(First, apologies about the headline, Mr. Cook. It was really just a catchy way to introduce the blog story. I don't know you personally, so I don't feel I could judge you anyway. Besides, judgmental people are uncool.)
The University of South Carolina's hardest hitter, and leading tackler, Emmanual Cook is fast. He's so fast, he is off the team before the Gamecocks could even travel to Tampa for their January 1 Outback Bowl game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Coach Steve Spurrier announced Cook's abrupt career end after the team's second practice for the bowl game. Seems Mr. Cook didn't hold up his end of the bargain to actually go to class as a student at USC. Because of six hours of classes that he somehow just couldn't make himself attend, Mr. Cook is as history as Steve Taneyhill. Gone. Finished.
Sad.
I'm not going to call the young man out personally. Did he make a bad decision? Absolutely. He apparently had his mind made up that he was NFL-bound, so as the college football season wore on, he decided it was no big deal to not make it to classes. I do understand, somewhat, what his mindset could have been. After all, he isn't the first player to fall off the academic planet when he knew pro sports was in his near future. There have been countless football players who just go into hibernation mode after their senior season is over. With the NFL draft just a couple of months away, why continue on with class if you don't have to? Doesn't sound right, but I do understand how a young man on the verge of NFL riches could think that way.
But it is still sad.
Sad for his teammates, who counted on him to be a leader of the team as they take on a strong Iowa team in the bowl game. Now, he has let them down in a potentially damaging way. E Cook was an important cog in the Gamecock defense.
Sad for his coaches, who now have to work overtime just to try to get prepared with an undermanned defense that had suffered some serious lapses in the last two games of the regular season.
Sad for the fans, who came as close to worshipping E-Cook as any defensive player they've seen in these parts in the past decade. In my mind, he was running a close second to John Abraham in that category. And we all know how good Abraham is in the NFL now.
Just sad.
But the biggest problem to me in all of this is not that another player has fallen victim to bad judgement, but that the babysitter system that I believe most schools must have in place, did not work in this case, for whatever reason.
The athletes are coddled at big schools, with wake ups, all kinds of services, tutors, and buddy systems. Surely there is a system that monitors whether players are going to class, so that these types of problems can be averted.
In this case, somebody at USC apparently had no clue -- for a while, at least -- until the cow was out of the barn. If the system MUST work this way, then USC MUST do a better job of keeping the cow in the barn in future players' cases, or the same mistakes will continue.
Good luck, Mr. Cook. I sincerely hope you have one fantastic NFL career. I also hope that you will see the wisdom in completing your education in the future, and that you will bless the University with some nice financial contributions in the future from the millions that you will be rewarded with for leaving school early.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Auburn And The Race Card
I've been reading with interest how Auburn's football search was racist because a black coach, Kendall Gill, was not hired. Instead, the school went with Gene Chizik, a former defensive coordinator at Auburn, but a less-than-successful Head Coach at Iowa State the last two years (5-19).
However, it's not as though Chizik was some pasty white dude who was just plucked out of the air above Iowa's cornfields. He had a recent history at Auburn, and just like happens in 90% or more of many jobs everywhere, it isn't always WHAT you know as much as WHO you know. Chizik had a connection at Auburn already.
Was the hire the result of "racism?" Unless you could be behind those doors of decision, how could you know? Maybe, just maybe, Gene Chizik's interview was a "10" and the school didn't want to miss the opportunity they possibly saw. I have no idea whether that is the case, but all of the so-called pundits, the writers who are playing up the politically correct card, don't know that it's not the case, either. In fact, one of the internet writers on one of the top services basically said that while he doesn't totally agree with Charles Barkley that the hire was racist when Turner Gill was available and interested, he believes the race card should be played because there are not enough black coaches in college football.
Are you kidding me? What happened to responsible journalism? Auburn -- like the school or not -- shouldn't be media-lynched just because the general issue of low numbers of black coaches in college football should be magnified.
Was Chizik a better hire than Gill? Nobody knows, because the verdict on Chizik can't possibly be reached until at least a couple of years down the road. The decision has been made, so we will see whether the guy is a stud or a dud.
Why is it Auburn? Why not Clemson, where the hiring of Dabo Swinney came without even a blip on the coaching radar by a black man. And in a state where the NAACP is still boycotting because of the Confederate flag at the State House, one would think the Black College Coaches of America would have been all over it. But the silence was almost deafening.
My biggest problem with all of the race-card playing is that it isn't reciprocal, and it isn't applied equally. If you challenge Auburn's hire of a white guy, shouldn't you challenge Clemson's hire, and Washington's, and Mississippi State's, etc. But to systematically go off on one school is unfair targeting.
Should there be a quota on the number of black coaches there should be in the NCAA? If not, then don't throw percentages up on the big screen every time a black coach is not hired. If so, then let's make it JUST for EVERYBODY. If blacks make up 13% of the population, find a way to ensure they have 13% of the coaching jobs, and let's ensure that the same percentages apply with players, not only in college, but in professional sports as well. But start talking like that, and it isn't popular.
Racism is only racism to the politically correct, when they feel like they are the victims.
Let's get over the Civil war, slavery, and the struggle for equality, and move on to all see what we can do individually and collectively to make America a great, safe country for everyone.
After all, we now have a black President to lead the way. He has reached the top of the mountain, and should be an inspiration to us all to be more peaceful and civil, and try to actually get along better with others, no matter their background.
However, it's not as though Chizik was some pasty white dude who was just plucked out of the air above Iowa's cornfields. He had a recent history at Auburn, and just like happens in 90% or more of many jobs everywhere, it isn't always WHAT you know as much as WHO you know. Chizik had a connection at Auburn already.
Was the hire the result of "racism?" Unless you could be behind those doors of decision, how could you know? Maybe, just maybe, Gene Chizik's interview was a "10" and the school didn't want to miss the opportunity they possibly saw. I have no idea whether that is the case, but all of the so-called pundits, the writers who are playing up the politically correct card, don't know that it's not the case, either. In fact, one of the internet writers on one of the top services basically said that while he doesn't totally agree with Charles Barkley that the hire was racist when Turner Gill was available and interested, he believes the race card should be played because there are not enough black coaches in college football.
Are you kidding me? What happened to responsible journalism? Auburn -- like the school or not -- shouldn't be media-lynched just because the general issue of low numbers of black coaches in college football should be magnified.
Was Chizik a better hire than Gill? Nobody knows, because the verdict on Chizik can't possibly be reached until at least a couple of years down the road. The decision has been made, so we will see whether the guy is a stud or a dud.
Why is it Auburn? Why not Clemson, where the hiring of Dabo Swinney came without even a blip on the coaching radar by a black man. And in a state where the NAACP is still boycotting because of the Confederate flag at the State House, one would think the Black College Coaches of America would have been all over it. But the silence was almost deafening.
My biggest problem with all of the race-card playing is that it isn't reciprocal, and it isn't applied equally. If you challenge Auburn's hire of a white guy, shouldn't you challenge Clemson's hire, and Washington's, and Mississippi State's, etc. But to systematically go off on one school is unfair targeting.
Should there be a quota on the number of black coaches there should be in the NCAA? If not, then don't throw percentages up on the big screen every time a black coach is not hired. If so, then let's make it JUST for EVERYBODY. If blacks make up 13% of the population, find a way to ensure they have 13% of the coaching jobs, and let's ensure that the same percentages apply with players, not only in college, but in professional sports as well. But start talking like that, and it isn't popular.
Racism is only racism to the politically correct, when they feel like they are the victims.
Let's get over the Civil war, slavery, and the struggle for equality, and move on to all see what we can do individually and collectively to make America a great, safe country for everyone.
After all, we now have a black President to lead the way. He has reached the top of the mountain, and should be an inspiration to us all to be more peaceful and civil, and try to actually get along better with others, no matter their background.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Spurrier A Football God, But Perfection Evades
Steve Spurrier is one of the great college football coaches, no matter what the Clemson fans say -- and despite his less-than-impressive 1-4 record against the Tigers during his tenure at the University of South Carolina.
Spurrier was the architect of some magnificent Florida offenses that blistered the Southeastern Conference during the decade of the 1990s, and he still has the desire to win at the Gamecocks' helm.
Despite season records thus far that could not be construed as ultimately successful by even the most diehard USC fans, Spurrier is still virtually worshipped by the win-starved USC Nation.
But some chinks have begun to show in the Spurrier armour, especially this season.
In 2007, Spurrier proclaimed that he had a team that could finally contend for the SEC East Championship. An early season win over Georgia, a 6-1 start, and a #6 ranking did nothing to quell such talk. However, an ugly loss to Vanderbilt (ugh!) sent the Gamecocks reeling. USC never won again that season, lost to arch-rival Clemson in the regular season finale, and at 6-6 found themselves at home when the bowl bids were extended. The offensive line woes that had troubled Gamecock fans for the last couple of years were still there, and Spurrier had been wrong about his team's potential that season.
In 2008, Spurrier started off by saying that Tommy Beecher was a quarterback who could indeed be the Gamecocks go-to QB for the season. Beecher must have been one hell of a practice player, because all he did was go out and throw four interceptions in the opener against N.C. State. Fortunately, the Gamecocks blew out the Wolfpack 34-0, but unfortunately for Beecher, USC's potential
Quarterback of The Season" lost confidence, and never had a real presence in another Gamecock contest in 2008. In addition, Spurrier exhibited less than steller coaching when he failed miserably with the quarterback shuffle experiement late in the season.
In fact, it might be argued that the shuffle never allowed any kind of rythmn when implemented, and took away momentum from an offense that desperately needs something positive.
The offensive line was still bleeding badly in 2008, and fans clamored for a change in coaching, The calls for Coach John Hunt's head (figuratively) grew louder on an almost weekly basis. Spurrier seemed reluctant to give his old friend the pink slip, as he bristled at the mention by reporters that the O-line players were not being "coached up" as well as they should have been. Eventually, Spurrier finally listened, and by the Monday after the embarrassing loss to Clemson, Hunt was heading down to Florida to catch up on his fishing, leaving his USC past in the rear view.
And there are other examples.
Steve Spurrier is tough, and he's pretty funny with the media members who follow his every move. But a few more boneheaded moves and stubborn tendencies like he has shown this year, and it won't take much for fans to begin to want to show him the door.
I'm hoping Coach Spurrier will be at USC for a long time. The Outback Bowl is a good place for him to show that progress is indeed being made, just not at the speed which most fans had expected by now.
Spurrier was the architect of some magnificent Florida offenses that blistered the Southeastern Conference during the decade of the 1990s, and he still has the desire to win at the Gamecocks' helm.
Despite season records thus far that could not be construed as ultimately successful by even the most diehard USC fans, Spurrier is still virtually worshipped by the win-starved USC Nation.
But some chinks have begun to show in the Spurrier armour, especially this season.
In 2007, Spurrier proclaimed that he had a team that could finally contend for the SEC East Championship. An early season win over Georgia, a 6-1 start, and a #6 ranking did nothing to quell such talk. However, an ugly loss to Vanderbilt (ugh!) sent the Gamecocks reeling. USC never won again that season, lost to arch-rival Clemson in the regular season finale, and at 6-6 found themselves at home when the bowl bids were extended. The offensive line woes that had troubled Gamecock fans for the last couple of years were still there, and Spurrier had been wrong about his team's potential that season.
In 2008, Spurrier started off by saying that Tommy Beecher was a quarterback who could indeed be the Gamecocks go-to QB for the season. Beecher must have been one hell of a practice player, because all he did was go out and throw four interceptions in the opener against N.C. State. Fortunately, the Gamecocks blew out the Wolfpack 34-0, but unfortunately for Beecher, USC's potential
Quarterback of The Season" lost confidence, and never had a real presence in another Gamecock contest in 2008. In addition, Spurrier exhibited less than steller coaching when he failed miserably with the quarterback shuffle experiement late in the season.
In fact, it might be argued that the shuffle never allowed any kind of rythmn when implemented, and took away momentum from an offense that desperately needs something positive.
The offensive line was still bleeding badly in 2008, and fans clamored for a change in coaching, The calls for Coach John Hunt's head (figuratively) grew louder on an almost weekly basis. Spurrier seemed reluctant to give his old friend the pink slip, as he bristled at the mention by reporters that the O-line players were not being "coached up" as well as they should have been. Eventually, Spurrier finally listened, and by the Monday after the embarrassing loss to Clemson, Hunt was heading down to Florida to catch up on his fishing, leaving his USC past in the rear view.
And there are other examples.
Steve Spurrier is tough, and he's pretty funny with the media members who follow his every move. But a few more boneheaded moves and stubborn tendencies like he has shown this year, and it won't take much for fans to begin to want to show him the door.
I'm hoping Coach Spurrier will be at USC for a long time. The Outback Bowl is a good place for him to show that progress is indeed being made, just not at the speed which most fans had expected by now.
Clemson, USC Bowl Rewind -- 8 Years Later
It hasn't been talked about, or written about much yet, but I'm sure some sportswriter poking around for some new angle on the upcoming Clemson and USC bowl games will either read it here and then write about it, or just stumble onto the facts on their own, and get it to print before the New Year dawns.
"It" is the fact that both Clemson and the University of South Carolina will play their bowl games on the same New Year's Day for the first time in eight years, when USC tackles Iowa in the Outback Bowl, and Clemson takes on Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. When the Carolina schools last played on the same New Year's Day in 2000, USC blasted Ohio State, 24-7, while Clemson was beaten by the Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech Hokies, 41-20.
Will history repeat itself for Clemson and South Carolina? The answer is yet to be determined. Clemson should be able to turn back Nebraska, but unless the Gamecocks crank up the offense behind redshirt freshman QB Stephen Garcia (playing before his hometown of Tampa in the Outback Bowl), and re-discover a strong defense that once rested near the top of the NCAA heap this season, they will have an uphill battle against Iowa. We will highlight the matchups in the coming blogs.
"It" is the fact that both Clemson and the University of South Carolina will play their bowl games on the same New Year's Day for the first time in eight years, when USC tackles Iowa in the Outback Bowl, and Clemson takes on Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. When the Carolina schools last played on the same New Year's Day in 2000, USC blasted Ohio State, 24-7, while Clemson was beaten by the Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech Hokies, 41-20.
Will history repeat itself for Clemson and South Carolina? The answer is yet to be determined. Clemson should be able to turn back Nebraska, but unless the Gamecocks crank up the offense behind redshirt freshman QB Stephen Garcia (playing before his hometown of Tampa in the Outback Bowl), and re-discover a strong defense that once rested near the top of the NCAA heap this season, they will have an uphill battle against Iowa. We will highlight the matchups in the coming blogs.
Carolina Sports Talk Is Back...At Least Online
Carolina Sports Talk returns after an almost two-year hiatus from the public view. In the "re-incarnation," Carolina Sports Talk takes the form of a blog, not a radio show. And while you won't be able to "hear" the show through this venue, at least you can get your fix of my unique perspectives on all things sports, with a particular focus on the Carolinas.
First, a brief background on the genesis of this product. I had worked as a radio, television, and newspaper reporter in the Southeast since beginning in the business as a young pup at the age of 21 -- way back in 1983. During that time, I carved out a niche as a great radio news broadcaster, a solid, story-breaking television reporter, and a damn good writer, but my passion was always for sports. I did have some sporting gig opportunities, such as high school play-by-play, a college football and high school interview program called Saturday Morning Quarterback , and a syndicated college football prediction column in weekly newspapers across the Southeast. However, news departments needed my news reporting talents more than they needed my sports reporting expertise, so I reluctantly followed the news path that flowed.
Flash forward to 2004. I had moved back to the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, and found plenty of news opportunities in local radio. By 2005, I was working with the Cumulus-Myrtle Beach cluster of stations -- which just happened to include an ESPN affiliate.
I did some sidekick work on a local show, then found myself in place to claim a position finally befitting my broadcasting calling -- I was asked to host "Carolina Sports Talk."
From the time we began broadcasting the show, I felt a high comfort level. Joined by a few broadcasting cohorts and comrades who were well-schooled with great sports kowledge, I felt the Grand Strand of South Carolina was getting an informational, yet fun sports talk show that didn't simply plow over the same grounds that regular ESPN programming was doing for the other 21 hours of the day.
While the show was on the air (2005-2007), we interviewed in-state and out-of-state college and NFL football coaches and players, golfing greats, Major League baseball players, NBA players and coaches, and broadcasting and sports writer personalities from across the Carolinas. We re-lived the careers of some great past players, with them telling their stories as only they could, and we brought formerly unknown information -- and great stories -- to light regarding various sports celebrities.
It was in late 2007 that the then-market manager for the Cumulus group in Myrtle Beach had some other ideas. Despite the show's popularity, he began to secretly plan for a new afternoon sports talk show that would replace Carolina Sports Talk. The idea was to bring in a friend of his from his past radio experience in Florida, to become sexually edgy on the air, and to have the show basically dredge the same old topics that the national programming on ESPN focused on from day-to-day.
In other words, if ESPN had been beating a dead horse all day regarding, say the Tuck Rule play from New England's big playoff win over Oakland years ago, well, the new show could do the same thing, and allow locals to call in.
The premise is shallow, and serves up no new ground for local listeners. It was lazy, gimmick radio that was aimed at getting more listenership from those who had moved from the northeast to the Grand Strand, and to get them to call in and beat the same dead horse that had been beaten for much of the prior 24 hours on the national network. That was the case in 2007, and that hasn't changed.
The move marked at least the temporary demise of Carolina Sports Talk , yet the ratings dropped immediately, and haven't been able to reach the marks of my show.
It might seem like radio is a rough sport, and I suppose it is. I had done nothing but garner great ratings with a solid show, only to be yanked for the whim of a manager who rewarded his friend with an out-of-place show. I was a little bitter for a while, but I came to realize that it wasn't the end of my world. I just had to expand my horizons, and not allow a small bump in the road to derail my desire to flourish in a sports reporting environment in the Southeast.
After some time, I decided to move forward with another effort to communicate to the masses via radio, television, newsprint, or on the Internet. Final plans have not been completed on the expected future projects, but a new blog has been born.
Carolina Sports Talk is back, for now, at least in blog form,and I will be sharing my thoughts on a variety of topics involving sports in the Carolinas (and more) in the coming days.
Hold on for what promises to be a very informative, entertaining blog. I will guarantee that the writing will be crisp and original, and will not be simple repeats of what the national broadcasters and writers are offering all day long.
And while the Myrtle Beach-Cumulus group doesn't seem to have much interest in reviving my show, there is a possibility that the show will be brought back on another viable Grand Strand station in the near future. Of course, I will post developments on this blog.
Now, without further adieu, Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Carolina Sports Talk Online!
First, a brief background on the genesis of this product. I had worked as a radio, television, and newspaper reporter in the Southeast since beginning in the business as a young pup at the age of 21 -- way back in 1983. During that time, I carved out a niche as a great radio news broadcaster, a solid, story-breaking television reporter, and a damn good writer, but my passion was always for sports. I did have some sporting gig opportunities, such as high school play-by-play, a college football and high school interview program called Saturday Morning Quarterback , and a syndicated college football prediction column in weekly newspapers across the Southeast. However, news departments needed my news reporting talents more than they needed my sports reporting expertise, so I reluctantly followed the news path that flowed.
Flash forward to 2004. I had moved back to the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, and found plenty of news opportunities in local radio. By 2005, I was working with the Cumulus-Myrtle Beach cluster of stations -- which just happened to include an ESPN affiliate.
I did some sidekick work on a local show, then found myself in place to claim a position finally befitting my broadcasting calling -- I was asked to host "Carolina Sports Talk."
From the time we began broadcasting the show, I felt a high comfort level. Joined by a few broadcasting cohorts and comrades who were well-schooled with great sports kowledge, I felt the Grand Strand of South Carolina was getting an informational, yet fun sports talk show that didn't simply plow over the same grounds that regular ESPN programming was doing for the other 21 hours of the day.
While the show was on the air (2005-2007), we interviewed in-state and out-of-state college and NFL football coaches and players, golfing greats, Major League baseball players, NBA players and coaches, and broadcasting and sports writer personalities from across the Carolinas. We re-lived the careers of some great past players, with them telling their stories as only they could, and we brought formerly unknown information -- and great stories -- to light regarding various sports celebrities.
It was in late 2007 that the then-market manager for the Cumulus group in Myrtle Beach had some other ideas. Despite the show's popularity, he began to secretly plan for a new afternoon sports talk show that would replace Carolina Sports Talk. The idea was to bring in a friend of his from his past radio experience in Florida, to become sexually edgy on the air, and to have the show basically dredge the same old topics that the national programming on ESPN focused on from day-to-day.
In other words, if ESPN had been beating a dead horse all day regarding, say the Tuck Rule play from New England's big playoff win over Oakland years ago, well, the new show could do the same thing, and allow locals to call in.
The premise is shallow, and serves up no new ground for local listeners. It was lazy, gimmick radio that was aimed at getting more listenership from those who had moved from the northeast to the Grand Strand, and to get them to call in and beat the same dead horse that had been beaten for much of the prior 24 hours on the national network. That was the case in 2007, and that hasn't changed.
The move marked at least the temporary demise of Carolina Sports Talk , yet the ratings dropped immediately, and haven't been able to reach the marks of my show.
It might seem like radio is a rough sport, and I suppose it is. I had done nothing but garner great ratings with a solid show, only to be yanked for the whim of a manager who rewarded his friend with an out-of-place show. I was a little bitter for a while, but I came to realize that it wasn't the end of my world. I just had to expand my horizons, and not allow a small bump in the road to derail my desire to flourish in a sports reporting environment in the Southeast.
After some time, I decided to move forward with another effort to communicate to the masses via radio, television, newsprint, or on the Internet. Final plans have not been completed on the expected future projects, but a new blog has been born.
Carolina Sports Talk is back, for now, at least in blog form,and I will be sharing my thoughts on a variety of topics involving sports in the Carolinas (and more) in the coming days.
Hold on for what promises to be a very informative, entertaining blog. I will guarantee that the writing will be crisp and original, and will not be simple repeats of what the national broadcasters and writers are offering all day long.
And while the Myrtle Beach-Cumulus group doesn't seem to have much interest in reviving my show, there is a possibility that the show will be brought back on another viable Grand Strand station in the near future. Of course, I will post developments on this blog.
Now, without further adieu, Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Carolina Sports Talk Online!
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