Thursday, December 23, 2004

Majerus and Utah Hoop schedule

Contrary to reports, Majerus did not back out of USC job because the hotel nearest the arena doesn't have room service. Whether it was solely his health, or the realization that all the good parking spots, athletes, and University focus are given to the National Champion Football team, it was Rick's choice to make. This is another situation where its unfortunate that these high profile coaches must conduct their interviews and make their career decisions under such a microscope. Even for a guy who seemingly loves the media attention, this couldn't have been fun. Away from the sports world I've watched friends struggle and fret over new job decisions, and despite what the media has us thinking, these coaches aren't the only people on the planet who flip-flop on what job situation is best for them. Is Majerus nuts? Only in a good way. Did USC get burned? Somewhat, but he wasn't taking over the team until next season anyway, so they have plenty of time to fill the position. Do USC Fans feel burned? I think so. More importantly through all this we learned they actually have a few fans or a few potential fans if the program goes in the right direction. In conclusion, ESPN's loss, is USC's loss, is ESPN's gain. All is well, until Indiana comes calling.

The University of Utah men's basketball team is now 8-3. The overall impression I get from fans is that they've underachieved. I must admit they layed an egg in Logan to Utah State a few weeks ago, but as it looks now USU is a pretty good team that is going to do a lot of damage this season. The other two losses, on the road to Washington and Arizona are respectable. I also hear opinions that Utah has played a bunch of powder puff teams that had no business being on the court with them. It is true that Utah has played Stony Brook, High Point, Furman, Montana Western, No. Colorado, and Coppin State thus far. I agree that if you play a school that 9 out of 10 people cannot name either the State they play in or the team mascot, that the competition may leave something to be desired. However, I think its common practice for quality Division I programs to play patsies early in the season. Last night (12/22/04) for instance, there were 9 games involving teams ranked in the top 15 in the country. Opponents in seven of those nine games were: Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Centenary, Central Connecticut, William & Mary, Char. Southern, Rice, and Wisconsin Milwaukee. This doesn't mean that you should forget who the Utes have played and be enamored with their record. Definitely, they are a young team and have yet to adjust to new coach Ray Giacoletti's offense and defensive schemes.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Dec 17, 2004 : Sports Mumblings...

Sports Mumbling....

Rick Majerus.....the former University of Utah basketball coach, will be the next coach at USC. Apparently he is going to finish the year at ESPN and then coach the Trojans next year. I cannot pretend to be neutral on this issue. I think its great news and I'm one of those people who thinks college basketball is better with Rick involved. I hope Rick is healthy, as it was his health that led to the decision to leave Utah last season. Knowing how much he loves the game, I understand why he couldn't stay away. Hopefully his body will hold out and allow him to do what he loves. Good luck Rick! And for those of you wondering....Yes Majerus has continued his trend of living in hotels since leaving Salt Lake City. Gotta love never having to make your bed or mow your lawn. Majerus has recently stated an intent to get a house in the coming year and finally unpack that suitcase. We'll see.

The Jazz.... are struggling and Wednesday's loss in Phoenix dropped them to 10-13 with four more road games before Christmas. Being young, injured, and playing in the difficult Western Conference is proving to be a brutal combination. Coach Sloan won't let them quit, and will make them better as they go along. Hopefully they get healthy and begin to gel before they lose sight of the playoff chase.

Sloan still in charge.... In Tuesday nights game, Jazz PG Carlos Arroyo and coach Sloan had a few words. Carlos spoke back just a bit too much. Result? Arroyo spent the rest of the game on the bench and didn't start tonight. Because of injury, the Jazz needed Arroyo and allowed him to start the 2nd half. Sloan doesn't carry grudges and will allow guys to get out of his dog house, but at the same time will leave zero doubt about who is in charge and where respect is warranted. I believe Carlos is getting impatient and isn't personally happy with how he is playing and I think its boiling over. I think everyone, including Arroyo, expected bigger and better things from this season, given the strong showing he had in the Olympics.

How do I say this nicely......Kobe you need to be quiet! Kobe might be playing well, but who really knows. Seriously, I have no idea what he is doing on the court. I do know 'in court' Kobe is just getting over the whole rape charge situation. I do know there are rumors that in the GM's office 'near the court' Kobe made sure his star was the brightest one on the team and ran Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal out of town. Now on Kobe's 'home court' he is creating a big Karl Malone controversy over some alleged comments between Karl and Mrs. Bryant. Did Karl say something to Kobe's wife that he didn't like? Who knows? Who cares? Only Kobe would let this turn into national news. She is only like 19 or 20 years old and is undoubtedly getting more than she bargained for when married the Laker Superstar. This is the same Karl Malone that stood by the accused rapist last year when many people wouldn't. I guess we should be glad that Kobe is actually paying some attention to his wife? More news today was that Kobe wants to apologize to Shaq. Uhh...Kobe, call him. This doesn't belong in the news, so please spare us of the soap opera for once.

Payton Manning might....... be the only player ever to be better in real life than he is on a video game. He is certain to break Marino's record for most TDs in a season in the next week or two. While Marino was known for TDs, Isotoner gloves, and for being the best QB without a Superbowl Ring, heres hoping that Payton gets a shot to wear the ring instead of just the Isotoners.

Thursday, December 16, 2004

More Honored Utes

More honors for those Utes!

Utah QB, Alex Smith, finished 4th in the Heisman voting and was named to the 2nd team AP All American team. Who woulda thunk it when the season first started? I'm not sure how I have the nerve to complain, but I don't get Matt Leinart being ahead of Alex Smith. In fact, when USC named their own MVP it wasn't even Leinart, but teammate Reggie Bush getting the honor (click for story). I think Leinart was voted by default. If I am Joe Average...urr, I mean Joe Wayaboveaverage with my Heisman vote, here is how I would of landed on Leinart:
"Hmm, Jason White is good, but he won last year and no way is he worth two in a row and being in the same company as Archie Griffin. Adrian Peterson is a freshman so he has to wait. Alex Smith, well I hear he is awesome and I like that cool red helmet, but I've never seen him play and besides his team is stealing some BCS money from 'our fraternal order of big schools'. Reggie Bush barely had more rushing yards than that Smith kid who is a QB. If Bush was so fast and so great why didn't he get the ball more? Okay, who is left, uhhh, yeah Leinart from USC. He is on a BCS team, has good smile for the cameras and statistics at least almost as good as White and that Smith guy."

Still, what an incredible year for Alex and a wonderful way he has been honored.

Congrats to Saftey Morgan Scalley and OL Chris Keomoeatu on joining Alex Smith on the 2nd team AP All American team. Keomoeatu will be playing on Sundays next year and Morgan should at least get a tryout. Morgan finished 3rd in the country in interceptions, scored TDs on fumble and kick returns and posted a 3.953 GPA! Alex on the other hand better stay in school. After all, he isn't done with his degree yet. Well, his MBA that is (Alex already has his under grad degree). See the complete list of AP All Americans by clicking HERE.

Even a former Ute, QB Brett Elliott, received a national honor. Brett was the quarterback who got hurt, thereby opening the door for Alex Smith, and he never got his job back. As a result he transferred to Division III Linfield College, and led them to a 12-0 record. Brett was named by the AP, to their Little All-American team for the best players in Division II, III and NAIA. You want jaw dropping? Elliott has 4,313 yards and 59 TDS, in this season alone.


Friday, December 10, 2004

Heisman Trophy: Comparing the QBs

Heisman Trophy: Comparing the QBs and a compelling case for Alex Smith.

Focusing my review on the three QBs: Alex Smith of Utah, Matt Leinart of USC, and Jason White of Oklahoma.

Two Arguments that offset in my opinion:

Level of competition. Its hard to argue against this other than Alex shined against the two toughest teams the Utes played (North Carolina and Texas A&M). He didn’t even play a complete game against either team because the Utes were throttling each opponent.

Supporting Cast. Both White and Leinart have other first team All-American’s (based upon the Sporting News) and even Heisman finalists on their teams in Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. In fact depending who you talk to, Peterson and Bush can be argued to be more valueable to their respective teams. Alex carried the load and was the featured guy to stop against every opponent.

I hearby call the two items, Level of Competition and Supporting Cast as a wash.

Looking at the Statistical Argument, it isn’t very close:

QB Rating;
Smith 174.9
White 162.9
Leinart 154.5

TDs:
White 33
Smith 28
Leinart 28

NOTE: Alex only played 11 games, while White and Leinart both played 12.

TDs per Pass Attempt:
Smith 10.0
White 10.7
Leinart 13.46

Yard per Pass Attempt:
Smith 9.4
White 8.4
Leinart 7.9

Interceptions:
Smith 4
White 6
Leinart 6

Rushing Yards:
Smith 562
Leinart -33
White -48

Rushing TDs:
Smith 10
Leinart 3
White 0

Total Yards
Smith 3187
Leinart 2957
White 2913

Points Accounted For per game
Smith 20.7
White 16.5
Leinart 13.46


Other points:

Leinart deserves enormous credit for directing his team to an undefeated season, while USC wore a bulls-eye as defending national champion. He is a worthy candidate, but I’d vote no higher than 3rd.

White deserves credit as being the defending Heisman trophy winner and having the pressure that goes along with those expectations. I vote him 2nd.

Smith deserves credit for directing arguably the most complex offense in the country. If people saw the Ute offense last year and this year, they would see how much better it was and how technical and diverse it was over last season. Most people assume Utah to be a wide open heavy passing team, and therefore Smith’s amazing passing statistics were generated while pummeling lower quality opponents with a relentless passing attack. Not True. However, the Utes were actually ranked higher nationally for their rushing game (9th) than their passing game (24th). Smith’s numbers were derived from a balanced attack that saw him throw many fewer passes (280) than Leinart (377) or White (354). Alex’s percentage is so high because he doesn’t throw the ball down the field like White and Leinart. Not True. As the above statistics show, Alex’s yards per attempt were actually higher than both other QBs. Lastly, the Utes were so dominating this year, that Alex rarely played the 4th quarter of his games, and therefore had little to no chance to ‘pad’ his stats.

In conclusion, Alex Smith is not the favorite to win the award and it’s really an honor for him to be a finalist and even be invited to New York. The Heisman folks probably will feel like they did a good deed to invite the guy from the smaller school to the big time party. The only problem with this view, is that it sounds remarkably similar to the BCS approach on the bowl games. They make it darn near impossible for a non BCS school to make it to the bowl games, and if they do, they get saddled with a lessor team like Pittsburgh. So like Alex, a non BCS school can sometimes crash the big party, but they can’t really take away the top honor (National Championship).

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Fiesta Time: Honoring the Utes

It's official, the Utes and their fans will be starting the New Year with a big Fiesta party on Jan 1st in Tempe, Arizona. The 5th ranked University of Utah Utes will battle the Big East Conference chamption, Pittsburgh Panthers, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. There will be plenty of time to break down the game in coming days, but for now, lets kicking off "Fiesta Season" by looking at a few Utes receiving national honors.

Heisman candidate? Who wins that award? The best player? The most valuable? It seems to go to the most popular player on the most popular team. If that holds true, then the USC or OU Quarterback will be given the award. Basically, the Heisman doesn't go to the best player, but much like the BCS system, rewards the top player on the highest ranked BCS team. Luckily, The Sporting News is not so influenced by such politics and has announced The Player of the Year for college football is none other than Utah's Alex Smith. Alex has the passing stats to match USC's Leinart and OU's White, but in addition he has 10 rushing TDs and over 500 rushing yards that they can't match. Like Leinart and White, Smith has led his team to an undefeated season, but he has done so without as many highly acclaimed teammates as OU and USC. Oklahoma has 5 players on the The Coach of the Year, sponsored by Home Depot, and voted by ESPN and ABC college football analysts, was given to Urban Meyer. Another honor might be forthcoming, as the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) has selected Urban as one of six finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award that will be announced later in the month of December. Urban in only 4 years of being a head coach has always been honored among his peers. In addition to this years award, in 2001 he was Mid-American Conference Coach of the year, in 2003 and 2004 was the Mountain West Conference Coach of the year, and 2003 was the Sporting News Coach of the year. One bad thing for the Utes is that when your coach is that much ahead of his peers, he is in huge demand. Therefore, Urban has succombed to the demand, left the University of Utah, and continued his march toward National coaching greatness and has been named Head Coach of the University of Florida. Best of luck Urban. In Fiesta style, we say "Via Con Dios, Good luck, We wish you well".





Friday, December 03, 2004

Urban's Dad confirms Florida Decision

Urban Meyer's father, Bud, confirmed today that his son had decided to accept the position of head coach at the University of Florida. This was reported by Mark Long, AP Sports writer and posted on yahoo sports. The article also states that Meyer has called a team meeting for 7am Saturday, December 4th, and will meet with the media at 10:00 am.

Here is the article: Meyer to Florida

Sunday the BCS will hand out party invitations!!

Urban-gate Update - Bitten by Gators

ESPN is reporting that Urban Meyer is the next head coach for the University of Florida. Well I've been bitten hard by Gator I thought was sleeping. I was completely convinced Notre Dame was his choice and Florida was just a good school making a valiant effort at a worthwhile coach. Among my thoughts...


  • My ND source, The Backer, I still believe to have good info. But I think given the parties involved, and the fact that there were two big players in this mess, besides the Notre Dame, who were not showing there cards. The ND source, like the University itself, was convinced Meyer was theirs. Urban Meyer was out to get the best deal and best situation and therefore not leaking or leaning any direction publicly. Florida had the capital and the position to compete and aggressively did so. Thanks for all the info Backer, I'm not disappointed to have run with it.
  • The hard reality of the Florida decision is not fun. When we thought Urban going to ND, it was sad, but understood. After all, it was his dream job and people in Utah could classify it as that, rather than we got stepped over purely for a bigger school with more money. Urban going to Florida is simply that: Bigger football school, BCS school, More money. Its obvious, but its much less fun and less sentimental.
  • The amazing Bernie does it again. The President of the University of Florida is Dr. Bernie Machen, who was the University of Utah President at the time Urban was hired by Utah. Bernie's relationship was obviously a big thing in this decision. Apparently even bigger than Meyer's relationship with Notre Dame and his South Bend destiny. Two previous comments by Urban now make more sense. First, when he commented a day or so ago about the clauses in his contract that allowed him to freely go to Notre Dame, he said something to the effect that we shouldn't make a bigger deal out of it than it was. Simply he grew up there and used to coach there. Meaning, when he did his Utah deal he left some logical doors open, but we shouldn't over stress the importance of that. Uhh..too late, Urban we decided its your dream job. Oops. The second comment that should have meant more was when Urban basically said it wasn't just about where you coach, but also about who you coach under. This ties back into the Bernie Machen relationship.
  • This isn't a good day in Utah, but at least we knew Urban wasn't coaching here next year. Notre Dame however, fired it's coach T. Willingham, because they wanted Urban. I think they believed he was theirs whenever they came calling. It seemed to be the right assumption. Notre Dame's 2nd choice unfortunately, despite being the number immediately following one, isn't really in the same world as their first choice. Snagging some guy from Iowa, or another up and comer won't suffice. Maybe the problems in South Bend speak more about the the overall program management and the parity in college football, than they do about the in ability of the coach on the field to get the desired results. Urban no doubt examined the whole picture and didn't like some of the details behind the Golden Dome.

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Urban-gate Update - My source says deal is done

At about 10 minutes until 9:00 PM MST I rec'd an email message:

"urban is south bend bound ... annoucement tomorrow". source: The Backer

The Notre Dame recruiting team (their AD and President) didn't need much time to perform surgery and remove the heart of Ute fans. Sounds like these guys were back on their plane with-in four hours of arriving in town. Either these big BCS schools are very talented and efficient, or their recent swoon has left them a little low on cash and could only rent the plane for a few hours. Seeing how their logo was painted on the plane, lets assume the pockets are deep, these guys are good, and their man didn't need a lot of convincing.

I guess its time to end the denial and accept that Urban was offered his dream job and its time for him to go see if its all that he thought it would be. Will he lead them back to the promised land? In this day and age of parity and their brutal schedule, is it reasonable to think that the Irish will be back in the national hunt on a regular basis? I'd say if they give this guy the tools, they'll be in good shape to compete again with the best. Urban won't be ouch coached. He was worth the effort and quick movement by Notre Dame. The have taken heat early this week, but perhaps they should get more credit. They didn't have much time to decide to make a bold move, but knowing that Florida was working hard to get their man, they had to take aggressive and decisive action. With all apologies to a very good man in T. Willingham, who certainly could have earned a little more time, the Irish had a shot to make a serious upgrade and took it. I have no doubts they will instantly be better.

For now though, it's the University of Utah Utes playing on Jan 1. The Irish will have to wait for dates like that. Its the Utes ranked #5 in the country. The Irish will hve to wait for a ranking like that. Urban may be their man, and they may be giving him the job he dreamed of, but its the 2004 Utes who are having a season even the Irish are dreaming about. Imagine playing every game up to your potential. No bad games. No loses. No close games. One more to go. Bring on the Panthers!




Urban Meyer: The latest rumors, truths, and wishes

BREAKING NEWS: Urban Meyer WILL COACH against Pittsburgh!!! The Utes are destined to play Pittsburgh in the Fiesta bowl on Jan 1 so that's good news. But, guess who Notre Dame opens the season with next year? Yep, Pittsburgh. So Urban will likely coach against Pittsburgh in his next game as head coach, but where??

I've read rumors from ESPN, Yahoo sports, the Utefans board, and a good summary from the Irish Trojan (recommended viewing: http://www.brendanloy.com/).

Here are the things being said, with some classified as true, rumor, or wish.

- Urban's family is so happy in Salt Lake City and so tired of moving, that Urban has given them a 5 year promise to stay in Utah. Well, they are happy here, I believe that. However, the idea that their desire to settle down as a priority over Urban's dream job is merely a wish. Besides...the family of a football coach is sort of destined to have Uhaul on the speed dial.

- Urban visited South Bend today. He met with the AD Kevin White, toured the the campus and was greeted by old friends. Rumor! Meyer was in Salt Lake last night and has been confirmed at practice today.

- Notre Dame AD Kevin White and the president of the university are headed to Utah with designs on skiing the greatest snow on earth this weekend. The university plane just happened to be available. Ok, skiing aside, this seems to be legit and therefore I vote truth. I first learned this via the Irish Trojan, and it was just confirmed by a local TV Station (Wesley Ruff). A good summary of this info at the Washington Post that includes the FAA details:(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29143-2004Dec2.html). And to further verify this one, "The Backer" must have been on the scene with his camera: http://thebacker.blogspot.com/2004/12/are-we-stepping-into-realm-of-insanity.html



- Urban Meyer was offered the Notre Dame job last night. This is only being reported by various people with a source of a source. I vote Rumor on this as the extent of the 'offer' was probably just a phone call from Kevin White offering to come to Utah Thursday night for dinner and discussions. Note: This could also be a classified as a wish (of all Golden Domers), alas job offers issued by Notre Dame alumni using telekinesis don't count. Relax Domers, its coming soon, this is just a discussion of timing.

- Rick Majerus called Urban, recommended that he stay at Utah and just have fun with the media circus for a few years. RM also suggested Urban move his family into a hotel, not only for the heated pool and free breakfast buffet, but that the appearance of such a liquid and moving living arrangement only adds fuel the fire. Okay, this isn't exactly a rumor, maybe a twisted wish.

- Truth according to Urban: He met with the team a few hours ago and confirmed that he has narrowed his coaching future to three schools. Notre Dame, Florida, and Utah. He stated that no decision has been made and he is making every effort to be upfront and straight with these guys.

In a nutshell: Wishes are for Urban to stay; Rumors are that he is already gone; The Truth is, while it may happen quick, he'll take enough time to shrewdly get the right deal from Notre Dame.


Wednesday, December 01, 2004

In pursuit of Urban

Ever since Notre Dame announced that Coach Willingham was gone, its been chaos. You would expect it to be nuts in South Bend, but its equally crazy in Salt Lake City. Every university with a job opening seems to be in hot pursuit of Urban Meyer. Rumors are abound. Here is the latest...I share this, knowing full ware that it will be obsolete within in 24 hours.

For the latest in South Bend, you need to check out The Backer's Blog: www.thebacker.blogspot.com

The latest from Urban Meyer is based upon a very honest interview he just had with a local radio station (4:20 pm MST). He didn't dodge a question, and I think was pretty straight with where things are.

  • He confirmed for the first time that he has been contacted about coaching openings. By many schools in fact. So, surely its Notre Dame, Washington, Florida, Illinois, and perhaps several of the other 15 or schools with head coach openings.
  • When asked if he has had discussions with anyone, he replied that it was "common knowledge" and expected those discussions to continue. Uh-oh. How detailed could it be? How hard? "Urban, this is Mr. Golden Domer, we want you to come home son. We want to pay you about $2.0 Million per year for 5 years if you would be so kind as to just come home" People here love Urban. People here would miss him. People here respect his career goal and may even help the guy pack.
  • He is still focused on preparing the Utes. So much that the team is being put through very rigorous conditioning drills. I'm sure its normal, but they are responding so well that he was gushing with pride. He was clear in his opinion that the Utes are one of the top teams in the country.
  • Talk about prep. Their bowl opponent isn't finalized, nor is the location, but Urban already has the Utes breaking down Pittsburgh. In fact, yesterday they had the scout team running Pittsburgh stuff already. Impressive. The Panthers are going to be the next team to get runover by this Utah train. When they lose by 14 or more, Utah will become only the 2nd team in NCAA history to beat every opponent during the entire season by 14 or more points. Nebraska in the 80s was the other.
  • Urban stated he was "No Question" planning on being in Tempe. Said he loves Utah, loves this team, and there are some unique things at play here. I interpret that to mean, I am really really going to miss this great place, when I go fulfill my dream.
  • I loved a comment he made about the difference between being an assistant and being a coach. An assistant makes suggestions, a head coach makes decisions.
  • Lastly, I felt he was campaigning a little for Kyle Whittingham, the current defensive coordinator. It wasn't blatant but he got his point across.

We'll keep watching this situation. The next big thing (barring coaching annoucement), will be the BCS final bowl pairings show on Sunday. It will be a great day for the Utah program. Go Utes.