is very important in my buddy “Big E’s” home. His dogs are named Cream and Sugar. He also complains a lot about how coffee makes him nervous. So I asked him why he doesn’t give it up? He told me since he’s a bit overweight, that if he didn’t drink coffee he wouldn’t get the shakes, and then he’d get no exercise at all…
• Kanye West rented AT&T Park in San Francisco to propose to Kim Kardashian? Easy money for the Giants. Hope they suggested renting it again for the upcoming reality TV series, and future divorce…
• Forbes Magazine recently published its’ list of the NFL’s Most Disliked Players, based on a polling of 1100 fans aged 13 and older. Bet you can name them – Vick, Suh, Roethlisberger, Sanchez, Cutler, Romo and Manti Te’o. But TB12 at #8? Is that because the men who were asked are jealous of Giselle?
• That lurking theme from “Jaws” you hear in the background? It’s because the St. Louis Rams actually called Brett Favre this week, wondering if he’d be interested in playing quarterback for them…
• A giant in the business of talk radio – and sports radio – passed away this week at age 92. Bill Mazur, one of the founding fathers of the radio genre that has gone mad in this country, began what was believed to have been the first instance of a fulltime “sportstalk” radio show on WNBC in New York in 1964, and was one of the first hosts to appear on 660-AM WFAN (on the same frequency, ironically) when the NY sports talk behemoth launched radio’s first all-sports format in 1987. When I came to the northeast to continue my own career in 1988, one of my first stops was to Mickey Mantle’s restaurant across from Central Park, where Mazur’s lunchtime show took place, just to listen in. I was hooked. I introduced myself, said where I was from (Rhode Island) and he immediately launched into talking about PC’s Jimmy Walker, the best player he ever saw, drop 50 on Boston College at the Garden. I rarely missed his show thereafter, listening almost every day. His trivia knowledge was astounding. The Amazin’ Bill Mazur. Along with RI Radio Hall of Famer Chuck Wilson, who I followed at WPRO 20 years ago, I’ve been privileged to know and work with some real pros that have always amazed me…
• Can’t say I disagree…Yahoo! Sports did a piece on how MLB screwed up by scheduling four World Series games up against the NFL…and a 5th against college football. This will prove two things – one, that football definitely reigns supreme these days, and two…that it’s a good thing Bud Selig is retiring…
• Dreaming about going to the World Series? It appears that one fan did just that, and apparently dreams do come true – for Six Bucks. Yup, that’s right…$6. One person’s misfortune is another’s BIG fortune…
• But apparently, like so many others before…if it appears too good to be true, it probably is. And so was the $6 ticket…determined to be a fraud. But the ticket company made good on it, anyway. Nice to know that dreams can still come true…
• A dream that probably won’t come true…just like the annoying video ads and pop ups that still plague my favorite web pages, if I never see another “Heavy Hitter” TV spot, or hear another “Cars 4 Kids” radio commercial, it will be too soon. Really. Annoying has no limitations…and true creativity has ceased to exist…
• Sorry to see Jim Leyland step down as manager of the Detroit Tigers, after their defeat to the Red Sox in the ALCS. I loved his irascible style and old-school demeanor…but perhaps that’s why he tired of it all. Leyland said this week he had made the decision that “it was time” back in September…although he will stay on in some capacity with the team. He just won’t be in the dugout any more…after three division titles and two Series trips in his eight years as skipper…
• This week, Boston hosted its’ 41st and 42nd World Series games, which puts the city third on the list of “most-hosted” behind New York (191) and St. Louis (59), and even with Chicago (42)…
• If the Red Sox are to win the Series, it will be because the bullpen got them to the Promised Land. Just as Keith Foulke did it in ’04, and Jonathan Papelbon did again in ’07, Koji Uehara has been lights out in an unexpected (for him) role. His numbers through the ALCS were pretty remarkable - 9.0 innings pitched, 5 hits, 0 walks, 13 K, 1.00 ERA, .161 BA, .556 WHIP, 13 strikeouts per nine innings – and very Foulke-like by comparison…
• Could it have started any better for the Red Sox? I mean, a pop up dropping between Gold Glove pitcher and Gold Glove catcher? A throw-away on a sure ground ball? And the umpires reversing a call? Never seen that. They got the right call in Game One, sure. But that was almost too easy. Just sayin’…
• By the way…the umpires overruling Dana DeMuth’s call at second base in the second inning of Game One was a good moment for the Sox, and a GREAT moment for baseball. On the biggest stage of all – especially with video replay on the way next season – the umpires proved that they can still get things right. I fear for the game next year and beyond, that instant replay will lengthen games even more…and drive more people away. If the powers-that-be would just relax…let’s give the umps a chance to do things the way the sport intended in the beginning. There are other places where baseball needs an assist…
• How about these tidbits from the 8-1 opener: David Ortiz is the 1st player in MLB history with three straight multi-hit, multi-RBI games in World Series openers…after getting two hits and two RBI in Game One Wednesday (also in ’04, ’07); Jon Lester is the 3rd pitcher in the last 70 years to win a World Series-clinching game for his team, and then win the team’s next World Series game…
• And these from the 4-2 Game Two: Michael Wacha is the 1st starting pitcher in MLB history to allow no more than one run and no more than 10 hits in his first 25 postseason innings pitched…Wacha also has a .122 opponent batting average in his first four postseason starts, the 2nd lowest all-time. Ready to face this guy again for a potential Game Six, Sox fans? He’s also the first pitcher born in the 1990’s to win a Series game. From ecstasy to agony to depression – how quickly things change…
• Incredible to think the last World Series loss for the Sox was to the New York Mets in Game 7 of 1986! They had won nine straight since then…nothing like having a 27-year winning streak snapped to sap the fun right out of things, huh?
• Is it hoop season, yet? My buddy Statbeast sez it is. I asked him what he would do if he saw three UConn fans buried up to their necks in cement, and he said “get more cement.” Oh yeah. Game on…
• Charles “Lefty” Driesell coached at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State before hanging up his whistle after 41 years in the college ranks back in 2003…as the only coach to win at least 100 games at four different schools. He gets mentioned most often around this time of year for one very big reason – he’s the coach responsible for beginning the tradition of “midnight madness” on college campuses across the country, starting it back on October 15, 1971 while at Maryland with a team midnight run in front of about 1000 fans. The unusual practice became a tradition with the Terps in the following years, and as they say…”the rest is history…”
• From the mailbag this week – Tim from Kamloops in British Columbia, Canada writes via Facebook: “Is (Don’t’a) Hightower actually better than (Brandon) Spikes in coverage? I haven’t seen evidence of it yet and Spikes is far better as a run stuffer.” Tim: Can’t argue with Spikes and his run-stuffing abilities. But Hightower is still a young player, now thrust into a position of leadership on the defense with play-calling responsibilities. He’s got a lot on his plate, including filling in for Jerod Mayo. The Patriots wouldn’t have handed that to him unless they knew he could do it…but all things need some time. Did he have to cover anyone at Alabama? Let’s not call the jury in just yet on your verdict…
• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to [email protected]. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
• Don’t forget to join us for GoLocal Sports on 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am! Call in (401) 737-1287, or text us at 37937…and send email to the show - [email protected] .
• The recently released “Rhode Island Radio” from Arcadia Publishing is available for sale, and the book tells the story of the 91-year history of radio in our state through photographs, clippings and memories from many of the personalities who have graced our airwaves. If you’re in search of the gift that says “Rhode Island,” you’ve found it. Or, find it in local bookstores and online right here…
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