football

Via HT from Dr Saturday:

http://michaelprincip.com/oregon_uniset_2010.html

A nice recap of Oregon's uni combos this year. And yes, they had a different combo for every game. Sometimes a shirt, or a helmet, or sometimes an entirely different color combo (still surpirsed no all-neon yellow look this year).To think we bitch about striping changes every couple years on an away jersey...

Jim Mora: "Striping? You're talking about striping?"

Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis has resigned after a horrible season. No surprise there.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5891077

I wonder how GERG feels about this.

Many are frustrated that DB has stuck to his guns, and not caved with providing public comments on the coaching situation TODAY. Some want him to bring on Harbaugh, some want him to give RR an extension. The commonality is that many want this resolved NOW.

Others are frustrated with RR, and what he has or hasn't done with regards to the defense. Many don't understand what he has in mind, and disagree with changes (or lack of changes) he has made with player personnel, and coaching staff. Many are embarrassed at the treacle displayed at the football team bust with the song and speech and all. (As if treacly displays weren't the standard fare at most such events.)

I have read and pondered many of these posts, good and bad, expressing great frustration, ANGAR, and sometimes ennui. They bring to mind a poem from Rudyard Kipling. I believe his poem captures fairly well the philosophical stance taken by both DB & RR. I present it for those of you who just can't wait. My counsel for you, my fellow fans, is patience. We are in a bowl, we are improving, and tomorrow will be better.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;  

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Just stumbled on this... http://blogs.indystar.com/hoosiersinsider/2010/12/06/iu-football-search-... At least Michigan fans aren't the only people who do this.

I understand that opinions are like a**holes and that everyone has one. However, I typically expect that the person holding such opinion would have the slightest exposure to the subject of their opinion.You can imagine my surprise when I read an article from Jennifer Floyd Engel from the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, which sits along side the Dallas Morning News as the two major newspapers in the Dallas Metroplex area. Jennifer is a Mizzou grad who started covering the Dallas Stars and has branched out into other areas for the paper and sports radio. Having previously spent 12 years in the Dallas area, my opinion of her has already been formed, but this part of her unhinged Big 12 rant even surprised me.

"However, whatever, just beat them. Send Nebraska to the Big Ten, or whatever name E. Gordon Gee decides to slap upon that league, with a big fat reminder that their Big 12 legacy was never all that impressive and they will barely be missed at all.

Remind Nebraska why it was never the bellwether team of this conference and why it will not be in the Big Ten. Show the Huskers what Wisconsin and Ohio State and possibly Michigan (if Jim Harbaugh replaces that slimy little RichRod) will do to them."

Apologies for not knowing how to put the above in a nice box. Pretty strong words for someone at a major newspaper who has no horse in the race in regards to Michigan and I strongly doubt has ever met RR. Slimy? F*ck off random sports writer in Texas. This is ridiculous. At least teenage recruits don't read newspapers anymore.  Feel free to spam jenfloyd@ star-telegram.com or call 817-390-7697, your choice.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/01/2673121/hey-coach-stoops-win-one-for-the.html

By now, most have heard the news that JH has been offered a sweetened extension to his current deal by Stanford.

Link:  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5889922

Putting aside Stanford's AD's optimism, who knows whether JH will sign it.  Who knows if he is in contention for the Michigan job or if there even is a Michigan job.

But, this public offer does impact my view of Brandon's handling of our coaching situation.  My opinion is now that Brandon is mis-handling it.  Why?  There are two possible decisions that DB can reach in January, and regardless of which he reaches, he JH's public extension offer by Stanford makes DB's handling poor:

1.  DB decides to keep RR, either because he thinks that RR is the best option or because there are no better alternatives (and if JH signed an extension, there really aren't any, regardless of whether you are pro-RR or anti-RR).  If this is the outcome, than DB screwed up in his process.  Delaying has already cost us a potential super-star compliment to Denard in Dee Hart.  It has also cost us our only QB in the class.  I know that Sousa was not a 5* prospect and he is considered to be a project at QB, but so was Denard.  The fact that kids are decommitting and other feel compelled to comment on the situation on twitter has really hurt recruiting.  If the end result is to keep RR, then this should be done yesterday, so that we can have stability and end the drama surrounding our program.

2.  DB decides to fire RR.  Here is the one reason that I have not been mor down on DB - I bought into the conspiracy theory that DB has been delaying his decision because his plan was to go after JH and he did not want to create a circus surrounding JH forcing JH to sign an extension with Stanford on the even of his big game like Miles did.  If this was his plan, it jsut got blown sky high by Stanford's AD beating him to the punch.  If JH signed with Stanford and DB decides to fire RR, then our only worthwhile replacement is gone and we are left with who?

I have become increasingly frustrated by DB's delay.  Not because I want to know for my own edification.  Because, as expected, this delay is hurting recruiting, increasing negative attention on our program and causing uncertainty that cannot possibly be good for this young team as it prepares for its first bowl game in 3 years.  I personally could see dealing with this if DB was doing so to prevent putting JH in a tough spot before his bowl game, but now JH is in that same spot regardless.

2 caveats:  (1) Notice that I did not express an opinion on which decision DB should make.  That is not the purpose of this post.  Personally, both JH and RR are creat coaches, and I am happy that I don't have to make this decision. 

(2) Yes, I know that there is a post entitled "Reputable rumor: Harbaugh . . ."  That just talks about a rumor that JH has already signed an extension.  This is a discussion about actual news - that Standord has publicly offered JH an extension.