Posts Tagged ‘Whining’

Yes, I realize that I have hardly been doing a very good job of keeping up with things.  No, I am not done with my series on the Cost of Sports.  Yes, I do intend to get something of substance up in the near future.  It’s just been busy lately, to say the least.  Thus, I am—as always—a little behind the curve.  Thus, if anyone out there would be interested in doing a little writing, shoot me an email and we can talk.  I’ll do my best to get caught up as soon as possible.

In the meantime, here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College BasketBlog Poll hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 3

Through 23 February 2009

Well, after the past week in the world of college basketball, there have been a few major changes in my BasketBlog Poll ballot.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Pittsburgh	2
2	Oklahoma	–
3	Connecticut	2
4	Memphis	3
5	Villanova	3
6	Michigan St.	–
7	North Carolina	3
8	Missouri	2
9	Clemson	8
10	Gonzaga	1
11	Marquette	–
12	Louisville	–
13	Wake Forest	8
14	Illinois	–
15	Duke	1
16	Purdue	1
17	Arizona St.	1
18	Xavier	5
19	Louisiana St.	–
20	Texas	1
	Kansas	4
22	UCLA	NR
23	South Carolina	1
24	California	1
25	Utah	NR
Last week’s ballot

Dropped Out: Dayton (#20), Butler (#24)

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college basketball, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted, how your team fared across the blogosphere, and view the weekly results each week over at CBS Sports (at least I think that’s how it’s supposed to work…)

Oh yeah, the BasketVols also lost to the Kentucky Wildcats over the weekend.  More on that as soon as I can…

– So it goes…

Well, I do believe that the whole “Kiffin-Gate” thing is getting a little out of hand now, not that I am really all that surprised.  I still stand by my comments of the other day, that while the Blackjack General may have been wrong about the rule, his comments have had the desired effect.

Take for instance the fact that Gregg Doyel (who attended Florida, is known for loving to tick people off, looks remarkably like Anthony Edwards from ER, and apparently cannot spell either of his names correctly) who probably could have given damn about the Tennessee Volunteers at this point in time, is ventilating at full tilt.  This has led Doyel to conclude, among other things, that:   1) Kiffin should be fired immediately; 2)  Tennessee fans are “stupid people” (especially VASF donors); and 3) Kiffin is an “idiot,” “bufoon,” and “dumb.”  Doyel also concludes that, as the opposite of “Urban” Meyer everyone should refer to Tennessee’s head coach as “Rural” Kiffin.  That has to be one of the dumbest plays on words I’ve heard in a while.  Others, have been more complimentary, including  Bruce Feldman and the guys at PTI.

What, John Adams supporting the Vols?

At any rate, it seems that this thing refuses to die.  Which, considering it is keeping Tennessee in the public eye and on the lips of every sports commentator across the country, is probably a good thing.  Oh, and for the record, it hasn’t seemed to hurt prospects with recruits out there, such as Joe Montana’s son, Nick.  As an aside, I found the thoughts of some of the “common fans” of Southern Cal’s take on all of this enlightening — they think it is great and have, almost uniformly, nice things to say about Kiffin.  I am also beginning to make me wonder if hell has frozen over considering that the KNS’ John Adams has actually been saying nice things about the Tennessee Football Program lately.

Not to be outdone, and in the hopes of spreading the venom even farther — sticking with my “This is Sparta” theme — here’s my little addition to the whole thing:

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater! (click to enlarge)

Oh, and feel free to copy this and spread it to the four-winds (although I would appreciate a link back if you don’t mind).

At any rate, the current course of the football program at Tennessee is easy to assess:  1) after the pain of the Season of Constant Sorrow (2008) things are finally moving forward;  2) people are talking; and 3) at present the 2009 season comes down to two games:  Western Kentucky (first home game) and the 19 September meeting with the Florida Gators.

And you thought the offseason was supposed to be boring…

– So it goes …

HT to: 3SIB • Vol Junkies (for the idea) • VolNation

This is a bit of an unusual post in that it is a reference to a comment I posted elsewhere on the web, but it seemed fitting…

Rusty over at RTT has offered up 5 theories for Lane Kiffin’s (a/k/a the Blackjack General) barb to Urban Meyer yesterday.  They are worth a read.  Rusty’s theories started a rather interesting discussion on the subject.

Anyway, here are my two cents worth, which I originally posted over on RTT as a comment (with the addition of the video and image):

The comment on Meyer is simply a comment made to a closed group being taken out of context.  That is, Kiffin said “cheating” in the sense of “man, that’s some slimy stuff” but is was taken as “violation of codified NCAA and SEC rules and regulations.” In other words, he was speaking like a normal person and not like some degenerate lawyer (I can say that, I are one).

In the big picture, I think that there is a method to Kiff’s madness.  I think he realizes that the Tennessee fans need something to help rally them to “the flag,” which a little controversy will accomplish.

Furthermore, I think — rightly or wrongly — he perceives a belief among the fans that Tennessee has been the “nice guy fuddy-duddy” type for a long time and have never really stood its ground the way it could (See Charlie Brown).  I think that there is a definite feeling of this sort among many in the Big Orange fanbase.

I also think he believes that the opposite it true — that other coaches (especially Urban Meyer) have gotten used to walking on Tennessee and now feel an entitlement of sorts.  I think this is also true.  I think Kiff realizes that he has to stop that, and that the fans will gladly support him in this.

I also think — given who he has attacked and who he hasn’t (See Mark Richt, Houston Nutt, Rich Brooks, Les Miles, etc.) — that it is a calculated move to agitate those who simply cannot stand being agitated and love to agitate constantly.  Steve Spurrier was the master of this in the 1990s — and it was very effective.  Kiffin wants to try and begin to get in the heads of others who believe themselves to be mighty, but has notably spared the friendly sorts. (Oh, and for the record, Spurrier can take being agitated. In fact it often seems to make him respect others more. Plus, he was pretty affable in response to the whole recruiting test discourse.)

I think Kiff probably understands that the team might not fare well at first, but he is showing that he’s not willing to be pushed around now.  It’s the proverbial “knock me down, and I’ll get back up and say it again, so you can knock me down, so I can get up and say it again, till I get strong enough that you can no longer knock me down” approach (man what a run-on).

I also think that Kiffin is simply not the kind of guy who shirks from a challenge, and the staff he has assembled bears that out. (Compare Mr. Edward Orgeron and … the World)  Call me crazy, but he almost has me believing that he can pull it off as well.

To be able to win, you have to first believe that you can win.  To take on the invincible, you have to believe you are invincible. (See This is Sparta)

Video:  300 – “This is Sparta“

Of course, I also believe that Elvis Presley is living in Vonore, Tennessee under the assumed name “Leyland T. Vegas” and that Plate Tectonics is all part of some nefarious Communist conspiracy…

Viva, Baby... Viva!

At its basic level, however, Kiffin is accomplishing something — getting the fans and team ready for a fight and getting the media interested enough to show up and document it all.

•  HT to / via:  Five theories about Lane Kiffin’s jab at Urban Meyer | Rocky Top Talk

I suppose it all comes down to Jules Winnfield / Samuel L. Jackson’s statement: “Oh, well allow me to retort…“

At any rate, the conversation has been interesting over there, and is worth a look (and perhaps a comment).

Image Courtesy of:  Elvis Impersonators Blog

Hmmm… looks like Coach Kiffin and Urban Meyer are not likely to be sharing martinis in the bathtub anytime soon…

Seems Florida got a bit upset over Kiffin’s statements regarding Meyer contacting recruits during official visits:

Florida didn’t take Kiffin’s comments lightly. It released a statement from athletic director Jeremy Foley on Thursday afternoon.

* * * * *

[Said Kiffin]  “I’ve been made aware by the Southeastern Conference that my comments this morning at a breakfast with our donors violated a conference policy. In my enthusiasm for our recruiting class, I made some statements that were meant solely to excite those at the breakfast.

“I apologize to Commissioner Mike Slive and the SEC, including Florida AD Jeremy Foley and coach Urban Meyer. My comments were not intended to offend anyone at the University of Florida.”

• via:  Kiffin apologizes after SEC reprimands coach for comments about Florida, Meyer |  GoVolsXtra.com

Right or wrong, I’m glad Kiff had the chutzpah to call Meyer out. It’s about time somebody did.  I’ll also give him props for having some class in admitting he might have overstated things just a bit.

Boy this is already getting fun, and it’s just February…

“This is our world. If I can speak freely here, it’s about pride, it’s about commitment, it’s about trusting everybody next to you.  So, to walk your ass out of here is about as bad a deal as you could possibly do to that group of guys.“

Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on Lane Kiffin hiring staff away from the Raiders

• via Raiders Blog and Q&A: Kiffin raids the staff

• HT to the Right Honorable Senator Blutarsky of Get the Picture

Now, I guess Tom Cable not only has to coach the Raiders, but also has to do Davis’ laundry.  Oh well…

I suppose a new tradition is beginning.

Heh…

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 14

Through 29 November 2008

Well, my while my Top 5 remained the same for the last week of the regular season, but there were a few shakeups in the back-end of my poll.  Due to the fact that I am currently in trial—again—and am already running behind, I’m posting this ballot without comment. Hopefully, I’ll be able to come back around and discuss a few of the high points later in the week.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Florida	–
3	Oklahoma	–
4	Texas	–
5	Southern Cal	–
6	Utah	1
7	Boise State	1
8	Ohio State	1
9	Penn State	1
10	Texas Tech	1
11	Ball State	1
12	Missouri	6
13	Cincinnati	3
14	Oregon	5
15	TCU	–
16	Northwestern	2
17	Oklahoma State	4
18	Boston College	2
19	Mississippi	6
20	Pittsburgh	2
	Michigan State	–
22	Georgia	8
23	Brigham Young	–
24	Georgia Tech	2
25	Rice	1

Dropped Out: Oregon State (#17), Florida State (#24).

The Rest of the BlogPoll

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted and how your team fared across the blogosphere over at MGOBlog, and view the BlogPoll Top 25 results each week over at CBS Sports.

I know, I know, just like a lawyer to blame everyone else…

– Go Figure …

Well, as I mentioned in my SEC Power Poll post earlier today, for the next several weeks I will be at a “secure and undisclosed location.”  The reason for this is that I am preparing to start a 2-3 week trial which … well … let’s just say that the parties stridently disagree.  Thus, until I return, “Home Sweet Home” will be manning the wheel here at the Gate, and will captain the the ship (probably far better than I usually do).  I will still be trying to post a few odds and ends here and there, but for all intents and purposes I’ll be incognito here for a while.

Once I return in late October—and my occupation quits infringing on my blogging—I hope to roll out a few new things (what is it with me debuting new ideas just before the end of the season?).  If things go according to plan, I will be able to debut a few new things, along with finally finishing some of the updates I started back in the summer but was forced to delay due to the very same case that I am getting ready spend weeks trying.

Ke garne… (That’s Nepalese for “Go Figure”)

Anyway, until I do manage to free myself from the bonds of Court and my occupation as a Shyster and Evidence Manipulation Specialist, I do want to go ahead and introduce—a few days late—a new partnership which Gate 21 is starting with the Blazer Chronicles which have previously lived only over on YouTube.  The hope is that, once I am back full speed, the Blazer Chronicles will become a regular part of the Gate’s veritable cornucopia of choices.  For now, however, we are simply going to be embedding the Blazer Chronicles in their current format for all to see.

The Blazer Chronicles: Episode 5B

The Blazer Chronicles: Episode 6

So, until I am back 100%, make sure you let Home Sweet Home know how much more you like his stuff than mine…

– Go Figure …

Videos Courtesy of: VolzRChamps / Blazer Chronicles