Exit Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray’s last game for Allen High looked similar to most of his games, 22 out of 32, 316 yards, 5 TD’s.  The difference this time was that he will never again take the field for the Eagles.  Between start #1 and start #42 what Murray achieved was stunning: 42-0 as a starter, 3 state championships, 3 championship game MVP awards, a Gatorade National Player of the Year award, twice Texas player of the year, named as an Under Armour All-American, being tabbed a 4-star recruit (#54 in the US), and finishing 4^th in the prestigious Nike Elite 11 QB competition.  The Dallas Morning News last week proposed that he was the most accomplished QB coming out of DFW in the last 40 years, and that was before title #3. 

The record will show that Kyler Murray threw for 10,386 yards and 117 TD’s, and ran for 4,139 yards and another 69 TD’s.  His career completion % was 64% and his average completion went for over 16 yards.  Amazing numbers.  For me, I will remember him as the most skilled high school player I’ve ever seen and the most consistent.  I won’t soon forget the shock of seeing Westerberg unleash Murray in the first game of his junior year against Southlake; going deep time and again, this little dude we thought was just a running QB.  He played QB like a 22-year old instead of a 17-year old.  It may just be that he peaked early, having a QB Dad in the house.  Time will tell.  But I won’t judge Kyler Murray on whether he succeeds in the SEC.  I feel privileged to have watched him for 2 and a half years.  He never mailed in a game, or let the team down once.  He sort of became a mythical figure in his own time; the fans here just came to believe that Kyler Murray could not lose.  I told everyone who would listen: appreciate this while you can.

I will likely see players in the future as quick or as fast as Murray, or with a stronger arm.  But I don’t expect to see anyone play their position at a higher level at this age.  It will be a shock to go to an Allen game in the future and not see number 1 at the helm, calmly waiting and zipping a ball down the field, or breaking free of the rush up the middle and zig-zagging through the secondary.  When I look back it will always be the last 9 minutes of the 2013 state semi-final against DeSoto that defined Murray.  Down 15, playing into a north wind, fans drifting out, he first delivered a stunning 68-yard post pattern into that wind for a momentum-changing TD, then another quick 15 points in front of a shivering and dazed crowd to walk off a 42-35 winner.  It was the kind of 9 minutes that create legends in Texas, and Murray, undefeated, and with 3 rings, will now pass into that realm.

maxpreps.com/athlete/kyler-murray

yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Kyler-Murray

247sports.com/Player/Kyler-Murray

S

Allen Eagles - MaxPreps #1

Whoop! Whoop!  Yes, these hypothetical national championships are a load of crap.  But, we deserved it last year and didn't get it.  Anyway, what matters is winning state on the field.  I was on record that this team couldn't do it because of the young, small defense.  I didn't appreciate that the offense was so good and so efficient that nothing else mattered.  This will be my favorite of the 4 championships because I didn't think it could happen, and because we ran the DFW playoff gauntlet to get there:  trailed but rallied over DeSoto, trailed but rallied over Trinity, trailed but rallied over Skyline.  It was more fun than should be allowed.  47-1 over the past 3 seasons.  What a ride!

MaxPreps Final Poll

Catching Up With the Natural

Josh Hamilton spent 5 star-crossed years in Texas: 1 batting title, 1 RBI title, an MVP award, 500+ RBI, a .305 average, a .549 slugging average, a .912 OPS, ascended to the level of best player in baseball in 2010, had a 4-homer game, hit a 10th-inning homer that should have won a World Series, hit 25 homers in one round of the home run derby, made spectacular plays in center field, and generally wowed the baseball world with his talent.

Catching up to "the Natural" now, there is good new for the Angels: he has hit 31 homers and driven in 123 runs for them; the bad news: it's taken him over 1,000 at-bats and 2 seasons to get there!  Since leaving his support system in Texas, he has forgotten how to hit, hit for power, make contact, or give a crap.  The Angels owe him about $100 million dollars and his OPS of about .740 equates to Elvis Andrus.  I've seldom been more baffled about a player losing his skills overnight at an early age.  It happens.  Josh never learned discipline, relied on talent, abused his body, and at 33 looks completely done.  His contract will likely stack up against the worst ever (Chan Ho Park anyone?)

I'm incredibly sad about it.  He was as fun to watch as anyone I ever saw.  He should have been an all-timer but will instead be a footnote to baseball history.  I went on record as saying I didn't think the Rangers should spend that kind of money on him.  So, at least I'm glad I don't have to turn on Fox Sports every night and watch the decline of the most talented player of his generation.

S

Cowboys

Is this a real 4-1 team that is sitting at top of the NFC EAST?
Mark me down as skeptical at best, maybe I am too pessimistic, but I do not see anything to make me think that they can survive the last half of the schedule.

Romo:
I thought he was done after the first two weeks, but he is starting to get some zip back on the ball and making some of his trademark moves to avoid the onslaught in passing situations.  I really hope he continues to improve, but his accuracy is still off from three years ago.  Three surgeries have definitely accelerated his aging curve.

He is still the key for the Cowboys to survive and I hope he stays healthy.

Murray:
He is a beast and with every yard he fights for I wince thinking he will get an ankle or muscle injury. People truly underestimate his speed and power.  His ability to pass block is so important, but they really cannot leave him in for every third down play.  My faith in Dunbar is zero, he cannot block nor run effectively unless he is in the open field.

O Coordinator:
A definite improvement over the past Red Jesus years.  He seems to have defenses guessing and this is without a healthy Romo.

D Coordinator:
Lipstick and Rouge is all I can say.  What an incredible change with a little luck we have seen in Dallas.  They are attacking and rarely get burned with a big play.

My fear is that injuries are going to make running the ball on Dallas to easy as the year wears on. I am still in shock Houston didn't run the ball 50 times Sunday.

But that secondary is still a work in progress, I am still wondering how they beat the Rams.

Rolando McClain:
How did Dallas get this guy, he is incredible. The difference he makes inside against the run and short passes in amazing.  He seems to catch people a yard short of first downs 10 times a game. I only hope that he is mentally prepared for the wear and tear on his body.  If they lose him, even with Carter coming back they are in big trouble.  I would sit him against Seattle, since the odds of winning are slim at best.

Overall, it has been a great start for a team that I thought 7-9 or 8-8 was the best to hope for.
I really worry about the upcoming schedule, the Giants game in Dallas following the Seahawks will be the turning point for the team.  Win and maybe they get to 9 wins. Lose and 7 wins is the best I can see.

J.

LSU's Demise?

I agree with everything you've written.  And I will add that I have seen this coming, and although still hopeful they will figure something out, I've been resigned to the fact that this year was coming.  If you could go back and see my posts about Miles over the years, I was 100% confident that it would end badly at some point.  Les Miles is a personality guy, a force of will guy.  He learned he could recruit and sell his agenda and it's worked out for him pretty well.  But we know at the end of the day he's in over his head with the coaches he's competing with.  All that BS about his Michigan background, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, all that crap.  He convinced himself he could play that way and win, and the talent has held him up.

The lack of game plan against Bama in the championship game, the bowl debacle against Clemson, all the NFL draft picks without the titles to show for it.  He's still living off of 2007.  Now, like you said, the other teams have money, and they have good coaches, they are getting talent, and they will run circles around him.  I had this weird feeling in August that we were about to see it.  Maybe he can salvage it, but I'm convinced the end is near.  Eventually he will leave LSU in a bad state, like I always said he would.  If I could escort his silly ass back to Michigan, I'd be glad to do it.  Chavis is no more creative or innovative than he is.  Cameron is handicapped.  The coaching talent in our division is a tidal wave about to engulf him and he can't see it.  We're in trouble.

S

A Ryder Cup Captain Building Confidence.

The quotes are coming out about Tom Watson and bullish behavior toward the players.
The night before the singles in front of the golfers and their family at dinner our past drunkard captain showed his true colors.

"Watson started by saying, according to all of the sources: 'You stink at foursomes.'"

Then the players gave him a replica of the cup signed by all of the players and he again showed his classy side.

Watson went through the Sunday singles pairings and ridiculed several members of the European side as he went through the matchups. Soon after, Watson was presented a gift by Furyk, a replica of the Ryder Cup trophy that was signed by every member of the team. Instead of thanking them, the sources said Watson said the gift meant nothing to him if the players didn't get the real Ryder Cup on Sunday and that he wanted to be holding it aloft on the green in victory.

Said one of the sources: "That's almost verbatim. He said it basically means nothing to me.''

Added another: "It was fairly shocking that he treated this thoughtful gift with such disdain.''

Another quote:

"Four sources who witnessed the proceedings in the U.S. team room at the Gleneagles Hotel said that Watson took no responsibility for any shortcomings, scoffed at a gift that the U.S. team members gave him, ridiculed several European team players and started the proceedings by denigrating the Americans' play that afternoon."

"'You could have heard a pin drop in that room,' one of those in attendance said. 'He was pissed. It all went from there.'"

More on PHIL and his comments:

Phil’s a leader,” said a source who was in the locker room all week. “His fatherhood came out. He’s a protector. He was angry with the way Watson had talked to Keegan and Webb.”

The anger percolated all day Saturday as Mickelson roamed the Centenary Course, cheering on his teammates. In the locker room that night, Mickelson never addressed Watson, nor did he face his captain, but he reportedly spoke about each of his 11 teammates. Sources said it was a heartfelt talk, and others felt similarly.

“I’ve taken to heart what he said (that) night for 18 years,” Furyk said.

Watson didn’t communicate, and he didn’t listen to his vice captains,” said one source. “He was disrespectful (to players), but it wasn’t the time or place for Phil. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Yet another source took another view. “If Phil did this in private, if he said it to Watson’s face, to (PGA of America president) Ted Bishop’s face, no changes would be made. The U.S. would continue to go down the same alley.”

Decide what you want, but as someone who has played as part of team in golf, mindset is more important than at any other time in golf.  Negativity or doubt is the worst thing that a golfer can face while under duress of a round.

Watson is an ASS, always has been and always will be.  That he was a great golfer has allowed the media to cover up his past and I find it disgusting. 

If  your interesting in an overview.

http://www.sbnation.com/golf/2014/9/30/6871439/phil-mickelson-tom-watson-ryder-cup-captain-2014

J.

LSU

Let's play what the what if game.

They are 4-2 with a trip to the swamp this weekend.

If they lose this weekend, I honestly believe that Les is going to Michigan.

The remaining schedule.

1. Florida- The back breaker.  Both coaches are in a must win mind set and neither have the ability to let the offensive coaches do their job. 
2. Kentucky- A dynamic offense that can run and pass is a 50/50 chance with the confidence crashing around everyone in Baton Rouge. If Miles gets conservative and starts pointing fingers like he did before Cam arrived they are doomed for the rest of the year.
3. Ole Miss- Loss if they try to run and use short ball control they could get blown out.  Ole Miss has athletes on defense and will score because Freeze is just a better coach at getting the ball in the end zone.
4. Bama- Loss, Saban is tired of slow down games with LSU,  I expect a bombs away attack early then run it down Miles throat. 
5. Arkansas is 50/50 with that LSU interior defense and inept ability to open the offense  up. The linebackers are weak at the point of attack and the Hogs can pound the ball.  
6. Texas A&M- Doom because by this time of the year the media and fans are screaming at Miles leading up to the game. He will still be blaming freshman and missed assignments on defense. 

Best Case.

1. Florida- Win with Harris getting most of the snaps and maturing. 
2. Kentucky - Win and Harris throws TDs.  
1. If they win with Jennings it means Miles is planning on running the ball 70% of the time and they will lose the last 4, 
3. Ole Miss- After a win and explosive offense showing at Kentucky.  LSU can win with Ole Miss starting slow. 
4. Bama- Saban losing to Ole Miss could create a situation where he beats up his players and give LSU a chance if they have beaten the Rebs Saban is tired of slow down games with LSU,  I expect a bombs away attack early then run it down Miles throat. 
5. Arkansas- They win with Harris but will lose with Jennings.
6. Aggies- They can win this game if they the young guns have any confidence by winning against two of the teams besides Kentucky. 

Can LSU really finish 4-7 with all of these top 10 recruiting classes?
Yes.

But, It seems absurd that this is happening.  7-5 seems more likely and maybe a trip to the Indepence Bowl if they are lucky.
J.

Did you ever think you would see this?

1	Florida State (35)
2	Auburn (23)
3	Mississippi State (2)
3	Ole Miss
5	Baylor

Where do I even begin with this top 5 in America through a quarter of the season.

That Ole Miss and Mississippi State are tied for 3rd in the nation is the most astonishing thing that I have ever seen.

Throw in a Baylor team at number 5 and you have signs that the world may truly be coming to an end. 

J. 

For the record, I think Baylor is far and away the most overrated.

Yet, I think the two Mississippi schools are still going to lose two games each before the season is over.  

If LSU cannot win anything, I truly hope one of these two schools makes it through undefeated. 

LSU is really bad.

Defense:
Many experts are blaming the talent at LSU for the failure.
About the same amount are blaming the Defensive Coordinator.

I am blaming the coaches, because they have had these issues for years against a spread.
These past LSU teams had NFL talent, yet we have watched everyone, but the Aggies go down the field when they spread it out.

Chavis is to vanilla and has too many reads for college kids to instinctively use in the heat of the moment.  How sickening is it hearing players say they had communication issues.  Does this sound familiar to the Cowboys fans that suffered through Rob Ryan and last year with Kiffin.  Offenses are attacking and adjusting to what they see.  Why is the defense not attacking?  Even the beloved Defense genius Saban is having problems with these complex offenses.  Why would Chavis think he can win with talent alone.

Mississippi State and Auburn averaged 8 yards a carry on first down.

That is not being prepared! The days of winning on pure talent are a thing of the past with the massive amounts of money each school in the SEC is getting now.


Offense:
The offensive line is a complete confusion to me.  We had heard the accolades prior to the season, yet it seems that the other teams have two players coming free on every play.  Coaching?
I am confused, this is the same O Coordinator that had people running multiple routes last year.  They have reverted back to the days of Jordan Jefferson/Spenser Ware, pitch it back and pray.

Can freshman really be the cause of the change in play calling?  It makes no sense to me.   Miles has to realize that they cannot stop anyone, so why keep from attacking?

My best scenario or example is Malzahn, when he took over a horrible Auburn team we knew from recruiting that they had NFL talent.  The change was that he attacks on offense in such a way that the defense plays better because the opposing teams force plays trying to keep up.
41-7!!   Does anyone really believe that LSU has worse talent than Auburn or MState?

It is going to be a rough season, if Miles doesn't turn loose Harris in a wide open scheme and try to stay close by scoring in bunches early.   The Bill Walsh, Jimmy Johnson theory still applies.  Throw early and spread them out then pound them when they clear out the 9 people in the box.

J.

Brandon Harris

So the LSU coach is finally seeing that Harris is a bit more diverse that Jennings. I was so afraid it was going to be a 7 loss season with Jennings.

But as you mentioned, His first start is in Auburn,  Miles has shown another side of the slow thinking side with this Jennings debacle.  He has sucked up all those reps with the first team and started all of the games, while it appears talent wise they are not even close. .

I realize that the Frosh probably doesn't know the entire playbook, (I have this information from a good source)  but, win or lose I am excited to see someone that can get the ball down the field that has wheels.

J.

Ryder Cup Dominance

Europe has won 8 of last 10 Cups and excluding Rory, the talent level is still much deeper in America when you consider Woods was hurt, Duffner (injury), Dustin J (drugs) Kirk and Horshel were not picked.

Phil answered a question out of frustration that may be correct in using a different format to allow these individual Americans to earn trust in groups of golfers or the Pod system Azinger used.

One tweet that made me laugh during the week was this one:
How do the players feel about Capt. Watson? One team member just texted me: "Although he's rarely right, he's never in doubt!

I didn't like the selections of Watson or his strategy, but this was not close enough to blame the captain for his views of what was happening.

So why do the USA players lose?

I will start at the top and the word is character toward others in golf.
 I do not blame the captains for this failure. I blame the chemistry that has arisen since a certain rivalry showed up.
Woods and Phil:

When Woods went on his incredible run, the media and everyone around golf accepted the outlandish character flaws he displayed on and around the course. He is well known for thinking he was above the rules.
Phil, started better with his career, but ended up alienating people during a time in his career also. But, I will give Phil credit for building the new relationships he has with these young players and providing support that they often talk about in interviews.
Furyk  is the third best player from this generation and he is the symbol of what I would term a single minded personality and just doesn't exactly exude support for others.

Our big three Ryder cup veterans are not good and two of them are not exactly personalities.
 Furyk   10-20-4  34 Matches
 Phil      16-19-7  41 Matches.
Woods  13-18-2  33 Matches.

I think this all goes back to the fact that golfers in America have become too much of individual commodities.  They lack the ability to lean on others in stressful situations.  The Euro's, love them or hate them, all talk and seem to spend more time as a group growing up on tour. (I expect this to change during the next 5 years with mass movement to the US of European players.)

Can a captain like Azinger and even Couples with his Presidents cup domination make people feel comfortable and build momentum strictly on personality maybe sometimes..  But, in my mind I think it is failure due to the additional stresses being felt because the Americans are not accustomed to depending on others when playing golf.

Bubba Golf was 0-3 and Rickie Fowler still hasn't won a point, how does that happen?  This is strictly a mental loss at some point, the Euros get better and the Americans tighten up when the chanting starts..  Fix the mental side and don't bench your winning youngsters like Watson and anything can happen.

Nothing will be fixed until a group comes through that can overcome this me first attitude.

J.

PS.
Funny, I was just surfing the net and Chamblee is blaming Phil and Tiger for failures because of selfishness...
He literally said that Phil and Tiger goof off at Ryder Cup.  He said when Sutton teamed them together they should have steamrolled everyone.

I like it.

-
I read the British papers.
We have heard this before. But while they “learn”, the memory swarms with images of what Europe’s Ryder Cup team teaches us about sport in the age of multi‑millionaires. It remains possible for a generation of players to identify a cause and pursue it unflinchingly, as one, spreading joy along the way. The contest is its own reward. America’s golfers have lost sight of that.

Cowboys Saints

A nightmare week for me while listening to the haters of the Cowboys.
Do I think that the Cowboys will win.. No, but I can hope.

Because of this mess, I wanted a refresher of the golden age of the Saints.

Since Saint Sean made Brees a Hall of Famer in 2006 with his great offensive scheme. The Saints have gone 81-50 with 5 playoff appearances.

 Dallas has gone 74-57 with 4 playoff appearances and the reputation of being a terrible team.

7 games separate these teams since 2006, during a time in which the NFC East has won a superbowl, while the NFC South has that magical Saints Season to hang its history on.
 Rather a minor number considering the abuse in Dallas and praise in New Orleans.

Now, the impressive part of the Payton's reigh is that he has won 5 playoff games and a Superbowl, while the rudderless GM in Dallas has one playoff win.   Praise Payton and realize that the Golden age of the Saints is only slightly better than the worse time in Dallas history.

J.

TX HS Football Early Returns

Three games into the Allen Eagle Road Show and the possibility of a 3-peat does not look promising.  Last year Allen had an average score differential of 50-18 through a 16-game schedule.  Through 3 games this year, it is 57-41.  I never thought the program could produce a defense like this at this stage.  Murray has been a 1-man wrecking crew: 64% completions, 1,003 yards, 11.3 yards per attempt, 10 TD's/1 interception, 426 rush yards, 15.8 yards per carry, 9 TD's.  He has had to play the whole 4 quarters each game this year.  The defense is both small and slow, not a good combination.

DeSoto has to be the favorite to come out of DFW and finally get their championship.  They are routing everyone so far, and will get a challenge this week with Cibolo Steele, followed by Cedar Hill.  Katy has already lost to The Woodlands.  Cedar Hill lost to Skyline.  Coppell lost to McKinney Boyd.  I would not relish trying to stop DeSoto with this Allen defense.  Todd Dodge is back in 6A at Austin Westlake - home of Drew Brees and Nick Foles.  That will be interesting.  They opened with a 1-point loss to Southlake.

S

College Coaches vs. Top-25

The WSJ just ran an article about major college coaches vs. top-25 opponents.  Kind of fun to look at.

With current teams: Saban 70%, Stoops 68%, Les 66%.  Meyer 67% overall.  Talent does tell.  Les was 3-12 at OSU.  Patterson going 14-14 at TCU actually impressive.  Richt at 34-31 with his talent, not impressive.  Spurrier has played 10 seasons' worth of games vs. top 25!  Easy to see why everyone loves David Shaw.

S

Peterson Respect

Looking at a few football stats this week, getting ready for the new season.  Landed on one of my favorites, Adrian Peterson, someone for whom I've always detected a slight lack of respect on your part, I guess because he only plays at 215-220 pounds rather than a Jackson or Walker-esque 235, or maybe because he's from TX?  Anyway, I'd like to point out that Peterson currently stands as only the 3rd member of the 10,000 yard club who carries a career 5.0 average yards per attempt.  The club:

Jim Brown - 5.2
Barry Sanders - 5.0
Adrian Peterson - 5.0

That's it.  7 years into a career as an old-school workhorse back, he still has that 5.0 average, placing him in the room with the immortals.  It will likely slip a bit as he ages, but will certainly far outstrip any other modern back, most of whom never sniffed 5.0 (except Jamaal Charles).  While you have pointed out that he lacks Jackson's size or speed, he combines elite explosion and breakaway speed with a vicious nature we have seldom seen.  Some respect for Adrian Peterson please.

On a side note, while looking through the list, special mention for pre-modern hall of famer Joe Perry.  With a prime that stretched from the late 40's into the mid-50's, Perry played old-style fullback for the Niners and pounded out a 5.0 average with 9,723 career yards.  He must have been a load to deal with.  Check out some of his years; amazing and now totally under-appreciated.

*Sayers had a 5.0, but only 4,956 career yards

S

Golf - Switching Era's

So after this summer the sports industry is in full discussion about whether we've reached the Rory era in golf.  We probably have, but it's usually hard to tell when you're firmly in a new era or if it's just a trend.  It's so great for any sport to have one person or team where you know they will win if they play well.  It feels like that now.  And, Rory is so likable and easy to pull for.

But, all the talk has me thinking what is Rory signing up for?  Is he ready to be the face of golf for 10 years?  Is he capable of winning at the level Tiger Woods did?  One of my favorite things is to constantly revisit great players in all sports to remind myself of how great they were.  We live in a culture where we like to move on as soon as something worthy comes along.  So, here is what Rory will find himself compared to in the coming years.

You know I like to identify a player's "prime" for comparison purposes, in all sports.  Some primes are shorter than others, but it's how you really identify the top-end greatness of someone.  Like, Koufax from 1961-1966.  So where do we nail down Tiger's prime?  I think it's clearly 1999-2008.  This stretches from when he emerged from his first big swing change under Harmon and won his 2nd major, until he dropped out of the tour after winning the U.S. Open to have a 2nd knee surgery in '08.  So, a neat 10 years.

In those 10 years, Tiger started 173 official PGA tournaments and was hardly ever "off", making 170 cuts.  He won 58 times, nearly 6 per year, and at a 33% clip.  He finished in the top 3 in 53% of his starts.  His scoring average was 1st on tour 8 of the 10 years, finishing 3rd during a swing change year, and not having enough qualifying tournaments in the other.  In the "World Golf Championship" events, with full fields, he won an absurd 15 of 27 starts in those 10 years.

We also know that Tiger made his career all about majors.  During a six-start stretch from end of 1999 to early 2001, he finished 1-5-1-1-1-1.  Overall for 10 years, he had the same 33% win clip in majors that he did in regular tournaments (13 out of 38).  He also had 5 2nds during that time.

I also found it very interesting to look at the Harmon and Haney years, with the controversial swing change in 2004.  It is considered a big mistake, however if you look at 1999-2003 with Harmon, he won 32 of 96 starts, 33%, and 7 of 20 majors, 35%.  If you exclude 2004 when he went through the swing change, from 2005-2008 when he had the major knee injury, he won 25 of 58 starts, 43%, and 6 of 14 majors, 43%.  In those 14 major starts, he went 1-2-1-4-3-C-1-1-2-2-12-1-2-1.  I'm not sure what the controversy was.  His adjusted scoring avg from 1999-2003 was 68.4 and from 2005-2008 was 68.1.

So, like Kobe and Lebron faced following Jordan, this is what Rory faces following Tiger.  That 10-year stretch was truly amazing.  For me, this won't be about talent as much as it will be about focus.  Can he keep total focus on winning golf for the next several years and make that kind of run?  I'm ready to find out.

S

More Murray

I'm sure you're weary of me posting about Kyler Murray, but wanted to let you know that he will be in Chicago this weekend to take part in the Under Armour High School All-America baseball game at Wrigley.  He is the first high-schooler to be invited to participate in both the Under Armour football and baseball games.  The game is supposed to be televised by the MLB Network on Sunday night.  The hype continues!

S

Max Preps #1

Oh my, the last time this happened, the Eagles were bounced in the 2nd round.  Crazy since we lost 10 starters from last year's defense.  But, it is good publicity and will keep those top players moving into the district!  Ha.

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/kXMnsbN2TUWkjB6-V7dPJA/maxpreps-2014-preseason-top-25-composite-high-school-football-rankings.htm

S

Kershaw and the Greats

OK, hold onto your hat for some of these amazing stats featuring Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw.

1. With a decent next start Kershaw will complete a streak of 100 starts with a total ERA of less than 2 (it is currently 1.96 for 99 starts).  The last to do it: Maddux with an absurd 132 game streak covering 4+ seasons with a total ERA of 1.99.
2. He will almost certainly finish in the top 2 of Cy Young voting again, making 4 straight years in the top 2.  The only pitchers to do it: Maddux, Pedro, Randy Johnson.
3. His current ERA is 1.82 and was 1.83 last year.  Only 3 pitchers have completed 2 seasons in a row under 2.00 in the live-ball era: Maddux, Koufax, Hal Newhouser.
4. Finally, most impressive, Kershaw currently leads the NL in both strikeouts per 9 innings (11.0) and fewest walks per 9 innings (1.2).  If he holds on, he will be the first to do it since Walter Johnson in 1913!

We are watching history.

S

Football Season

I spent all morning listening to Bill King.

Highlights.

• Florida has recruited badly and he thinks Muschamp is an idiot about offense.
• He trust Urban to win the Big 10.
• Spurrier is for real. 
• Bama is Bama
• He is like me and thinks that the BCS was the greatest thing ever.  We have to remember how bad it was prior to the BCS. 

Miles quote.
Leornard Fournette is 230lbs and the second fastest player on the LSU team.
King comments...This is LSU he is talking about.

Let's compare:
 Peterson was smaller at 210 215ish.
Only Walker, Jackson and Dupree fit that description. That is rare air.

I will mark this one up as I will believe it when I see it, but I hope it  is true.

J.

Rory makes me enjoy golf again!

He is all of 5'9" and does things that we have not seen in years with his ball speed as high as 183.79. Bubba Watson had the highest his year at 188.49 mph and averages over 183. But, The difference is control, no one is better with power and control with the modern balls and equipment..

Thinking back, maybe Greg Norman and his reported avg swing speed of 132mph s was better, Norman always seemed in balance.  Sadly, I missed Jack in his youth so I can't really dismiss his power and balance, but Rory is definitely special.

Yes, Tiger was a better overall golfer and brutally strong, but he never was fluid nor near as accurate with the big stick.
(Even when he had Harmon teaching him he was winning with his short game and the best putt reading ability we have ever witnessed.)

Rory's recent explosion made me look for a comment I had found when he was with Titleist.

"At the Titleist Performance Institute in California they have one. What they weren’t prepared for though, were the read outs when McIlroy popped over there to hit balls.

As his club made contact with the ground, so did the jaws of the technicians. “We knew Rory was fast,” said Dave Phillips from TPI, “but when we plugged him into our software, we couldn’t believe our eyes. His downswing hip speed redlined at 717 degrees per second.”

No one has hip speed like that, this was breaking new territory. The guys at Titleist had been accustomed to logging speeds more in the mid 500 range. They had never registered numbers like this. “His freakish – and that’s putting it lightly – lower body action is the reason why Rory can drive it past everyone but the very longest in the field.”

He might only be 5ft 9in tall, but his hips move from 49° closed nearing the top of the backswing, to 62° open at impact and that, say the experts, is off the scale. The average for a Tour pro comes in at 30° closed to 48° open."

I hope he wins the PGA.

J.

Messi

I mentioned to my boss who coaches youth soccer that while I was enjoying the World Cup it still bugged me that I had a hard time appreciating the great players because I didn't understand and couldn't easily identify what made them great.  He forwarded me this article on Lionel Messi.  You should appreciate it because it dives into the numbers like we would expect to do with baseball or basketball players.  Maybe a little too deep.  But this would arm you with the information to tell someone why Messi is the best, and by a wide margin.

The highlights of this article are these:  1) Messi shoots more efficiently from outside the penalty area than most players shoot from inside it,  2) Messi leads the world in both "weak" kick goals and long-range goals, 3) Messi scores on unassisted plays as well as the world's other top players score on assisted plays, 4) Messi leads the world in both taking on defenders and in dishing the ball to others.  All by wide margins.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/

I think part of our problem is appreciating small athletes.  Lebron James is 6-8 270, Peyton Manning is 6-5 230, Mike Trout is 6-2 230, Lionel Messi is 5-7 150.  Can we appreciate an athlete who dominates the world's most popular sport and is 5-7?  Messi has won world player of the year 4 times.  He has starred for 3 Champions League winners, 6 La Liga Spanish League winners, and 2 Club World Cup winners.  But can we rank him with the world's greatest athletes?  The majority of sports fans in America never will, we love measurables too much.

S

Anatomy of a Baseball Train Wreck

How does your team that you think can contend for a division championship find themselves with the worst record in baseball after two thirds of a season?  The Rangers will field their 52nd player of the season tonight, by far the most players used in baseball in 2014.  This is why Jon Daniels and Ron Washington will get a pass.  Here's what it looked like in spring training:

1B - Prince Fielder
2B - Jurickson Profar
SS - Elvis Andrus
3B - Adrian Beltre
C  - Geovany Soto
LF - Shin Soo Choo
CF - Leonys Martin
RF - Alex Rios
DH - Mitch Moreland
SP - Yu Darvish
SP - Matt Harrison
SP - Derek Holland
SP - Martin Perez
SP - Colby Lewis
Setup - Tanner Sheppers
Setup - Robbie Ross
Setup - Neftali Feliz
Closer - Jokim Soria

Instead we lost all of these for all or most of the season: Fielder, Profar, Soto, Moreland, Harrison, Holland, Perez, Sheppers, and Ross.  In addition Feliz went to AAA and Choo decided to have by far his worst season as a pro.  We lost starters 2 through 4 and all 3 setup men, the whole right side of the infield, our only experienced catcher, and our DH.

Since most of the high level prospects were traded the last 4 years during failed playoff runs, there was little to fall back on.  I don't think I've ever watched a team have this kind of luck.  The good news is that Fielder, Profar, Soto, Moreland, Holland, Perez, Sheppers, Ross, and Feliz should be back, and there are some good prospects 1-2 years away.  The little 20-year old 2nd baseman Odor looks like a real player.

There is hope, but the lost season of 2014 goes on and on, and on and on.........

S

Local Kid Feel Good Story

Back in 2004 I was following a local kid pitching at Allen High and making the Youth Team USA roster, pitching in international competitions against kids from Cuba, etc.  He was all-state as a sophomore and junior and headed for a good draft spot.  At the beginning of his senior year he blew out his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery.  I remember the sick feeling I had when I heard about it.  Then I lost track of Shawn Tolleson.

It turns out that he had an offer from Baylor, which they honored.  He recovered from the surgery, pitched 3 years for Baylor, got drafted in a low round by the Dodgers, and made his way through their system, making the majors in 2012.  In 2013, his back went bad and more surgery followed.  The Dodgers waived him, and this spring he got a call from the Rangers.  Shawn Tolleson is now pitching on an almost nightly basis in the bigs, carrying some pretty solid numbers, throwing 93-94 for the worst team in the AL, living with his wife in Allen.  It all seemed highly unlikely back in 2004.  Pretty cool.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tollesh01.shtml

S

Attention for the Eagles

Lots of attention on the Allen Eagle football program as we approach the season.  Yesterday Tom Westerberg was named national coach of the year by the National High School Coaches Association:

http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/07/allens-tom-westerberg-named-football-coach-of-the-year-by-the-national-high-school-coaches-association.html/

Here is the cover of the regional Athlon High School Football Preview magazine:

S

Simmons on Dirk

I keep explaining why I love Bill Simmons and why you should buy his book.  Here is a recent article from his Grantland site, on Dirk Nowitski.  This is typical Simmons, telling you his belief and backing it up:

Dirk is one of the 20 best basketball players of all time by any calculation. He’s the best foreign player ever not named Hakeem. Of the 10 best forwards ever, he’s behind Bird, LeBron and Duncan, right there with Doc, Elgin and Pettit, and ahead of Malone, Barkley and Rick Barry. He won an MVP and a Finals MVP. He made four first-team All-NBA’s and five second-team All-NBA’s. He won 50-plus games for 11 straight years, topped 60 wins three times, made two Finals, beat LeBron and Wade in the Finals, and won a Game 7 in San Antonio during Duncan’s prime.

And it’s not like he had a ton of help. In 15 years, he played with only four All-Stars: Jason Kidd (2010), Josh Howard (2007), Steve Nash (2002 and 2003) and Michael Finley (2000 and 2001). Amazing but true: Dirk never played with a Hall of Famer in that Hall of Famer’s prime.

During Dirk’s decade-long peak (2002 through 2011), he averaged 24.5 points and 8.8 rebounds and came damned close to creating the 10-Year 50-40-90 Club (48% FG, 39% 3FG, 89% FT). His career PER (23.48) ranks 19th all time, just behind Doc (23.58) and Bird (23.5) and just ahead of Kobe (23.36). And he was an absolutely phenomenal playoff performer: 25.6 PPG (12th all time), 24.2 PER (12th), 22.6 win shares (16th), stellar 46-37-89% splits in 135 games, and a couple of epic multigame hot streaks in 2006 and 2011. Along with Pettit, Hakeem and Elgin, he’s one of four players in the shot-clock era who averaged 25 and 10 in the playoffs. And he’s an underrated leader, a famously fantastic locker-room guy, an insanely hard worker and someone who, by all accounts, everyone loved playing with at every point of his career.

S (buy his book!)

Dirk & Melo

NBA free agency this year was certainly entertaining, with a large group of the best players up for auction, including number 1 himself.  The best polar opposite situation was Dirk's with the Mavs and Carmelo's with the Knicks.  Despite earning well over $100 million over the last 11 years, Carmelo went for the largest guaranteed cash, and will go back to a Knicks roster with practically no talent.  Even Phil Jackson was caught in the PR squeeze, having to pay $22 million per year to a player who is a volume shooter, has little all-around game, and obviously doesn't care about championships.  The basketball move for him would have been Chicago where he could have a decent chance of cementing his legacy as a winner playing for a strong coach and very sound roster.  But he apparently can't make it on $18 million per year.

Meanwhile, Dirk, like the stars down the road in San Antonio, took a large discount so he could be surrounded by better players and have some shot at another long playoff run.  This team isn't a championship contender, but it's good enough to keep the fans interested and might make some noise.  He and Duncan, along with Parker and Ginobili, are rare birds indeed, loving the game, loving their coach and teammates, and their city, willing to "make do" with $10 or $12 million a year, and chase championships.  Melo had his chance to be taken seriously, and he whiffed.  He will keep piling up points and losses, while the example of the Spurs and Dirk is utterly lost on him.

S

Kyler Murray - Elite 11 Update

Kyler Murray participated with 19 QB's last week in the "Elite 11" competition in Oregon.  From what I read he started slowly and moved up throughout the week, ultimately finishing as the 4th ranked QB among the group.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2127174-elite-11-2014-ranking-the-top-5-qbs-following-star-studded-competition/page/3

S

Futbol Thoughts

After watching some soccer over the past few weeks I've got a few thoughts:

PROS:

• My favorite thing about the games are the pace.  What I mean is that we don't suffer the maddening play stoppages seen in other sports.  You are in an out in less than 2 hours with minimal breaks.  It keeps the tension and interest high.
• I like how the drama builds as you go through the match, knowing how hard it is to score.  Combined with the lack of stoppages you find yourself really drawn in.
• It's a skill sport where the fastest and most agile clearly have the edge.  You can easily identify the great players, and they consistently produce.  I appreciate the athletic/skill level and we know that most of the best athletes in Europe and South America play the sport.

CONS:

• The officiating is awful and because of the low scores referees frequently have too much hand in determining the winner.  Too many missed or blown calls and way too much flopping.
• Too many times teams score and sit on leads, making much of the game unwatchable as they drop back into "prevent" mode.
• It's still too much of a frustration sport where you might get 8 shots on goal in 90 minutes and come up empty most of the time.  I think they need to lighten up on the offsides rule and let everyone run free.  But that would be too radical I guess.

All in all, I can appreciate and enjoy the World Cup, but I certainly don't see myself ever watching run of the mill league matches.

S

NBA Lifetime PER

I always like looking into PER in the NBA and seeing how the players stack up.  This week I looked deeper into career PER and how the historical greats compare to each other.  A significant issue with this is that the NBA did not start tracking steals and blocks until 1973 and turnovers until 1977.  Therefore, you can compare older players against each other, but you are missing a big piece of who they were, especially talking about someone like Russell who blocked a lot of shots.  So, when we look at these, keep in mind that the players who were great before 1973 are not getting a fair comparison.  As a recap, the PER basically takes all the good things a player does, subtracts the bad things, and divides by minutes played.  That's an over-simplification, but a good summary.  It says how productive players are, how much they do to help win.

NBA top 40 all-time:
















































Lebron is right on Jordan's heals, but will probably start to decline slowly going forward; I doubt he can finish #1.  Robinson is a surprise.  Bob Pettit is a huge surprise.  Good results for Dirk.  Great results for your boy Dwyane Wade.  Bill Russell is no where to be found because he didn't score, shot a low percentage from field and line, and we don't have record of his blocks/steals.  This list makes sense in a lot of ways.  Kareem played so long his numbers dropped near the end.  Barkley dominated the stat sheet.  West, Robertson, and Baylor played before the steals/blocks categories.

For fun, here is the ABA top 10 list, with ABA games only counting in the totals:
















The Doctor was operating in full flight!

S

Rangers Turnover

Watching the Rangers slog to another loss last night, I thought about how recently they were considered a model franchise after appearing in 2 consecutive world series.  I was stunned to go through in my head that we had a team in the WS in 2011 which is now almost completely turned over.  Do we have much to show for all these losses?  Here are the primary 17 players for that team:

1B - Michael Young - left in free agency, then retired
2B - Ian Kinsler - traded
SS - Elvis Andrus - still here
3B - Adrian Beltre - still here
C - Mike Napoli - left in free agency
LF - David Murphy - left in free agency
CF - Josh Hamilton - left in free agency
RF - Nelson Cruz - left in free agency
UT - Craig Gentry - left in free agency
P - C.J. Wilson - left in free agency
P - Colby Lewis - still here
P - Matt Harrison - on DL
P - Derek Holland - on DL
P - Alexi Ogando - on DL
P - Neftali Feliz - in AAA
P - Mike Adams - left in free agency
P - Scott Feldman - left in free agency

The best team in franchise history, less than 3 years later, completely turned over or decimated by injury.  And, we've traded a slew of top prospects over the last 3 years for pennant races.  Amazing how quickly things can turn.  Just sickening to look this over and see where we are.  So, has Jon Daniels blown it, or he is a victim of bad circumstances?  Most of the moves looked OK at the time and the injuries are almost unprecedented.  He will probably get a pass this year and everyone will wait to see how it looks in 2015.

S

Kershaw's No-No

I guess we would be remiss if we didn't record something about Clayton Kershaw's amazing performance last Wednesday.  According to Bill James' formula, it was the 2nd greatest start by a pitcher in the last 100 years, trailing only fellow DFW-native Kerry Wood's 1998 1-hitter with 20 K's.  Kershaw struck out 15 with no walks, the first no-hitter ever to reach that many K's without a walk.  And, despite the 15 K's, he only needed 107 pitches, reaching 2 balls on 11 batters and 3 balls on only one.  He did not throw a ball to any of the final 6 hitters.  We can only hope that Kershaw maintains his health so we get to watch these next 5-7 years of him in full force.

S

(Very) Early Committment

Our Allen Eagle right tackle, Greg Little made national news this week by committing to Texas A&M before the start of his junior year.  Little has already been called the top overall prospect for the 2016 class, but committing as an incoming junior?  Sumlin is just smoking hot on the recruiting trail, but can he win without JFF?

S

Spurs Revisited

Because I was on vacation, I missed the aftermath of the Spurs' victory.  It was strangely satisfying to me to see this group climb the mountain again.  To watch such beautiful basketball and to see it all come full circle from the brutal game of the Pistons/Knicks era.  Also nice to hear some of the tributes to Mike Dantoni from whom Popovich pilfered much of his current system.  I mean, wasn't it just fun to watch basketball at that level of quality?  We hated the NBA for years, but the Suns and now Spurs proved what could be done with the right rules in place and the right players on the court.  The game we love; movement, skill, unselfishness, shooting, find the right guy, make the right pass, pace.  As Simmons pointed out, Popovich now firmly on the NBA coaching Mt. Rushmore with Auerbach, Jackson, Riley, the 4 of them with 29 championships!  It was also pointed out in several places that the Spurs are almost completely an international team.  Hardly an American AAU player to be found on that roster.  Makes you think.

S

Eagle Stadium

The final report is in and it's as ugly as feared.  The stadium was found to have design deficiencies in several major areas, including retaining walls, concourse framing, durability, press box support, press box structure, and scoreboard support.  The district is hoping to have repairs under way by late July with an optimistic 10 month time frame.  In short, it's a total and complete failure of design, labor, and oversight and so hard to comprehend how it could happen in this day and age.  I still don't know whether the architect and contractor will cough up the money willingly or if we'll be in court for years.

www.allenisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001197/Centricity/Domain/38/Nelson%20Forensics%20-%20AHS%20Stadium%206-19-14.pdf

S

Modano HOF 2014

I know next to nothing about hockey, but I was happy with the news today that Mike Modano was elected to the HOF on the first ballot.  My very first experience with big-time hockey came when I went to see the new hot team in town, the Stars, smack in the middle of Modano's prime.  Even though I had nothing to compare, it took me about 5 seconds to figure out that the most dynamic, fastest, most athletic player on the ice was Modano, who attacked at will and skated in between and all around the opponents.  I sat close to the ice that night, and he was a blur, fast and powerful, and like most sports that combination makes the difference.  Also good to know that by all reports he is one of the nicest and down to earth big-time athletes around.

S

US OPEN

Kaymer was just fantastic and made the US Open a snooze fest for everyone.  I am already cringing at the media pundits blaming low TV ratings on a lack roid boy Woods. This is just a US Open was dominated by a great week of golf.

A recent trend in Majors has been blow-outs

• 2014 Kaymer US Open 8 Strokes
• 2012 PGA Rory 8 Strokes Record
• 2011 US Open Rory 8 Strokes. 
• 2010 British Oosthuizen 7 Strokes

Woods Dominance:

• 2000 US Woods 15 Strokes.Record
• 2000 British Woods 8 Strokes
• 1997 Masters 12 Strokes. Record

Jack

• 1965 Masters 9 Strokes.
• 1980 PGA 7 Strokes

J

Elbow Problems All Hail Greg Maddux.

When you asked me my opinion about the number of elbow injuries in baseball, I was not prepared to answer, but the more I the read into the problem, the more I believe my initial thoughts. We are teaching kids that can create high arm speed to throw with finger pressure to generate a controlled movement on the baseball.  The finger pressure is creating to much tension in the problematic ligament.

The culprit:   Ulnar Collateral ligament damage
Cause-The torque and extension of the ligament is damaging the ligament.

 I decided to research the subject and was shocked at the number of articles. A cause and effect type situation is evident, but I could not find any scientific reasoning. We know a couple of things to be factual, the human body and our ligaments can handle only so much tension before they break.

The most common reasoning in the media articles is overuse. Normally these articles blame the high school or select team coaches. The orthos are making comments about damage at youth due to growth plates and innings pitched.
 
Some doctors promote that kids need to rest their arms for longer periods, some even say it should be up to 4 months a year. For a comparison, a broken bone heals in six weeks, so I think this theory is based on something other than science.

I read comments from Dr. Jobe and he is still supporting that people should not throw at 100% of ability. I agree with him if that the person can generate enough arm speed to tear the ligament, Who am I to argue with a specialist, but I do believe that some guys have always been throwing at 100% and this is a recent epidemic, so I keep looking.  The only time people stop throwing hard is when they get to the professional level and are manipulating the ball.

None of these really explain why half of Major league pitchers have this problem.  We need the cause!

After studying and experimenting with finger pressure while throwing, I am leaning more toward my theory for the cause.  My theory is that using the modern form of finger pressure to create ball movement with arm speed is physically not possible. The tightening of certain fingers has direct relationships with certain ligaments and tendons. Basically it is not natural and the ulnar collateral ligament is exploding.
I have personal experience with this injury. I blew my ligament out and created enough torque that the bone attached to the ULC broke completely off.  I was in my late 40's when I let go of that football and my arm immediately started throbbing.  The doctor told me that I could get the Tommy John surgery, but why bother when I have no reason to throw anything with that velocity.  He also made an interesting comment that seems credible.  He said that people with explosive fast twitch muscles and hyper flexible ligaments can create ligament damage through out the body.

The blame in my opinion is that we are teaching kids that throw hard an unnatural practice. This is an example of when our body cannot handle the PSI of the movement. There will always be super freaks that can overcome this movement, but with a rash of half of the pitchers in medical care someone needs to address the situation.

j.

US OPEN - A time to see who can handle failure.

With the US Open starting tomorrow, I worry about both of my favorites players.

Before, I get into the true golf comments I want to share a story from last month at the golf course.

I was glad that David went through the qualifying events and is playing in the National Championship. He has been on an upward trend in the last month, so anything can happen if that flat stick gets hot. If he wins, I know that I will be one of many that will be tearing up.

Phil is considered a favorite in most betting odds. Vegas has him at 13/1 and most other around the same which is second to only Rory at 10/1.

Phil recently commented that this was the most important major he will ever play. I am not much in hyperbole, but at his age, the medical issues he has lived through during the last decade and most concerning the Federal SEC investigation into trading back in 2011.  Because of this, I think this feeling of importance may have some truth to it for Lefty.

His game has been down this year, which suggest age and the lack of concentration is having a huge impact. The thing about Phil is that if he can just get in contention on Saturday anything could happen.  I see he will be using the claw grip this week, which is a good thing in my mind.  The pencil or claw is definitely a stroke that is stable on really quick greens.

Rory is still the most talented golfer in the world and in my opinion it isn't close with Phil and Tiger aging mentally and physically. His ability to bomb the ball and hit every shot is unmatched when you include his emotionally stability. He doesn't have Tiger's putting stroke or Phil's arsenal around the green, but his is a birdie machine. He hits more shots close than anyone, that I have seen since Johnny Miller and Greg Norman.
It is ashamed that Nike wasted a year and a half of his life by not being able to produce clubs to match his swing like Titleist did.  The win a few weeks ago was his first in 18 Months in Europe, a ridiculous delay for someone that makes this many birdies.

My Favorites.

• Rory- If it rains we could see a show. 
• Jimmy Walker- Best player all year and he can putt the lights out. 
• Jason Day- I really hope his wrist has been healthy enough for him to get his game in order.
• Ian Poulter- He likes the stage and can put the fast greens. 
• Dustin Johnson- He should have won two already.  That collapse at Pebble can only be a learning experience. 
• Martin Kaymer- He seems back to normal.

The rest I think can win:

• Sergio- We heard for years about Westwood, but Sergio is better ball striker and if he can control his putts.  I think it would be great if he won after the ridicule and mental torture he has brought upon himself.
• Pretty Boy Scott- He deserves to be number one in the world. He is classy and so consistent, but I worry about his short game. 
• Phil - He is the US Open commander in chief, when he is focused he can win anywhere and especially at Pinehurst. 
• Bubba- If he can putt these greens and maintain focus, he could win anything. Besides who is more fun to watch that Bubba. 

NBA

Watching the Spurs is brutal for me and I cannot make myself change. The Spurs win using a scheme that I would attempt to coach if I had the opportunity. 

I am ashamed to admit that I think I pull for the Heat only because I feel that Duncan has built a career of being considered one the greatest of all time because of the team scheme he plays within. I do not see the talent that should have his name mentioned with the top players of all time.  He is good offensive center and a good defensive power forward and durable.  For the record, he is a center no matter what they spew.  He tried to guard Shaq and Hakeem, but he never followed Dirk around the court. 

The are the antithesis of the Thunder. 

 They make the most of each players talent and rarely get out of position. 

I want to scream watching the Thunder and Westbrook's effect on his teammates. One man cannot win games, but one selfish point guard can sure lose games.  The talent level at OKC is much ahead of the Heat and Spurs, but the difference is that Westbrook doesn't understand what James does for his teammates, nor what every Spur has done for a decade. 

j

The Belmont

I did pick the winner in the Derby, but I was more interested in the comments made by the owner of California Chrome about requiring other horses to run multiple races.

I really do not know where I side on this issue of making the horses run in more than just the Belmont.

Even though I agree in principle I agree with him, I would never ask the other horses to run if they cannot win or risk injury.

A triple crown has happened in past and will happen again in the future. I blame the owners, they have bred these horses with legs that cannot control the power they produce.  Maybe it is time to look into that side of racing.

J.

Nadal vs History

Where does Nadal rank in your mind? He is 28 years old and Roger Federer is about to turn 34. 

• 14 Grand Slams tied with Sampras for second.
• Roger Federer is still three ahead at 17 
• (Nadal's medical issues may let Roger keep his record.)
• Nadal 20 Finals 23 Semis and 27 Quarter finals in Grand Slams  
• Federer has 24 Finals, 34 Semis and the incredible number of 41 quarter finals.

How do we rate greatness?

1. Wins for sure
2. Excellence in short time frame (The Koufax, Earl Campbell rule)
3. What role does the talent of the competition play.

• Wins he is second to only Federer in Grand Slam events.In the 33 head to head matches, Nadal has dominated at 23-10 and 9-2 in Grand Slam events. Age does play a role and Federer has won four Slams since he was Nadal's age. 
• Excellence- They are basically the same players in terms of excellence based on age.
• Competition- I side with Nadal, because I think Federer played Roddick and aging players like Agassi when he won 9 in 4 years. 

Greatest Tennis Player Ever?  I have no idea, but I like watching Nadal more than either Federer or Sampras.  

The lack of the American competition because of the diminutive role tennis plays in America really hurts the game. 

J. 

Puig at 1 Year

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the debut of Yasiel Puig in the big leagues.  The tally:

158 games
193 hits
37 doubles
5 triples
30 homers
82 RBI
.328 BA
.406 OBP
.560 Slug %
.967 OPS

The totals for Mike Trout in his rookie campaign:

139 games
182 hits
27 doubles
8 triples
30 homers
83 RBI
.326 BA
.399 OBP
.564 Slug %
.963 OPS

These are remarkably similar numbers.  The one big difference is Trout had 49 steals, Puig 16.  Trout goes 6'2"/230 and Puig goes 6'3"/235.  Puig is 9 months older.

S

Special Athlete

Kyler Murray ended the football season as the MVP of the state championship game for the 2nd time and received the Gatorade Player of the Year award in Texas.  He entered the baseball season as an unknown 2nd baseman supposedly killing time until football rolled around again.  Here's all he did:

In 32 games, a .432 average with 8 homers, 31 RBI, and 21 steals.  He was 2nd in the DFW area in homers and announced he will play both sports in college.  What can this kid possibly do as a senior?

S

Texas High School Realignment

The Texas UIL published their bi-annual realignment for Football and Basketball today.  The committee did DFW no favors by moving the Allen/Plano district back into Region 1.  Allen will go from one of the state's smallest districts to one of the largest which will now include Plano ISD, Lewisville ISD (Hebron, Marcus, etc.) and McKinney Boyd.  They will only have room for 2 non-district games.  Region 1 will now sport these recent state winners and powerhouse programs:

District 3 - Abilene, Odessa Permian
District 5 - Denton Guyer, Denton Ryan
District 6 - Allen, Hebron, Marcus, Plano
District 7 - Coppell, Euless Trinity, Southlake
District 8 - Cedar Hill, Desoto

Someone will have to navigate that Region just to make it to the state semi-finals.  The new District 7 jumps out with Coppell, Southlake, and Trinity thrown together for the 1st time.  The interesting thing is that if all 3 make the playoffs, which is likely, then Southlake will fall to Division II because they have the lowest enrollment of the 3.  There is no other Region with anything close to the depth of programs found in Region 1.

The new enrollment figures now place Allen as the largest school in the state, followed closely by all 3 Plano schools, and Dallas Skyline.  Among the schools moving up to the biggest class (now 6A) are Denton Guyer and Highland Park.  Moving down are Longview and Lufkin.  There are 1,121 high schools in Texas playing 11-man football, including 245 at 6A and 253 at 5A.

S

Jerry Jerry Jerry

Facts:

Offense
Cowboys were 5th in league in scoring this year.
 As a reference point the Saints were 10th.
Dallas was only 6 points shy of being the second highest scoring team with Chicago and ahead of the Pats.
2012 rank 15th (106 points shy of being second.)
2011 rank 15th ( 178 points shy of being second.)

Yards
2013-16th
2012-6th
2011-11th

Dallas was 9th in the Give Away/Take Away rankings vs 2012 26th in league.
2011 9th

So Jerry and Jason change the offense.  I guess they didn't read our blog that Red cannot call plays inside the 20.

Rumors- In a year in which the offense was much more efficient in scoring, Red Jesus and his play caller were not speaking to each other at the end of the year.
Wow.

So, our boy Jerry hires a new play caller and keeps Coach Call after not letting him interview for another job.

This is going to be a long year.
J.

Super Bowl Predictor

The winner is Denver on the tried and true Point differential. The only exceptions in the past twenty years were the freak offenses or defenses.(I.E. Bills, Bears.)  Denver definitely has one of these offenses.

My gut says the Seahawks will win, but I will be pulling for an AFC team for the first time in my entire life.

J.

Dirk and the Mavs

After watching another pitiful High School Basketball shooting exhibition tonight, I was treated when I got home to see Dirk in the twilight of his career shooting rainbows.

He seems to have a found the old magic this week and I am trying to appreciate how incredible he has been during his career. After an MVP and being voted 9 times 1st or 2nd team All NBA he is truly under appreciated in the historical sense.

The two players consider the greatest during his time have been Kobe and Duncan.

Dirk stands up well to a comparison.
He was never as good defensively as either, but neither of them could ever shoot like the Big German.

Dirk-       22.6 ppg 8.1 Reb 2.6asst 0.9steals 0.9 blocks 1.9 TO 48%FG
Kobe -    25.5 ppg 5.3reb 4.8asst 1.5 steals 3.01 0.5blocks TO.  45%FG
Duncan-  20.0 ppg 11.2reb 3.1asst 0.7 steals 2.2 blocks 2.5TO  50% FG.

Duncan was the greatest of the era, Kobe will always get a downgrade on my board for his lack of leadership.  Players never got better with him and always had to defend themselves eventually.

Dirk is just great!

J.

The Manning and Brady Debate

This debate rages on and I continue to be dismayed by the people who go straight to number of Super Bowl wins and claim victory for Brady.  So, I put a few pieces of information together for comparison.  Manning has the edge in all individual categories and Brady has the edge in all team accomplishments.  We will never convince those who think QB is strictly about winning, disregarding all other evidence about who is the better player.  I don't dislike Tom Brady, but his supporters make me come close.  I pray that Manning will get his 2nd Super Bowl and 5th MVP, but even then the Brady crowd will never admit defeat.

S

 

Seahawks and Drafting

It was written in the paper today that Seattle has drafted 12 of their 22 Super Bowl starters in the last 4 drafts, and 8 of the 12 came after the 1st round.  I'm always reminded when watching the NFL that despite all the superstar headlines, the league is really about evaluating, drafting, and developing.  In football you need a lot of good players, not just 4 or 5 splashy names.  It appears that Carroll has brought that eye to the NFL like Jimmy Johnson did.  It was also kindly noted that the Cowboys drafted the immortal Josh Thomas 11 slots ahead of Richard Sherman.  Awesome.

S

NBA Efficiency Rankings

NBA's efficiency rating: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − ((FGA − FGM) + (FTA − FTM) + TO))

Performance Index Rating: (Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks + Fouls Drawn) − (Missed Field Goals + Missed Free Throws + Turnovers + Shots Rejected + Fouls Committed)

I have started digging into the data after looking at the All Time Ratings that you posted..
It is a fun statistical reference, but as the original author has said it has flaws and is based on too much offense. 

I think this will be fun to see if we can figure out a way to include a better feel for DEF vs OPP with League numbers included. 
=
One glaring error on the historical side is the numbers from Blocks/Steals/Turnovers prior to 1973.
The primary hole in the formula is with none other than Wilt.

By all accounts that I have ever read, it is safe to assume that he averaged over 6-8 blocks per game. Most historians have documented the incredible number that he blocked.  When you include the fact that he was quicker than the small forwards it is safe to assume that his steal number would be above the league numbers and even Kareem average 1 a game.

Using Wilts Career 30pt + 23RB + 4.4ast+ 6 blocks + 1.6 steals = 65
Less
 (22.5-12.1) 10.4 + (11.4-5.8) 5.6 + TO 2.7)  TO is Kareem number. =18,7
 65-18.7 = 46.3

Wilts Career on NBA efficiency 46.3. 

Jordan
30.1 + 6.2 + 5.3 + 2.2 + 0.8  = 44.6 
11.5 + 1.4 + 2.7=15.6
44.6- 15.6= 29

Jordan Speith

I watched the young gun collapse down the stretch yesterday in what was a great tournament.
The disgust on his face after the back to back 75's did not look like defeat.  It looked like he was just pissed.

I like him more each time I watch him, it is hard for me to understand his power.
His putting was off or he still would have been in a play-off at the very least.

J.

Cowboys

Is futility the word to use when "8-8" seems like a unlikely positive going into next year?

Let's review:
The same coaching staff, the same players and the same GM.
(I will post on this debacle later, it is too ludicrous to even write down at this time.)

Most of the key components either Old or Injury Prone.
Lee, Austin, and Murray are always hurt. Even Dez has issues in this department.
The aged ones Romo, Witten, and Ware are definitely over the hill.

Last years draft was a huge improvement, but who knows what to expect this year.

We can just enjoy Smith, Frederick. Bryant and Bailey.(Wow, how desperate am I as a Cowboys fan to mention a kicker that signed a guaranteed contract.)

The Draft:
Before anyone predicts anything, I would spend the next two years drafting for four years from now.
I would take Lineman ONLY.  Maybe a 70/30 split with Offensive Lineman being primary target.

With two more quality offensive lineman and the new blocking scheme, Dallas can continue to be productive and maybe keep Romo from dodging people within 2 seconds.  The new scheme is vastly better on running, but Romo still takes way too many hits and near hits to survive for 3 more years.

Defensive Line:
I understand the notion that a great defensive end makes the entire offense better, but I do not think he should take precedent over another OT.  I wish Dallas had a big man in the middle to push back the center and guard more than I desire a DE.

Safety:  I do not trust them picking a Safety. I would rather they have serious discussions with the coaches that are responsible for the DB's.   With the next generation of passing games, I see playing more CB's and a big hitter at Safety.

Linebackers:  If healthy this is a wash, I think it starts with DL, unless they want to go to fast player than can actually run with the new TE's.

J.

Since the HOF Vote has me on Baseball and PED's..

I did not want the Red Sox to win the series and I surely do not ever, ever want David Ortiz to be a celebratory because of his unexplained leaner body and power at his age.

In the past, I would always tell you players that I believed were juiced and nearly to a person the stories have come out as probable. Well, I never assumed that Ortiz would be considered anything but when he was mentioned with Ramirez in 2003. But here we are 10 years later and people do not seem to care.

David Ortiz at the age of 35 suddenly becomes a 300 hitter.
AGE
35 - 309
36 - 318
37 - 309

Previous 3 years.
32 - 264
33 - 238
34 - 270

Something is stinks!

J.

Rafeal Nadal

Nadal losing in the finals was disappointing and I truly felt terrible for him.
The crowd actually booed RAFEAL NADAL!  (When he calls a medical time-out, I think this man has earned the right not to be questioned.)

Watching the tears and disappointment from him afterwards re-established my respect for his status as a great of all-time.His post match reactions and lack of quickness during the match made it obvious that something was different than the other losses that we have seen him endure.  I believe he was having back issues again, these issues have cost him the status as the greatest we have ever seen. To his credit, he did not walk off the court like we have seen out of so many tennis players in the last 20 years.

A reminder of how good Nadal has been:

1. Age Nadal 27 Roger 32
2. Grand Slams: 88.06% winning record. Roger 86%.
3. Nadal has 13  slams Pete has 14   Federer has 17.  
4. Head to Head with Roger- 23 wins 10 Losses and has not lost to Federer in a Grand Slam since 2007 at Wimbledon the age of 21. 
5. Career Record in Top Flight Matches 83.71%  Roger Federer 81.10% Sampras 77%, Borg  82% retired at 26. 

 I am not trying to downplay Federer who is just GREAT, maybe he is the greatest ever, I will not argue.
Federer has never missed a Grand Slam, which proves not only is he great on all surfaces, but he is one tough man.

It makes you wonder what if with Nadal missing 2009 and 2012 with knee injuries. With some better health, Nadal would likely be the lead dog in the argument for the greatest since Laver.

How great is this rivalry?
They have combined for 30 grand slams!
The best rivalries we ever saw were the Borg, McEnroe, Connors.  The three of them combined for 26.

As a side note:  What is the ideal size to be the greatest Tennis Player?
These three- Nadal, Federer and Sampras are listed at 6'1".

J.

MLB Hall of Fame Class

Now this is a hall of fame class!  No "pretty good".  All greatness.  The coolest thing is Maddux and Glavine going in together.  They started their careers 1 year apart, finished in the same year, started over 1,400 games combined, pitched over 9,000 innings, won 660 games and 6 Cy Young awards, and never over-powered a single batter between them.  Throw in Frank Thomas and this class ranks with the all-time best.

Maddux - won at least 15 games 17 years in a row, won 4 consecutive Cy Young awards, led the league in ERA 4 times, had ERA's of 1.56 and 1.63 in back to back years in the steroid era, had a 3-year run with 96 starts and 71 total walks, finished 128 games over .500, 355-227.  Maddux likely had the greatest command of his pitches in the history of baseball.  In his prime he simply did not allow pitches to hit while never walking anyone.  A top-10 all-timer.

Glavine - in the age of vanishing 20-game winners, won 20 five times, leading the league in wins each time, 2 Cy Young awards, 102 games over .500, pitched a 1-hitter to clinch a World Series, finished 305-203.  Like Maddux, he just put the ball where he wanted for over 20 years and never gave in.

Thomas - after being passed on by the Rangers as too 1-dimensional in the draft, Thomas ripped apart the American League hitting over .300 his first 8 years and 10 times total, pounded out 521 homers and over 1,000 extra-base hits, won back to back MVP awards, led the league in OBP and OPS 4 times each, and finished with this incredible career line: .301 avg., .419 obp, .555 slug, .974 ops.

S

Annual Mid-Season NBA Efficiency Rankings

I typically try to look at the NBA efficiency rankings around this time every year.  Pretty much the same cast of characters.  The one youngster making an impact is Anthony Davis.  I'm not listing them all, but it's always interesting.

1.  Durant - 30.5 - carrying the load and better than ever
2.  Lebron - 29.0 - cruising a little bit more but still the best when he needs it
3.  Chris Paul - 27.4
4.  Kevin Love - 27.4 - why didn't he force a move to a big market?
5.  Anthony Davis - 26.9 - shooting up the charts, finally healthy
6.  Demarcus Cousins - 26.3 - is he worth the trouble?
7.  Brook Lopez - 25.9 - out after just 17 games
8.  Carmelo - 23.6 - why does everyone bag on 'Melo?
9.  Lamarcus Aldridge - 23.4 - going to a new level with good young team
10. Dirk - 23.2 - healthy again, fading but only slowly
12. Paul George - 22.7
13. Steph Curry - 22.4 - so fun to watch
13. Blake Griffin - 22.4
17. Dwayne Wade - 22.0
18. Dwight Howard - 21.6
19. Russell Westbrook - 21.4
21. James Harden - 21.3
29. John Wall - 20.3 - starting to figure it out?
38. Kyrie Irving - 19.8 - a little disappointing
47. J.J. Redick - 18.7 - nice story

S