Rants
I may have lost it. Just a bit.
If there’s a spot on those ubiquitous Coors Light commercials for college basketball coaches, Charlie Coles just earned himself a spot.
Miami of Ohio’s coach was answering questions after his team’s 72-70 loss to No. 4 Kentucky Tuesday night – in which his RedHawks player marvelously – when someone asked him how the game got away from Miami.
Context: The RedHawks led UK by 18 at one point, but that was in the first half. They played the Wildcats – flush with one of the best recruiting classes of all time – even throughout until John Wall hit the game-winner.
Coles’ reaction? Classic mix of indignation, restraint and humor, worthy of Lefty Driesell. See for yourself after the jump.
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Fridays don’t always need to be relaxing. Sure, the weekend’s just hours away, but why not get fired up for that weekend?
Why not indulge in a rant? OK, it’s not mine. But it’s damn fine rant.
A co-worker (and North Carolina grad) sent me this link to Tar Heel Fan yesterday (with a mini-rant of his own, mostly centering on graduation rates). And it’s a great example of how the blogosphere can take apart the MSM with a little insight and a lot of passion.
Did I mention it’s about how Duke and Coach K are treated compared to the rest of the hoops world? Take it away, THF.
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It’s funny. Planned to do a post this morning on Kansas guard Xavier Henry and how he’s already loving life in Lawrence. He’s bonding with his teammates, impressing in practice and raising the level of play.
Sounds like he’s not the typical freshman. You know, acting immaturely or getting into fights and stuff. Guess that falls to everyone else.
The Kansas basketball and football team reportedly scuffled Tuesday night, which resulted in sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor suffering a dislocated left thumb.
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If you haven’t yet read Andy Katz’s epic story on how agents influence college hoops, don’t miss out. It’s a comprehensive look (at almost 5,000 words, it better be) at how agents get in touch, advise and influence players and how they’re now doing it earlier than ever.
Whether it’s how everything used to be (coaches dealt with agents, and agents with players after school was done) or the way it’s done now (coaches are largely restricted from player contact, which gives agents more access and probably more influence), it’s an enlightening story that deals with both sides – though I’m not sure people want to side with agents in this one.
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It seems that most of the snickers surrounding Billy Gillispie’s DUI on Aug. 27 have died down, which is good to see. Kicking a guy when he’s hit rock bottom stinks.
Just ask Larry Eustachy.
The one-time national coach of the year spoke to Gary Parrish about alcohol addiction and what it’s like to try and rebound from those demons. Give it a read. Eustachy is frank about his own past and is fairly blunt about people who have disparaged Gillispie.
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When it comes to newspapers trying to dominate coverage of popular area sports teams, most use the saturation approach. Anything and everything gets mentioned.
Big, medium or small, doesn’t matter. Everyone tries it ‘cause fans wanna know everything. So what’s after saturation coverage? What’s out there that others don’t have?
Names. Give a former athlete/coach a voice and people respond.
The Las Vegas Sun launched Shark Bytes last year, a blog from former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. It’s about what you’d expect – funny anecdotes and stories from a guy who’s been around. (Tark’s health woes this year made for infrequent posts, but still amusing. You can hear Tark’s voice.) It’s a worthy addition for the paper.
But what about a sports figure’s relative? Is it the same kind of value? The Hartford Courant will find out.
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Guess we should’ve seen this coming.
How Rick Pitino went all these months without snapping when it came to all the talk of infidelity, extortion and he said/she said is actually kind of amazing. Even public figures who regularly deal with the media don’t always stay cool under pressure.
Yet Pitino’s largely been a model of restraint, allowing the authorities and lawyers to handle the legal aspects and remaining mostly mum on the subject publicly.
And then … this happened. Whether it was the local media coverage or that he was simply fed up, Pitino lost it.
And, in the process, he lost any favorable public opinion he had.
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Every scandal needs a villain. In the case of Memphis’ vacated Final Four season, two have emerged. But I’m unclear why there aren’t three.
Popular opinion is saddling John Calipari with most of the blame. No surprise there. Coach Cal was Memphis’ coach since 2000 and turned the Tigers into a national title contender. Anything regarding the program – victories, recruiting, publicity, compliance – falls to Calipari.
The NCAA also is taking some heat. But there's enough blame to spread to Derrick Rose, too.
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Hype’s a hard thing to ignore. Every season, the elite incoming college freshmen are touted as instant stars, able to carry a team to the Final Four (Derrick Rose) or even a title (Carmelo Anthony).
And why not? When we read about their exploits, see a YouTube video or various SportsCenter highlights, it’s hard not to believe that one of these players could indeed dominate like Kevin Durant.
Thankfully, there are writers who keep their cool and remind us that sometimes, not all freshmen are saviors, but merely good players.
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Hand it to North Carolina – the school knows how to kick off a celebration.
A pro alumni game featuring the likes of Vince Carter, Rasheed Wallace and members of the 2005 and 2009 title teams is set for Sept. 4. Tickets are $20 a pop, but that seems like a deal to see roughly 24 ex-Heels strut their stuff.
This news has been around a while now, but it’s still enthralling. It’s the stuff arguments and reminiscing are made of.
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