NFL Ratings

I do not know who to believe on the TV ratings game, but when I heard people saying that the NBA was catching the NFL, I knew that hiring former players as broadcasters had gone way to far.

It is being reported that the biggest viewing audience in 20 years for a world series game 5 was larger at 13.1 than the mid-season game for the Cowboys and Eagles at 10.2.
Shocking to me that the world series with the Media darling Cubs still barely rates ahead of mid-season game in the NFL.

Let's use real numbers for World Series:
Game 1- 19.3 Million up 20%
Game 2- 17.4 Million up 27%
Game 3- 19.4 Million up 47%
Game 4- 16.7 Million up 23%
Game 5- 23.6 Million Highest game 5 since 2009

Cowboys- Eagles 18 Million, This is down from previous years in the 24 Million range

Other numbers to ponder"

• Warriors vs Pelicans 1.875 Million
• Jags vs Titans on Thursday 5 Million
• The OReilly Factor  3,831 Million
• Arkansas Alabama 4.4 Million
•  LSU Auburn 4 Million vs Cub Giants 9.7 Million. Head to Head. 
• Giants Vikings Monday night 13 Million
• Saints Falcons opposite Debates 8 Million
• AFC championship game last year 53 Million. 
• 33 Million watched Alabama vs Clemson.
• NBA Finals runs around 20.5 Million with Cavs Warriors, which is up. 
• The Masters 17 Million in final round. 
• College Basketball 2015 28.3 million and last year 22.3 million. 

Basically, the NFL is in a class of its own and Football is king.
College Football is second.
Then take your pick,
I think it is College BBall,
NBA
MLB
Golf.
Hockey Finals barely beats SEC Football games at 5 Million on  a good night.
Nascar runs big races between 1.4 and 3.6 million viewers/

I did find statistics to suggest that the decline in the NFL this year has been slowing happening since 2013.

This 10% mark they are discussing is from 11% to 10% on the games.
Basically all sports are down from what I can see.


J.

Kershaw's ERA

Clayton Kershaw finished this year with a career ERA mark of 2.37 after 9 seasons.  Checking the career lists, he sits 24th all-time.  However, to put it into context, to find anyone on the list who was a starter and who would qualify as modern-day, you have to go all the way to #88 where Whitey Ford sits at 2.74.  Mariano Rivera is at #13 with a 2.21, but of course he only had to produce in 1-inning stints.  So, there are no starters who pitched in the live-ball era that are closer than a third of a run to Kershaw, which is statistically miles away.  It's just exceedingly rare in sports to see anyone perform at a level so far above anyone else.  I just wish he could translate into the playoffs.

S

Running Backs coming out . It has started.

1. Najee Harris- 6'3" 226 4,6
Antioh Calf... Committed to Bama.
Just heard a guy on Bill King say that he is best RB prospect in 10 Years and best at Bama.
I think he based in on his fluid ability in the passing game along with his freak size.  

2. Cam Akers 5'11" 213 4,44
Clinton, Ms,  Brian watched him last week against South Panola.
Committed to Bama, then decommited and reopened...Urban is calling.
One article tried to say he was better than Dupree and Walter.


I guess the fact that Saban had both of them a couple of weeks ago is scary..

For 2017 on 24/7, the current rankings.
1. Ohio State
2. Bama
3. LSU
4. Sooners

Rivals
1. Bama
2. Ohio St
3 LSU
4. Okla

Espn
1. Bama
2. Ohio State
3. LSU
4. Ga

It is all about the coaches.
The best in the nation to me.
Saban
Meyer
Kelley
Harbaugh

Living in Louisiana sure does help the Hat.

J

Your Duncan / NBA Greats Post

I've never really tried to do this, but I'm impressed that you did, and I can appreciate your list.  You can call this my semi list because I'm not totally convinced myself.  But here are some thoughts.

1/1A - Jordan/Kareem - I can't seem to make up my mind.  Probably Jordan because of the defense.  He was the best athlete and Kareem had the most brutally efficient set of skills.  There was just no stopping either of them.  The sky hook was the most automatic, unstoppable shot in the history of the league and no one ever carried a lesser team to greater heights than Jordan, the most ruthless, competitive athlete we may ever see.  Kareem won 6 MVP's and 6 rings while Jordan had 5 and 6.

3 - Lebron - The King just defies description as an all-around player and physical marvel.  He can guard almost everyone on the floor, is usually the best passer on the floor, may be the strongest player on the floor; he can score, rebound, distribute, plays hard, and takes responsibility for his position in the game.  He's gaining on the top rung.  Now a 3-time champ plus 4 MVP's and he's 2nd all-time in MVP 'shares'.

4 - Bird - Always the guy you want to take the biggest shots; the most cold-blooded long-distance shooter we've ever seen.  I think Bird has now become underrated as he broke down before Magic and was a shell of himself at the end.  4th all-time in MVP 'shares', 9-time 1st-team all-NBA, 3-time champ and 3-time MVP.  Career shooting percentages of 50/38/88.  I'll tie my fortunes to Bird anytime when he was healthy.

5 - Robertson - I really hate putting Robertson up here because by most accounts he was an ass who everyone hated, and he got traded in his prime, but he was a 6-5 point guard who could do everything and was 1st team all-NBA 9 straight years.  He was averaging nearly 30 points while leading the league in assists, and his shooting % was healthy.  His numbers are amazing but there is a little hint of putting up huge meaningless numbers on mediocre teams.  Just 1 MVP and 1 championship.

6 - Magic - It's kind of easy for me to forget the specimen Magic was early in his career.  A 6-9 package of speed, strength, and basketball IQ.  He totally controlled games and could pretty much do whatever he needed to.  He does suffer because he had Kareem to fall back on, and didn't have to score.  That big smile tends to obscure his competitiveness and drive to win.  3-time MVP, 5-time champ, 5th all-time in MVP 'shares'.

7/7A - Wilt/Shaq - 2 physical freaks of nature who had no clue how to play basketball.  Neither could shoot outside of 5 feet, both were somewhat selfish, neither could hit a free throw, but they dominated with sheer physical presence and put up numbers too big to ignore.  Wilt's were off the charts but no one had a good thing to say about him and he was traded twice.  He won 2 championships and 3 MVP's.  Shaq won 4 championships, just 1 MVP and was 1st-team all-NBA 8 times.

9/9A - Hakeem/Duncan - One had the most ridiculous raw athletic ability at 6-10 we've ever seen, and one was the ultimate in fundamentals and team play.  I just love than Duncan was the driving force behind so many years of excellence, while the Dream was the most fun to watch outside of Jordan.  5 titles for Duncan and 2 for Hakeem.

11 - West - How it hurts me to leave him out of the top 10.  27.0 points for his career!  Smaller than the rest of this group and not a physical presence, but everyone loved and respected him to the highest degree.  West was 10-times 1st-team all-NBA and averaged those 27 points without a single 3-pointer.  He shot well, especially for that era, but never won an MVP.

12 - Pettit - I love how Simmons imagined Pettit as the 6-9 bald white guy with a goatee and a few tats, playing power forward with a vengeance in today's league.  He dominated a much different NBA.  Career 26 points and 16 boards, 10-time 1st-team all-NBA, twice MVP.

That's my dirty dozen.  We're a little short on 3-point shooting but embarrassingly rich in physical presence and pure skill.  I start West, Jordan, Kareem, Lebron, and Bird.  I need West and Bird for the shooting while Jordan and Lebron lock down anyone they match up with.  West and Lebron can distribute, Kareem can drop sky hooks or kick to my shooters, and Jordan can slash.

* A word about Bill Russell.  Russell was by all accounts a phenom on defense and I appreciate that more than most.  However he averaged 15 points per game while shooting 44%, and we're evaluating the all-time greats.  He played in an era where it was easy to score, and he didn't have to carry any offensive responsibilities.  He never had to get the team a bucket when it mattered.  I can never put him in my top 12 despite the championships and intangibles.

S

Michael Phelps - Farewell

I wanted to follow up on your post on Michael Phelps.  I’ve been trying to figure out where I rank him with the all-time athletes.  My problem is I’m not sure how I really feel about swimming.  He is one of those prodigies born to a specific sport.  His body, arms, hands, feet, etc. were designed for swimming.  Like other great athletes, he went through the prodigy phase, had the focus and work ethic to realize his potential, dominated in his prime, and piled up the accomplishments over time.  Let’s look at the case for Phelps:

• Career achievements – over the span of time when Phelps was age 18 – 31 he competed in 9 Worlds & Olympics, swimming 37 individual championship races.  He won a staggering 27 golds, 7 silvers, 1 bronze, and failed to medal twice in those 37.  As you commented in your post, I seriously doubt we will live to see anyone approach those totals on the men’s side.
• All-around ability – Phelps never won the glamor race, the 100m freestyle.  Yet, he dominated the medleys, demonstrating that he was the best all-around swimmer in the world over and over.  He also had a specific stroke where he was the world’s best – the butterfly.  And, he was world class in both freestyle and backstroke, holding the 200m freestyle world record for quite some time, and qualifying for the Worlds in backstroke, although he never swam it there.  His freestyle and backstroke relay splits were among the best in the world.
• Peak dominance – in 2007/2008 at the Worlds and Olympics, he went 10 for 10 in individual championship races and set 8 world records in the 10 events.  He also set 16 individual world records during major international meets and still holds 3 of them at retirement.  He also shares 4 relay world records as of right now.
• Intangibles – he made the Olympics at age 15 and again at age 31.  He was also able to leave the sport for as long as 2 years at a time and return to re-capture his dominance.

One thing I know is that the world stopped to watch Michael Phelps; we knew were seeing something special, and that means a lot.  How he compares to people such as Ruth, Jordan, Nicklaus, or Gretzky I don’t know, but he is in the conversation.  And, man was it fun to watch.

S

Almost Great Post.

How can I argue with anything you have written. \

Olivia shocked me when you had him so high, but as usual, your knowledge of baseball surpasses my knowledge.

I love the Will Clark and Nomar comments most of all,
 I wish the HOF would judge people in the prime of their careers.

I found  your Dave Parker comments most interesting, he was the most feared player in baseball for a few years and that is a comment reserved for the likes of Brett, Arod, Griffey, (Bonds if excluded for obvious reasons.) Arod was the most dominant prior to his debacle, a fact Bonds will never ever have..

Dale Murphy was the best in baseball for two years and Jack Morris is being forgotten on his career.

I would add Steve Garvey, 10x Allstar, NL MVP, 4 time gold glove winner and the best player on the second best team during a great time prior to baseball expansion.
My favorite shortstop not in HOF is Trammel.  Bill James 9th ranked SS of all time!
Last but not least Edgar Martinez is just a great hitter.

We get into the Roids era and have Bagwell with HOF numbers,

Is Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris not in HOF for some reason?

J

Michael Phelps

No words describe the dominance we have seen while watching Phelps.

He has 20 Gold Medals and still has two more races to go. Currently he has 12 Individual Gold Medals

I am in awe of the dominance, I never expected him to win the 200 meter Butterfly tonight.

Like DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, Gretzky 1000 pt lead in career points in NHL and Wilt at 50ppg for a season.  This is untouchable.
Yes, Bolt is about to do something very special, but it isn't the multiple events like phelps.

I don't think we will see Phelps' record broken.  Ever!  
(Especially by a male. I can see a female like Babe D. coming in women's sports and creating a stir.)
.
I read where it had been since the year 2 BC that someone won 12 individual golds.
After 2000 years my Leonidas has company as the top Olympian.

J. 

Duncan was a thorn in my side because of Dirk, but he was great!

Praise for Duncan

I have Duncan in my top 12 all time.
His outside shot was underrated, while his defense did not represent his his rankings on all defensive team.

Most importantly, I have him ahead of Kobe.

1. Wilt, Jordan, Kareem.  Take your pick on the order.
Three truths for me.
Wilt is most dominant on both ends.
Jordan was best player, due to quickness and ability to play defense
Jabbar was best player on a team with Magic and he was old.
4. Lebron, Russell -  Truth is Wilt was better than Russell and Lebron deserves to be in top 4.
6.  Bird, Magic -- Really, I should put Bird ahead since he was the best  player on his team for years and Magic had Kareem.
8. Mikan
9.Roberson,Pettit
11. Hakeem, Duncan, West-  A little recognized fact that the combo of Duncan and Robinson could not handle the Dream.
13 Shaq-  Hate him or love him, he was the most dominant player in the league outside of Jordan for years.

I still get a kick out of efficiency ratings when they didn't include blocks and steals for Wilt, Pettit, Mikan, and Russell.

J

AP Historical College Football Rankings

The AP released their rankings of the greatest college football programs based on 80 years of their own poll data this week.  Using a simple formula where you get 1 point for appearing in the poll, 2 points for being ranked #1 in a poll, and 10 points for finishing #1 in the final poll, they tabulated all the points and ranked them 1 - 100.  There is absolutely no surprise in who finished in the top 5; it would be an easy guess although the order could be debated.  I was pleasantly surprised however with where LSU finished: number 11, which is pretty stout over an 80 year period.  SEC with 8 of the top 21.  Most times ranked #1, Ohio St. with 105, OU with 100.

1. Ohio St. - 1,112 points - 5 championships - 77% of all polls
2. Oklahoma - 1,055 points - 7 championships - 71%
3. Notre Dame - 1,042 points - 8 championships - 69%
4. Alabama - 993 points - 10 championships - 67%
5. USC - 974 points - 5 championships - 67%
6. Nebraska - 901 points - 4 championships - 65%
7. Michigan - 894 points - 2 championships - 73%
8. Texas - 822 points - 3 championships - 63%
9. Florida St. - 714  points - 3 championships - 48%
10. Florida - 674 points - 3 championships - 51%
11. LSU - 655 points - 2 championships - 52%
12. Penn St.
13. Miami
14. Tennessee
15. Georgia
16. Auburn
17. UCLA
18. Texas A&M
19. Michigan St.
20. Washington
21. Arkansas
22. Clemson
23. Pittsburgh
24. Wisconsin
25. Iowa

http://collegefootball.ap.org/top-100

S

The Hall of Very Good (Part 3)

More nominees for my Hall of Very Good:

Whenever HOF voting comes around, Jack Morris becomes a popular subject of discussion.  There is some reason for his supporters: 254 wins, 3-time 20-game winner, 6 times with at least 18 wins, and 5 times in the top 5 of Cy Young voting.  Morris was a solid workhorse for 13 seasons and is hurt by his 3.90 career ERA.  He is certainly close to a hall-of-famer, but I rate him below Mussina.

Mark Grace is another big-time pro hitter with only fair power who sprayed hits all over the field for 16 years but falls short of HOF numbers.  Grace hit over .290 for 12 seasons and finished at .303 with an OPS of .825.  He also had 511 doubles and nearly 2,500 total hits.  He was, yes Very Good.

Joe Carter ripped 396 homers including a walk-off to win a World Series.  He had six 30-homer seasons and ten 100-RBI seasons, and was a consistent power threat, running off 12 straight seasons of 20+ dingers.  He was also a stolen base threat for the first half of his career.  For his entire career he averaged over 100 RBI per 162 games.

Dale Murphy was the rare back-to-back MVP winner in the 80's and considered one of the top 2 or 3 players in the game for a short time.  He was really good for about 7 years and fell off quickly.  But he totaled 398 homers and was one of the real good guys in all of sports.

A player with true HOF talent who was on a HOF trajectory before injury was Don Mattingly.  For 6 seasons Donny Ballgame may have been the best hitter in baseball rolling up a batting title, an MVP, a 2nd place MVP vote, and leading the league in hits twice, doubles 3 times, RBI once, and slugging once.  His average over that span was .327.  Back problems derailed Mattingly who played 6 more seasons with no power.  But he was on track to be an all-time great.

S

The Hall of Very Good (Part 2)

I'll pick up the nominations with our cajun friend Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry.  Guidry won 170 games for the Yankees with a .651 WL%.  A 3-time 20-game winner, he of course threw down one of the greatest seasons in MLB history in 1978 going 25-3 with a 1.74.  Guidry was a late bloomer clocking in at 26 years old when he became a full-time player so only had about 9 prime years, but he registered a Cy Young award along with a 2nd and 3rd.

A feared slugger from the pitching rich late 60's and early 70's was Dick Allen.  Allen won an MVP award, had six 30+ homer seasons, and finished with 351.  He hit .292 lifetime and most impressively had a .534 career slugging % and .912 career OPS.  This was very close to a HOF career with his surly attitude likely hurting him with the voters.

Here's a great example of a very good player who falls just short of HOF; Al Oliver.  A guy who hit over .300 11 times with a career avg. of .303.  Had over 2,700 hits and over 500 doubles.  Won a batting title in 1982.  A total professional hitter who suffers a bit from mediocre power numbers, just 219 homers.  A guy who just went under the radar for 18 seasons banging out hits.

A real favorite of mine was Matt Williams of the Giants.  Williams was a classic slugging third baseman who smashed 378 homers and had some of the softest hands I ever saw at third.  He scored 4 Gold Gloves while hitting over 30 homers 6 times with a high of 43.  One of the few players that I actually looked forward to see play the field.

Can you bang out over 2,800 hits, 480 doubles, 380 homers, and 1,600 RBI and not land in the HOF?  Apparently yes, as Harold Baines can attest.  Baines hit .289 over 22 seasons with an .820 OPS but as quality as he was, he had a grand total of 1 item of black ink in his career, leading the league in slugging in 1984.  A high quality player for a long time who never had any magical seasons or was dominant in any way.  A perfect entry for the Hall of Very Good.

More to follow...............

S

The Hall of Very Good (Part 1)

I've joked for years about certain MLB players who had great careers, but for various reasons won't see the hall of fame.  Maybe they were really solid every year, but didn't lead the league in anything, maybe they had a short prime, or had debilitating injuries.  But in their window, they were playing at a near or even at a hall of fame level.  I'm going to start nominating some players as time allows for my "Hall of Very Good".

First would be Nomar Garciaparra who I posted on recently.  A 2-time batting champ who finished with a .313 career average along with a .521 slugging avg. and .882 OPS.  Garciaparra was on a HOF trajectory before injuries derailed him.  He had about 7 really good years but for those who remember his first 6 healthy ones in Boston, he was about as good as anyone.

Another favorite of mine is Mike Mussina.  Mussina won 270 games pitching mostly in the steroid era.  270 wins is higher than many in the HOF.  He won in double figures 17 years in a row, and had at least 18 wins 6 different times.  I actually would have voted him in before Smoltz.  His 3.68 ERA is his downfall, but in that era, it wasn't bad, and he was a workhorse.

One of your favorites, and mine was Will Clark of the Giants.  Will also suffered from comparisons of the steroid freaks, and was injury prone.  Injuries frequently robbed him of partial seasons, so his career averages look better than the single seasons.  Career .303 avg., .497 slugging, and .880 OPS.  He hit over .300 in 10 of 15 seasons, had a 2nd and 4th place MVP finish, and had one of the sweetest lefty swings ever.

In my opinion, probably the best player ever not in the HOF might be Tony Oliva of the Twins.  Oliva had 8 great seasons in a row in the mid to late 60's, lost a year to injury, and came back to 3 solid seasons before early retirement.  The classic case of not building enough career totals for the HOF.  Oliva won 3 batting titles and led the league in hits 5 times, doubles 4 times, and finished 2nd in MVP voting twice.  Career avg. was .304, OPS .830.  The black ink alone looks like a HOF'er.

Who can forget "the Cobra" Dave Parker?  Parker actually rose to the level of arguably the best player in baseball in 1977-1978, winning back to back batting titles and an MVP.  He had over 2,700 career hits, over 500 doubles and 330 homers, and also had a 2nd and 2 3rd place MVP seasons to go along with his win.  He was also a physical specimen with a cannon in right field.

More to follow.....

S

Duncan Era Ends

Below is a re-post that I did on Tim Duncan in 2012.  Duncan leaves after 19 seasons, never missed the playoffs, never saw a season with a winning % below 60%, ended up with 5 rings.  I looked up a few stats; Duncan was twice league MVP, 3 times finals MVP, 10 times first-team all-NBA, 13th all-time in career PER, and if you believe any defensive metrics, 2nd all-time in defensive win shares.  I heard Avery Johnson talk this week about how shocked the team was in Duncan's rookie year when he showed up at camp and began outplaying David Robinson in practice.  He was boring, so we tend to forget the talent.  I'm not sure where I rank him; top 15 certainly, not sure about top 10.  But, who cares?  An all-time great any way you cut it and the most humble superstar we'll ever see.

I just read the new article in SI about Tim Duncan. It really made me think about how we choose our favorite players. We gravitate toward the mega-talents with big, exciting games who do the fantastic things; like Josh Hamilton, Kevin Durant, etc. The funny thing is I sit down and watch my favorite players and typically get frustrated. Hamilton swings at anything he sees despite the game situation. Durant too easily settles for long jumpers. But when I watch Duncan, I just shake my head in appreciation of how he does everything right.


Imagine a player coming along with these attributes:

1. Supremely gifted athletically – 1st team all-pro talent
2. 7 feet tall
3. Concentrates on fundamentals
4. Has little ego
5. Can put up any numbers necessary but doesn’t care about stats
6. Works to improve all facets of game, not just the flashy ones
7. Leads quietly and by example
8. Is proficient as a scorer, passer, rebounder, defender
9. Has no use for the trappings of fame and adulation
10. Never undermines management

I would challenge you to look at Duncan’s run in San Antonio and compare to any player/team/coach situation ever. Since Duncan arrived, SA has the best winning % of any team in any American team sport. They built that organization around Duncan and have a .700+ winning % and 4 championships to show for it. In truth, Duncan is the holy grail of athletes. Someone who has hall of fame talent, cares about winning, is a leader, is loyal, works hard, and doesn’t chase money/fame.

As a sports fan, I’m kind of embarrassed that we put any other type of player above Duncan in our attention. He is the guy we should all value the most, especially in this age of 24/7 news and twitter. He hit the league, made all-NBA and all-Defensive 13 years in a row and won 4 championships. His game is a training video waiting to happen and he does it all exactly right. No commercials, no twitter, no tabloids, no drama, just hoops.

S

US OPEN

Oakmont history makes this place legendary, but it doesn't play as gorgeous on TV.

It is possible that Fox is too new at golf, but it may be the openness of the course.
I do expect the difficulty of the course to take its toll on everyone and the best players with one or two surprises to be playing for win Sunday.

Because of the roll on the fairways, I really think big hitters only have an advantage from the rough and not the course itself.

I expect Jordan, Phil and Dustin to stay in the hunt.
Rose, Willet, Scott seem primed.

Day and Rory can struggle on really fast greens.

I hope Sam Burns makes the cut as amateur.

College Baseball Polls and Big 12 putting on Show.

The entire year the polls had the SEC and ACC with most of the top 15 teams.

Well it is down to Florida beating Fla State to have one SEC team and Fla State for ACC to have two.

I would not be surprised if Florida wins the entire thing, but the Big 12 needed some love.

The Big 12 has rolled and my new favorite player is the freshman called Thor at TCU.
Luken Baker, last years Gatorade player of the year from Spring is a beast, I knew he had a mid 90s fastball, But it is a joy to see someone sans the steroids era hitting mammoth shots.

J.

Wilt 100

I recommend watching "Wilt 100" on the NBA channel.

Sometimes, I forget why I still consider him the greatest that ever played basketball.
Jordan was the greatest all around player of the modern generation,
Kareem was the most important player that I have ever seen.

Wilt, words cannot describe what he actually did on the basketball courts.

1. Points- No words 
2. Rebounds - No Words  
1. Led league his last 3 years at  over 18. (For those naysayers, the Hall of Fame is full of centers he dominated in his old age.)
3. Blocks- Almost surely the best ever because of the minutes he played. 
1. Only 112 games of Wilts career are checked for Blocks... His Avg 8.8 per game. That includes the playoffs against Russell and Nate Thurmond. 
2. Hakeem one of our faves averaged 3.5 which is incredible. 
4. DWS- Defensive Wins - Underrated at fifth all time. Russell is 1, but blocks and steals were not part of the equation.  Let's consider Tim Duncan is 2nd ahead of Jordan and Wilt. An adjustment needs to be made on DWS.
5. OWS- Offense - Lets just say his bad night when he was triple teamed still is in another atmosphere to anyone. 
6. Win Shares- 2nd all time, not behind Russell, but it is Kareem again.  

These numbers are insane. 

j. 

Fun College Football Analytics

http://cfbmatrix.com/

This is a really good website to judge some of the questions regarding coaches and teams.
Specifically, I like the coaching rankings based on winning or losing against teams with more or less talent.

As you would expect two of the questionable fellows are on the losing end.
The author calls it Anti Coach Effect of the Year-2015, it is based on plus 1 for winning a game as underdog and negative one for losing. 

Charlie Strong leads the way with a negative 5.  But as the author comments, that is with a win over a Baylor team without a QB and it third or fourth string RB. 
His quote
"Charlie Strong finishes at -5 games after barely beating a hapless Baylor team down to running only with a wide receiver at QB.  He is following in the footsteps of two time winner Mack Brown."
That is priceless and shameful. 

Les Miles finished ahead of Malzahn and Spurrier they were plus 4, even though favoring that Gamecock team even early seemed ridiculous to most SEC fans.  Malzahn deserved his -4. 
Les and Sumlin sat at -2, yet for some reason I think Les had much more talent that the Aggies.  The Ags were 4-4 in conference and LSU 5-3.

On the positive side, the SEC was led by Saban, Freeze and Mullen. I had forgotten that Bama replaced basically the entire offense. But, Mullen had a huge turnover and far less talent. Freeze loss at Memphis State is still ridiculous. 

Nationally the winners were Ferentz, Leach and Whittingham.  I give it to Leach. 

j

Jordan, Rory and Day

I was very pleased that Spieth won this weekend in Fort Worth. His demise talk was starting to bug me to death.

Jordan

• 15 Events 2 wins, 2 seconds, 5 top tens and he is still missing shots to the right. 

Another player that is not dead yet is Rory

• 11 PGA or European events.6 top tens and 1 win. 
• And if he could read putts he would be unbeatable. 
• Rory travels so often comparable to the other two it is truly insane. I really wish he would focus on the PGA, but I know he will never do it.  It hurt Ernie and may kill Rory. 

Jason Day deserves number 1. 

• 10 Events 6 top tens with 3 wins. 
• Day is definitely taking the Woods route in not playing too often and focusing on courses he wants to play.  
• Is this good for the game? (doubtful)  But he has the power and can putt lights out.

Danny Willet, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson are also the steady ones, I expect they will win a few more. 

The next level is Fowler, Reed and Matsuyama

]

Pick your winners for the next two majors from this group. 

J. 

Briles and this debacle in Waco.

First, I hate the fact that Art Briles played such a huge part in the travesty in Waco.
He deserved to get fired!  The stories out of Waco make me want to not watch sports, especially since logic says that this is not the only school with many such stories.

Baylor 12 years prior to Briles a total of 35 wins.
Baylor last 5 years 50 wins.
He may not have matched what Bobby Bowden did, but he was getting closer.

Hiring Jim Grobe as interim coach is not only shocking to me, but far beyond any reason that I can conceive. Are they giving up this recent success to avoid more punishment?  If so, they are nuts.
The punishment is coming regardless of this interim mess.

All I can envision is the wishbone offense that he ran at Wake Forest. Did you cringe a little with that comment, I sure did. 

I loved Mac Engel article in Star Telegram that Mike Leach should be hired.
Who else can overcome this mess?  With his unique personality and incredible ability to score with less than Baylor talent is still remarkable.
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article80819157.html

Briles, who may have been my favorite offense mind in the last 20 years. Chip Kelly gets too much credit and Briles teams were even more balanced.
He has ruined my enjoyment and maybe killed the Big 12 in many ways.

With this happening, I hope the Big 12, just goes back to the SWC days and gets Houston and SMU.   They may not get national recognition, but I would at least have nostalgia to peak my interest.

J.

NBA

Painful as it is was to watch OKC monumental collapse, it is enjoyable to watch shooters on Warriors.

Previously you mentioned that you did not like Durant with the ball at the point and I agree completely.
But  Mr. Westbrook makes too many mistakes at crunch time when the other team sets up specific defenses to stop Durant on rotations for an open shot.  Kerr did an excellent job getting Westbrook in his frenzy state at full speed while trying to dribble past collapsing defenses with the others over playing their men.

Westbrook just is not getting past the collapse without his dribble and seems to be missing the first option to set up the offense on the next screen, when in all likelihood would have the ball back in his hands.

I will be a Lebron homer during the next two weeks. The Cavs can win this thing if Frye keeps playing this well and Irving can shoot over 47%.
Lebron is just the best player in the last 15 years, but I do not know if today's NBA and switching defenses can keep the Warriors under 105 points.


J

Nomar G Revisited

Sometimes I think of a player that I've kind of forgotten and will check them out on baseball-reference.  Today was Nomar Garciaparra.  I totally surprised myself when re-discovering how good he was.  Wow, .313 lifetime hitter, .521 slugging, .882 OPS at shortstop, 6-time all-star, 2-time batting champion.  Career derailed by various injuries so no chance for HOF, but some kind of player he was.  Even though his career totals fall short, his 7-year peak WAR is right on par with HOF shortstops.  Look at those 162-game averages, pretty salty.  He definitely belongs in my "Hall of Very Good".

S

Texas Greatest Golfers

Watching Jordan Spieth on Feherty made me focus on the sheer number of great players from Texas.
You can pick the order of importance, but you cannot argue with the freakish number of greatness. I also am going to include the true "Best That Never Was."

A portion of the list.

1. Jordan Spieth 2 Majors 22 years old. 9 wins worldwide.
2. Jack Burke Jr.  Masters, PGA, 17 wins.
3. Ben Crenshaw 2 Masters 19 Wins 3 straight NCAA titles 
4. Tom Kite 1 Major 19 wins
5. Ralph Guldahi 3 majors 16 wins retires due to WWII after 9 years. 
6. Babe Didrickson- Greatest Female athlete of all time, It makes the Serena talk moot. 10 majors.
7. Kathy Whitworth- 88 LPGA wins Record.
8. Lloys Mangrum 1 Major 36 wins
9. Jimmy Demaret- 3 Masters 31 wins
10. Lee Trevino  4 Majors 29 wins
11. Ben Hogan 9 Majors 64 wins
12. Byron Nelson 5 Majors 54 wins. Retired at 34

William Morris Jr.- 1 win. as a college player at University of Texas he won the Texas Jr, Texas Am and the Texas PGA,(Byron Nelson was in the field) in 12 months during 49-50.
The side story is that his knee injuries kept him from practicing during the college year.
Sadly Morris Jr.died in a military training plane crash at 23 during Korean war in 1953.  Penick and Palmers friend said he was maybe the best ever.  He beat the pros when he won the Texas Am

Then you have the others with majors, Marr, Leonard, Hamilton, Mahaffey, Beem and Brooks. I know I cannot list everyone, but it is impressive.

Unlike other sports I can only think of of 4 from Louisiana
David, Hal, Jay Hebert, and Lionel Hebert.

J.

NFL QB's - All Time Greats

With the Brady/Manning debate raging again, I did a little research into the contenders for all-time great.  Manning has a strong case for the top spot but the 14-13 playoff record is an issue.  I put it between he, Unitas, and Graham, who we can't really evaluate.  Elway supporters are delusional at best.  I want to mention Steve Young.  He only started in the NFL for 8 years and he totally dominated.  Hall of famer but still undervalued.

	W/L %	Post-Season W/L%	Black Ink*	1st Team All-Pro	MVP Awards	Conf Champs	NFL Champs	QB Rating
Manning	70.2%	51.8%	17	7	5	4	2	96.5
Brady	77.1%	71.0%	10	2	2	6	4	96.4
Marino	61.2%	44.4%	16	3	1	1	0	86.4
Montana	71.3%	69.5%	10	3	2	4	4	92.3
Staubach	74.6%	64.7%	7	0	0	4	2	83.4
Unitas	63.8%	75.0%	18	5	3	4	3	78.2
Favre	62.4%	54.2%	9	3	3	2	1	86.0
Young	65.7%	57.1%	20	3	2	1	1	96.8
Elway	64.1%	66.7%	2	0	1	5	2	79.9
Bradshaw	67.7%	73.7%	4	1	1	4	4	70.9
Graham	-	75.0%	23	7	3	-	7	86.6

*League leader in one of the following:  completions, completion %, passing yards, TD passes, yards per attempt, or QB rating

S

College Football Royalty - Updated

I originally posted this in 2012 and have been updating whenever the season impacted the numbers.  Adding another title for Alabama and noting that Nick Saban has again taken the upper hand in his unofficial battle with Urban Meyer for best coach in the business (Saban 5, Meyer 3).

As a follow-up to the season I looked at the historical AP and Coaches polls and added them up.  The thing to remember is that until 1968 for AP and 1974 for Coaches, the polls were taken before the bowls, which used to be considered kind of like exhibitions or bonuses for good seasons.  Coaches polls started in 1950 and AP in 1936.  Alabama claims several championships outside of the AP or Coaches polls, which to me are totally bogus.  For instance in 1941 every poll of substance named Minnesota champion, but one obscure poll named Alabama, and they still claim it.  Also, you can make the case that they did not deserve their 1964 and 1973 championships since they lost their bowl games, or 1978 when they split with USC but lost to them in the regular season.  Regardless, I'm showing the official results of the polls below.  Whether some of these can be disputed or not, these are the royalty.  The numbers in parenthesis indicate total AP+Coaches championships and the number that were undisputed.  The asterisk indicates a split championship:

Alabama (11/8) - 1961, 1964, 1965*, 1973*, 1978*, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015
Notre Dame (8/7) - 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973*, 1977, 1988
Oklahoma (7/6) - 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974*, 1975, 1985, 2000
USC (7/4) - 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974*, 1978*, 2003*, 2004
Ohio St. (6/4) - 1942, 1954*, 1957*, 1968, 2002, 2014
Miami (5/4) - 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991*, 2001
Nebraska (5/3) - 1970*, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997*