Well, damn the luck.
The Reds are playing the Dodgers in Las Vegas on March 31. That just happens to be the day I'm headed back to Cincinnati. Oh well. It's probably a good idea that I don't take any money to Vegas. I have a winning career record there, and since I just wrote that, I wouldn't if I went back.
I love Vegas. So much.
* I know I've heard people complain about the expense of going to Arizona rather than Sarasota, but my ticket to Arizona was $26 cheaper than going to SRQ those same dates.
* Last night Dan Hoard tweeted (@Dan_Hoard) that Pete Rose and Oscar Robertson were at the UC game and it was half the Cincy Mt. Rushmore, along with Anthony Munoz and Johnny Bench. Does that sound about right to you?
Really, it's gotta be Rose and the Big O to start, Munoz is the only Bengals Hall of Famer and is still int eh area, so that makes sense. To me, the one that's up in the air is the fourth spot -- and Bench is the greatest catcher of all time and spent his entire career in Cincinnati, so it sounds about right to me.
* Speaking of Dan Hoard, he also caught up with former Red and newly-signed Red Sox (Sock?) Darnell McDonald. I don't know if he'll be able to help the Red Sox, but I hope he can. He's a guy you root for.
* I missed the Reds' re-signing of Daryl Thompson, but that's good.
* Check out the Reds Rewind lineup for Fox Sports Ohio.
* You're not a real Reds fan unless you have a front yard of Great American Ball Park grass. Honestly, if I owned a house or were building a house and had a bunch of money, I'd do that.
* One of my favorite authors, Robert Whiting
, writes about the demise of Bobby Valentine in Japan.
* You ever been on a softball team or something (as an adult, I wouldn't think of this as a teenager or earlier) and after a game feel the need to apologize for a teammate. He may be on your team, but you know he's acting like an ass even if he doesn't? Well, that's kinda how I feel about Marty Noble (as linked yesterday), Jay Mariotti and (today's link to BBWAA shame) Murray Chass. There are 539 voters and about 10-20 are vocal asses about it. Yeah, sorry about that. But think of the 520 who aren't vocal assholes, who may just have a different opinion, which is fine. I really believe Chass, Mariotti, Noble and the like are just the vocal minority among what, for the most part, are decent folk that you'd like if you knew 'em.
* I guess it's time for mock drafts -- this one has the Bengals taking Dez Bryant. I understand the idea, the Bengals need a WR or two, but not sure the draft has as much value at the position as the free agent market does. If Taylor Mays is there, I like him. (This mock has Eric Berry falling to 13, which just won't happen -- if he's at 13, the Bengals need to trade up and get him.)
* 7,000 calories a day for Rex Ryan? Wow. That's a whole lot.
* My man @TommyG_Sideline posted UC's opening for the Sugar Bowl yesterday.
* Here's an early look at Big East recruiting classes. Of course, every year UC is ranked lowly on recruiting rankings and they've managed the last couple of years without top-ranked recruits.
* ESPN's Brian Bennett says Brian Kelly was the top coach of the decade in the Big East -- which is tough to argue again. He was there just three years, but the top coach in each of those years. A BCS win is the only think missing from the resume, but I've always believed getting to the BCS is more important than winning there.
* David Hale of the Macon Telegraph ranks the Top 10 coaching jobs in college football here, and I'd have some disagreements, but not many. I think he has my alma mater a little too high, but not too far off. He has Ohio State 4 -- behind USC, Texas and Florida. But, thinking about it, he may have UGA too low. If you're going on talent and ability to win with in-state talent, which I think is one of the biggest, UGA should be around 7.
* Lane Kiffin may have a legacy in Knoxville after all, the Lane Kiffin Sewage Center.
* Louisiana Tech hired the son of long-time Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes to replace the son of long-time Georgia coach Vince Dooley.
* Are naming rights worth the money?
* How to tie your shoe better.
* I bag on ESPN when they do lots of stupid stuff, but their 30 for 30 series has been great. Here's the next round.
* The New York Times will start charging for content in 2011. We'll see how it works. We'll see. Advertising Age says the Old Gray Lady will end up alienating the target audience that advertisers look for. I say those advertisers can just come to CNati! E-mail me if you want to advertise.
* More on my dream of a life without cable -- Boxee is adding one-click buying.
* Or maybe I'll just have the Apple tablet and I won't need anything else.
* An interview with Cam and Mitch from Modern Family, which I really, really enjoy.
* GTA: Chinatown Wars for iPhone gets a good review.
* Friday at 12:30, WOXY.com has Will Johnson of Centro-matic on its Lounge Act. Check it out.
* Yikes.
* Congrats to my former CIncinnati Post colleague Jim "Bob" Osborn (no "e") who will be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
The Reds are playing the Dodgers in Las Vegas on March 31. That just happens to be the day I'm headed back to Cincinnati. Oh well. It's probably a good idea that I don't take any money to Vegas. I have a winning career record there, and since I just wrote that, I wouldn't if I went back.
I love Vegas. So much.
* I know I've heard people complain about the expense of going to Arizona rather than Sarasota, but my ticket to Arizona was $26 cheaper than going to SRQ those same dates.
* Last night Dan Hoard tweeted (@Dan_Hoard) that Pete Rose and Oscar Robertson were at the UC game and it was half the Cincy Mt. Rushmore, along with Anthony Munoz and Johnny Bench. Does that sound about right to you?
Really, it's gotta be Rose and the Big O to start, Munoz is the only Bengals Hall of Famer and is still int eh area, so that makes sense. To me, the one that's up in the air is the fourth spot -- and Bench is the greatest catcher of all time and spent his entire career in Cincinnati, so it sounds about right to me.
* Speaking of Dan Hoard, he also caught up with former Red and newly-signed Red Sox (Sock?) Darnell McDonald. I don't know if he'll be able to help the Red Sox, but I hope he can. He's a guy you root for.
* I missed the Reds' re-signing of Daryl Thompson, but that's good.
* Check out the Reds Rewind lineup for Fox Sports Ohio.
* You're not a real Reds fan unless you have a front yard of Great American Ball Park grass. Honestly, if I owned a house or were building a house and had a bunch of money, I'd do that.
* One of my favorite authors, Robert Whiting
, writes about the demise of Bobby Valentine in Japan.* You ever been on a softball team or something (as an adult, I wouldn't think of this as a teenager or earlier) and after a game feel the need to apologize for a teammate. He may be on your team, but you know he's acting like an ass even if he doesn't? Well, that's kinda how I feel about Marty Noble (as linked yesterday), Jay Mariotti and (today's link to BBWAA shame) Murray Chass. There are 539 voters and about 10-20 are vocal asses about it. Yeah, sorry about that. But think of the 520 who aren't vocal assholes, who may just have a different opinion, which is fine. I really believe Chass, Mariotti, Noble and the like are just the vocal minority among what, for the most part, are decent folk that you'd like if you knew 'em.
* I guess it's time for mock drafts -- this one has the Bengals taking Dez Bryant. I understand the idea, the Bengals need a WR or two, but not sure the draft has as much value at the position as the free agent market does. If Taylor Mays is there, I like him. (This mock has Eric Berry falling to 13, which just won't happen -- if he's at 13, the Bengals need to trade up and get him.)
* 7,000 calories a day for Rex Ryan? Wow. That's a whole lot.
* My man @TommyG_Sideline posted UC's opening for the Sugar Bowl yesterday.
* Here's an early look at Big East recruiting classes. Of course, every year UC is ranked lowly on recruiting rankings and they've managed the last couple of years without top-ranked recruits.
* ESPN's Brian Bennett says Brian Kelly was the top coach of the decade in the Big East -- which is tough to argue again. He was there just three years, but the top coach in each of those years. A BCS win is the only think missing from the resume, but I've always believed getting to the BCS is more important than winning there.
* David Hale of the Macon Telegraph ranks the Top 10 coaching jobs in college football here, and I'd have some disagreements, but not many. I think he has my alma mater a little too high, but not too far off. He has Ohio State 4 -- behind USC, Texas and Florida. But, thinking about it, he may have UGA too low. If you're going on talent and ability to win with in-state talent, which I think is one of the biggest, UGA should be around 7.
* Lane Kiffin may have a legacy in Knoxville after all, the Lane Kiffin Sewage Center.
* Louisiana Tech hired the son of long-time Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes to replace the son of long-time Georgia coach Vince Dooley.
* Are naming rights worth the money?
* How to tie your shoe better.
* I bag on ESPN when they do lots of stupid stuff, but their 30 for 30 series has been great. Here's the next round.
* The New York Times will start charging for content in 2011. We'll see how it works. We'll see. Advertising Age says the Old Gray Lady will end up alienating the target audience that advertisers look for. I say those advertisers can just come to CNati! E-mail me if you want to advertise.
* More on my dream of a life without cable -- Boxee is adding one-click buying.
* Or maybe I'll just have the Apple tablet and I won't need anything else.
* An interview with Cam and Mitch from Modern Family, which I really, really enjoy.
* GTA: Chinatown Wars for iPhone gets a good review.
* Friday at 12:30, WOXY.com has Will Johnson of Centro-matic on its Lounge Act. Check it out.
* Yikes.
* Congrats to my former CIncinnati Post colleague Jim "Bob" Osborn (no "e") who will be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
I agree that 10-20 writers out of 539 is such a small percentage, but when your Robby Alomar and just barely miss, it's 10-20 incompetent people, or the what 5 that didn't vote for anyone, that really screw things up. I think there should be standards to keep these guys in line. An idiot like Mariotti, shoudln't get to vote. And for those who didn't vote for anyone, I'm sorry, this years ballot was good enough to cast a vote for SOMEONE.
I don't see USC being a top 3 coaching job. I mean yeah they have great talent in the state, and there is some tradition there, but to me the top coaching jobs should be based on more than just in state talent and retaining it. I would put put Texas number 1 for sure, then Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Michigan, and even Nebraska ahead of USC or Florida. Those programs have have been consistently good for decades, and yes, Nebraska and Michigan have hit rough patches, as Alabama has too. But I think top coaching jobs have to include Tradition, being a top 10 all time program, not one that just popped up 13 years ago.
Those are jobs that people leave great gigs for. Would Brian Kelly have left UC if FLorida came calling? Maybe, but it definitely wasn't a no brainer like Notre Dame was for him. Even a coach like Urban Meyer, who is happy in Florida has an out for Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame in his contract.
in your opinion it was. and in my opinion it was.
now mariotti went on record as saying his blank ballot was some sort of stupid statement, the fact that some people didn't believe anyone was good enough this time and for that reason only (not some convoluted bs reason like mariotti tried) is what makes the baseball hall the best.
if you don't think anyone is worthy, leave it blank.
in the end alomar will get in.
there should be standards to keep people voting "the right" way? is that democracy?
on the hall, i believe it's better to err on the side of omitting. it reminds me of something i told coaches when i was putting together all-area teams when i was a high school writer, "remember, when it comes to honorable mentions, the fewer mentions, the more honorable"
I don't want to come off like Florida or USC wouldn't be great jobs. I just don't know that many coaches who say coaching there would be a dream job. Like Tressel, Mack Brown, Brian Kelly have said about their positions.
but urban meyer had a shot at michigan and notre dame and didn't take them, because he has a better job
and usc has as much tradition as anyone
lane kiffin said usc was his dream job. steve spurrier said uf was his dream job. and urban meyer realized florida was a better job than his "dream job" of notre dame.
I understand it's their right to vote or not vote, and I agree with baseball's hall of fame being the best and toughest to get into. It just seems like some voters, are trying to be more self serving so they can write up a non sense column after they submit their vote. It was his right to not vote for anyone, but I don't think it had anything to do with the hall of fame. I think it had more to do with people talking about crazy Mariotti so he could get on around the horn a couple more times and have something to write about afterward. That's just my opinion.
right, that's why i singled out mariotti -- who are the other four? you don't know, so it kills your argument against those four
Well I think things were already in place for Urban Meyer to come in and be successful. That wasn't the case at either Notre Dame or Michigan, where things were kind of a mess. Ron Zook had plenty of talent on the team, Ron Zook just can't coach. Notre Dame was a mess, and I don't think Michigan was in much better shape after recruits backed out, they graduated a ton of players, and their best QB decided to transfer. People knew those weren't going to be good situations to walk into.
Honestly, I don't think Notre Dame is going to be much different with Kelly than it was with Weiss. UC will be a top contender in the Big East again next year and Kelly could have had another year in the BCS. Notre Dame pays more and has history, but W-L wise, UC was a better job.
but you just said notre dame is the third best job in america?
kelly will have nd in the bcs in the next 4 years.
and when i compare jobs for myself, one with 3X as much money has a check in the "better" column
I did say Notre Dame was the 3rd best job in America and I agree with that. Tradition, great facilities, more money. However, the team isn't better and probably won't be in the time he's there.
I know Florida with the recent success can pay anyone just as much as any other program, but I just don't see Kelly having the no brainer type decision there, as he did with Notre Dame. That was my point in the beginning. He may have ultimately left, but it wasn't a no brainer. Kelly was gone from the minute Notre Dame offered. Not sure it would have been the same if Stoops left for Notre Dame and Oklahoma comes calling for Kelly.
ha. i am.
he woulda gone to tennessee in a second if they'd offered last year. same with florida
Well, maybe you know more about him than I did. I only saw the guy on TV politicing to get UC to upgrade facilities and he'd stay around a while.
If you don't think he will win or get to the BCS at ND before getting fired for not winning or getting to the BCS, then how can you contend that it's a better job? If you are naming it the third best job in the country, in order to be consistent in your reasoning you have to believe in a realistic opportunity of turning the program around, otherwise it ceases to be a great job. It may still be a "good" job because of the truck full of money you get, but it can't be one of the top five jobs if you don't think the coach can actually win there.
So, other sport here, but when Billy Gillespie took over UK it wasn't a top 3 or 4 job in America, even though the team wasn't at the level they were used to and had made a final four in 10 years?
Notre Dame has the best facilities, a national fan/recruiting base, and pays better than anyone. It is a top 5 program and has been for at least 50 years.
I just don't believe Brian Kelly will get the defense neccessary to win. Hence why I said I don't think they'll be better than they were with Weiss. He had them scoring 35+ points a game.
Just like I believed UK basketball was a top 5 job, just didn't believe the coach was worthy of a top 5.
I feel kind of the same about Brian Kelly and Notre Dame.
I think some people really convinced themselves that the "ND isn't that great of a job" logic we all held onto to convince ourselves BK wouldn't leave UC was true. Personally, I find the argument irrelevant (now), because the beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder. To Urban Meyer, Florida may be the best job in the country and one that he won't leave for any of the others including the NFL. A coach like BK might have used it as a stepping stone to end up at ND, or you could also consider a situation like Pete Carrol deciding to jump from USC to the NFL. As a program, ND is certainly in the top 5 because of the endless resources, but it is only a top 3 coaching job to certain coaches. So, it seems to a point that arguing about it is pretty moot. It's like arguing about whether it's better to be the CEO of P&G or Exxon. You'll get a split of opinions based on what is important to the individual, but you're going to be raking in the dough either way.
Valid Point, I can agree with that.
Who doesn't dream of spending year after year in the nirvana that is northern Indiana? People that think Notre Dame is a dream job are people that are most likely older than 40.
It always amazes me when someone brings up the region the school is in when saying a coach/player wouldn't want to go there because it's Indiana or Columbus etc. It's not as if Gainesville Florida is a little slice of heaven. It's inland, it's very hot, it's not the the nicest city on earth. It's not like going to Miami and being on South Beach or Texas where Austin is a great city.
It's just like if a guy is in love with a really hot girl who may be a little out of his league. No matter what the circumstances, he'll do whatever he has to in order to make it work. To BK, ND is the hottest chick around.
Yeah...Gainesville, FL - 74 degrees and Sunny currently, who would ever want that?
No, give me South Bend, IN 35 degrees and Cloudy currently.
Again, people that think Notre Dame is a dream job are most likely over 40, if under, they're Catholic.