Fly-Swatting

Well, the Hoosiers didn't quite knock the Yellow Jackets to pieces as I thought they would last night. While that was a bit discouraging, the fact that IU managed to overcome deficits no less than four times in this one to ultimately take their four-point victory was very nice to see. Instead of folding up under pressure like they did on Saturday against Xavier, the Hoosiers found their stride and, with a little help from the Assembly Hall crowd, managed to overwhelm Georgia Tech in the second half.

One total bright spot for the Hoosiers was the absolutely inspired play of Lance Stemler. Ever since getting kicked in the head during a Fall '06 practice by Xavier Keeling, then spraining his ankle later in the season, Stemler had not been the same person he was early in the '06-'07 season. He did pick up the pace a little bit when IU played UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, but this season started off rather slow. Tuesdaynight, however, everything seemed to change. Playing with the same intensity that he began exhibiting during IU's game with UNC-Wilmington a week prior, Stemler did things like drive the lane for floating layups, tip offensive rebounds for two points and, most importantly of all, knock down a few threes. The fans had been waiting for this from Stemler, and when it happened, the crowd just exploded.

On the other side of things, Eric Gordon still looks a little shaken up after the game against Xavier. I think the problem in this situation was that someone told him he needs to dish the ball a little more and stop trying to make things happen on his own. Now, Eric had the right idea going when he made pretty much all of his passes and he showed that he can certainly dish the assist every now and then, but almost all of his passes sailed over everyone or was deflected out of bounds. When Gordon made his drives to the basket and finished them off, he was unstoppable. He should really keep up with that and only pass out of the drive when he knows the guy on the other end is open and he can make the pass actually happen.

One other note is that Jordan Crawford got suspended for three games for "violating team rules". My guess is that he screwed up somewhere on the Chicago trip last weekend and Kelvin Sampson was less than pleased. Of course, three games may seem a little steep given that we do not know the offense, but it does bring Jordan back off the bench just in time for one of the more interesting story lines of the early season: Jordan vs. Joe on December 8. I think Coach Sampson decided that three games would be perfect because it would still allow Jordan to come off the bench to face his brother, who plays for Kentucky. Unfortunately, the lack of Crawford's presence off the bench and the fact that Brandon McGee is sick forced IU to play a zone defense to avoid foul trouble -- a move that nearly killed the Hoosiers' chances on Tuesday.

Next game is going to be a real doozy when the Hoosiers go to Carbondale, IL to take on a ridiculously good Southern Illinois team. This is the one I picked the Hoosiers to lose in the non-conference when I looked over the schedule, but I was not expecting the loss to Xavier. Maybe the Hoosiers have learned from the Xavier and Georgia Tech games and can pull off the big win on Saturday.

Forgetting the Weekend, and Looking to Tomorrow

I know I didn't write about the bucket game, and here's my opinion: 1) Austin Starr is the greatest thing that ever happened, and 2) Insight Bowl.

Since bowl selection day is a painful six days away, we're going to move on to something that totally matters: BASKETBALL. Okay, I realize that Saturday may not have been the best day ever for the basketball Hoosiers, but let's look on the bright side of things. First of all, this Xavier team is a very similar one to the team that played Gonzaga tough in the '05 Dance, and was just a bit of completely blown officiating away from knocking down eventual runner-up Ohio State last year. The Atlantic 10 conference may not be the Missouri Valley Conference, but it's certainly nothing to laugh at. I expect Xavier to make the NCAA Tournament and maybe get through the first weekend.

As for the Hoosiers, they looked like a total mess, but everyone has to do it at some point in the season (see Michigan State, Kentucky, USC, Louisville, etc.). Luckily, the Hoosiers got this nasty loss out of their way nice and early, instead of putting it in sometime during Big Ten play. Knowing the tenacity of one Kelvin Sampson (which has gotten him in trouble in the not-too-distant past), I would say that practice has been tough and nasty since the Hoosiers returned from Chicago. The boys will be pouring over the tape and understanding that they simply cannot do things like play Mike Davis' old 4-around-1 offense, take shots when they should pass, and pass when they should take shots.

The other bright spot that comes out of this one is that Eric Gordon had a bad game. While one might say, "How on Earth is that a good thing?!" I would respond by saying that this could very well be the low point of his collegiate career. Given the work ethic that Gordon reportedly has, I would imagine he went to the nearest basketball hoop after he got back to Bloomington and just started throwing basketballs at it until he couldn't miss. Also, since he found the breaking point of his ridiculously stoic demeanor on Saturday, he and Coach Sampson will know exactly what to do to keep him cool and collected and doing what he should be doing on the floor.

Honestly, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets should be shaking in their Nikes right about now. First of all, the team will be mad. Second of all, the coaches will be mad. Third of all, there will be 17.456 very scary Hoosier fans looking for someone to take their disappointment over Saturday out upon, and those gold-uniformed Yellow Jackets will provide the perfect target. I'm not saying the atmosphere will be anything like the Duke game in the fall of 2005 (we save that sort of atmosphere for Kentucky and Michigan State this season), but it will certainly be loud in Assembly Hall. I can only hope that the 7 PM start time does not throw off the alumni and the students, who will be somewhat hard-pressed to get away from evening classes or jobs and get to their seats. Having the game on ESPN will help a lot on that front, and it will certainly be fun to attend an ACC/Big Ten game that the Hoosiers are actually picked to win.

Mah Bukkit!

In honor of tomorrow's game (which I will cover in greater detail later) and as a shout out to one of my favorite things of all time (The LOLrus), I present you with the following...



For the inspiration behind this magical picture, go here. Come to think of it, Joe Tiller looks an awful lot like a walrus...

Deja Vu

If I had known that I would end up watching the exact same game for two days in a row, I wouldn't have turned on my TV this afternoon. Yesterday, the Indiana Hoosiers played soft defense, inept offense, and put up one score in a blowout road loss against the Wisconsin Badgers. As I type, the Washington Redskins are playing soft defense, inept offense, and have only put on one score in a beyond-blowout road loss to the New England Patriots. While the games are quite similar to each other, what happens down the road will be two entirely different things.

For the Hoosiers, the future is simple: the entire coaching staff should and will be liquidated and athletic director Rick Greenspan will make yet another amazing head coach hire (Bobby Petrino, if he decides to skip on the Atlanta Falcons). The Hoosiers' offense should stay essentially the same for next year, assuming James Hardy doesn't chase the money into the NFL Draft. Kellen Lewis will still be the quarterback, and most of the rest of the supporting cast will remain. The defense will have a slightly different look because Tracy Porter will be heading off to the pro level, but most of the other starters will remain the same.

The key difference for the Redskins is that, while IU has only three games remaining this season, the Redskins have 9 more games. There will be a lot of demoralized people in the Redskins' locker room after their 52-7 loss, but there will also be a lot of angry people. The first one is going to be the unofficial leader of the team, London Fletcher. Whenever this team needs a pep talk, he is the one to deliver it. I also think that, after watching his team throw up all over the field, Joe Gibbs will be angrier than he has ever been his life. It doesn't matter how good the Patriots might be, no NFL team should ever give up 52 points and provide absolutely no answer.

Maybe next week, with the Hoosiers playing Ball State and the Redskins playing the Jets, things will look a little nicer.

Why It's Good To Be A Catholic School

I found this little article from the Indianapolis Star's website mildly amusing, even if the experience might not have been so funny to the people involved:

Storm pummels USC team plane

In short, USC's football team nearly found itself as part of a pile of burning airplane because a thunderstorm hitting northern Indiana provided a huge amount of lightning and turbulence. Sounds like the students at Notre Dame (a Catholic school, if you weren't aware) sent a message to the Dean upstairs to let USC know who's boss tomorrow. Apparently, it's sometimes it's good to have God on your side...

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We're talking about Indiana University's basketball program, which has gone through one of the most ridiculous weekends since Bob Knight was choking his bench players.

The Good

Friday night's Hoosier Hysteria event was an absolute blast for the fans and players alike. The players on both the men's and women's team were in great spirits and the crowd of 13,000 that showed up was pumped up beyond belief. When the lights died out for the introduction of the men's basketball team, the building shook in a way I haven't felt since the Hoosiers took down the #5 Wisconsin Badgers last season. On top of the amazing atmosphere, we learned some interesting things about the team.

First of all, this team is deep. In fact, it's beyond deep. Even walk-on Brett Finkelmeier showed some promise and he will be useful in the close-out stages of games. One thing that these Hoosiers don't have to worry about this time around is injuries to the front-court players. The list goes as follows: DJ White, Mike White, Lance Stemler, DeAndre Thomas, Eli Holman, Brandon McGee, Jamarcus Ellis, Kyle Taber. All of these guys except maybe Taber could conceivably start. If any of these guys goes down, someone will be there to take his place. The back-court has the same scenario, with Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, and Eric Gordon holding down the fort while Ellis, Stemler, and McGee can easily make the plays from the outside. Also, watch out when AJ Ratliff finds his way back onto the court in a couple of months.

Second, the size of that front-court is freakishly good. DJ White is still himself, and he will be backing down defenders and hitting his turnaround jumper all season. Eli Holman, who averaged a quadruple-double during his high school career, has a wingspan of 7'8", which will translate to big blocks and big rebounds. Mike White is still a bowling ball of a forward and he still plays some amazing defense. The highlight is DeAndre Thomas who, even after losing 57 pounds over the summer, still weighs 298. Despite his size, Thomas can dunk the ball and he put up some solid defense on DJ White during the Cream vs. Crimson scrimmage.

Third, "Er-ic Gor-don" (clap clap clapclapclap). I hadn't really gotten a look at Eric Gordon's play before Hoosier Hysteria, but I know now what the big deal was about. Even though his first play in front of an Assembly Hall crowd was a missed dunk, he showed such a great shooting touch and some amazing athleticism while electrifying the crowd. The only downside to all of this is that after this season, he probably won't be wearing an Indiana uniform.

The Bad

Barely a day after they sent his name thundering down from the seats at Assembly Hall, members of the most reactionary fan base this side of Lexington, KY, are calling for Kelvin Sampson's head. Much as it was last summer, the topic du jour is Coach Sampson's telephone. This time around, it was determined that a collection of 10 three-way phone calls between Sampson, one of his assistants, and recruits were made. Sampson has said that he was unaware that nine of the calls were conference calls, but he did know that one of them had two people on the other end of the line. Since three-way calls of this type have been deemed illegal by the NCAA, Sampson got a self-imposed pay cut for next season and an extension of his telephone restrictions by the IU Athletic Department.

The other issue here -- one that doesn't involve Coach Sampson in any way, for the record -- was a collection of 35 phone calls apparently made by assistant coach Rob Senderhoff. Senderhoff was disciplined by the Athletic Department by being put under what is essentially house arrest. He cannot talk to recruits and he cannot go on the road to visit the recruits. If he gets caught breaking these rules again, you would have to expect that he would be fired outright.

What really annoys me about this whole situation is the reaction from the fans and the media around this program. When you look at the evidence, Kelvin Sampson was involved in only a few of the impermissible calls and the Athletic Department reacted properly. Some people around here, under the leadership of The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz (I won't share my opinion of him with you because, in the end, I would like to retain some journalistic integrity), want Sampson and Athletic Director Rick Greenspan fired immediately for these transgressions. These so-called "fans" who just want Bob Knight, who is supposedly a perfect human being, to return to Bloomington cannot accept the fact that there is a different coach in town.

This, of course, is absolutely insane. We went through the same process when Mike Davis, who did better here than Bob Knight would have ever done between 2000 and 2006, was sent packing by fans after two poor seasons. All of these people trumpet the integrity of the program under Knight's stewardship as the reason that we need to return to the good old days (like 1982, a.k.a. the "season on the brink). While there may not have been much in the way of recruiting violations in those days, but I would say that verbally and physically attacking players and coaches on both benches does not do much for the integrity of the program either.

I believe that, despite the fact that there definitely needs to be some better book-keeping in the basketball offices, this is an honest mistake on Sampson's part. Sampson made no outgoing calls on his personal phone during this period, and the conference calls were all set up by the assistant coaches. As for Senderhoff's 35 illegal calls, those fall on his head and his alone. One might say that the head coach should be responsible for the actions of his assistants, but how do we know that Senderhoff may not have been doing this in secret himself. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't done something against the rules at work while the boss wasn't looking, I would call you a liar anyway. The bottom line is that Sampson, after taking a huge pay cut for next season and having his sanctions extended, will come out of this cleanly.

The Ugly

Apart from all of this bunk about phone calls, the ugly part of the 07-08 basketball season will be the scoreboard at the end of a lot of these games. This team is so incredibly strong that there are only a few opponents that can really give them a run for their money. The Hoosiers will need to watch out for Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, but I don't think there is anyone out there beyond those three that can really scare this team.

Indiana in the Top 25...And Not in Basketball

In the two weeks since I last wrote my opinion (somewhat vociferously) on this page, a few things have changed in the 50,000-seat concrete bowl across the street. With the campus and alumni in shock after the thorough drubbing of the Hoosiers by Illinois, grumblings began to come up of how we're looking at the old Indiana football team. That was the one who would beat up on a mediocre non-conference schedule, maybe win one Big Ten game, and cruise through the season until everyone left Memorial Stadium for some basketball. Losing a game to Illinois, a team which regularly muddles around at the bottom of the standings, seemed like the end of the world for the fans that believed this was the year.

Then, that same Illinois team posted huge upsets of Penn State and Wisconsin, who were supposed to be the conference favorites this year. At the same time, Indiana traveled to Iowa and pasted the Hawkeyes to Kinnick Stadium's brick walls, then welcomed Minnesota into The Rock for yesterday's 40-20 drubbing. Instead of a demoralizing loss to the worst team in the conference, the Illinois game was a tough loss to a great team that served as the springboard to greater things. Now, Indiana is sitting on 5-1 for the first time since 1994, which was the last time the football Hoosiers were eligible for a post-season bowl.

Another interesting thing that has come out of the Hoosiers' recent run of success is a collection of top 25 votes in both major polls. After beating Iowa, Indiana picked up its first top 25 vote in years in the Coaches' Poll. After following up the road win with the defeat of Minnesota, the Hoosiers now have 30 votes in the Coaches' Poll and 40 votes in the AP Poll. That puts the Hoosiers in the "Also Receiving Votes" category in both polls, but is equivalent to 29th in the AP Poll and 33rd in the Coaches' Poll. Just for kicks, let's have a look at the teams that are sitting in between the Hoosiers and the magical top 25.

AP #25 Tennessee (3-2): Tennessee found its way into the 25th spot (despite the poor record) after absolutely crushing a tough Georgia team. A trip to Mississippi State should end up in the win column, but a subsequent trip to Alabama will trip Tennessee up.

Coaches' #25 Auburn (4-2): Auburn found its way past Florida for the second straight year to hit the top 25. However, their next two games are at Arkansas, which will be tough, and a trip to the Bayou to take on #1 LSU. Look for a drop from Auburn.

Texas A&M (5-1): The Aggies are only 5-1 because of a terribly weak schedule. Their one loss is to a mediocre Miami team and a trip in two weeks to Nebraska will burn the Aggies.

Purdue (5-1): Purdue may have been exposed as a fraud by Ohio State. The Buckeyes showed that the Boilers big-time offense can be stopped and that Purdue can be beat. Purdue is very much IU's equal and the Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket will be a great game.

Colorado (4-2): The Buffs are a very solid team and could be in the hunt for the Big 12 North this year. Colorado has a huge win over Oklahoma to hang its hat on and they could easily break the top 25.

Virginia (5-1): After a terrible loss at Wyoming, the Cavs have rolled through their schedule for five straight wins. A game at Maryland in two weeks could trip UVA, but they seem to be on the up-and-up.

Texas Tech (5-1): The Rebels don't really have a big win to put on its resumé, and there are three games (Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma) that could easily catch Texas Tech out.

Rutgers (3-2): The Scarlet Knights are nowhere near the level they were last season, but they are still a good team. That said, they have lost two straight, and they have games against South Florida and West Virginia coming. Look for a drop by the Knights.

Boise State (4-1): The Broncos still have one of the nation's best backs and can win a lot of games. However, they did not come through in big games this year the same way they did last year. The weak schedule will hurt the Broncos in the polls.

Connecticut (5-0): Don't look now, but the football Huskies are undefeated. Of course they do have tough games coming up against South Florida, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. Connecticut might make bowl eligibility, but they probably won't find the top 25.

Indiana, while in a similar situation as some of the teams on this list, has an advantage over these teams in several categories. The Hoosiers are sitting 25th in the nation in total offense and 49th in total defense. The most important statistic, though is that Indiana is ranked first in the nation in sacks with 29, three clear of second-place Georgia Tech. Defensive ends Greg Middleton and Jamie Kirlew and Linebacker Will Patterson have been tearing up offenses all season long and don't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

The Hoosiers have some very pivotal games coming up in the next three weeks. The next one is against a Michigan State team that has looked nearly invincible on the field this year. Or, at least, they did until losing at home to a very beatable Northwestern team. The Hoosiers' offensive attack, which is an evolved form of Northwestern's spread could very well give the Spartans trouble. I won't go so far as to say the Hoosiers will win on Saturday, but they have a good chance at taking down the Spartans and holding onto the Old Brass Spittoon.

Stupid Pills!

Yes, sir, the stupid pills were flowing big time around my favorite football teams this weekend. The Indiana Hoosiers got their shipment of the wonderful drugs of pure idiocy before their game against Illinois started on Saturday. In the meantime, the Washington Redskins received their shipment a little late, but they were able to down all of their compliment during the halftime break.

I would start with Saturday's debacle, but it's difficult to figure out where to start. The Hoosiers, coming off their second 3-0 start in about 15 years, came out of the gate...well, they didn't really come out of the gate. Illinois, with their amazing running game, exposed IU's defense as an apparent fraud, running rampant all over the place. On the other side of the ball, the 9th-ranked running game in the entire nation looked like they didn't even know how to walk correctly. On top of that, they turned the ball over way too much and blew far too many chances for the team to be competitive.

I thought that was pretty bad, but then I watched the Washington Redskins play the New York Giants. The 'Skins came out for the first half absolutely on fire. Jason Campbell was completing passes, Clinton Portis was making good runs, and the defense was doing everything it could to keep the Giants down to 3 points. Then there was the second half. for about 20 minutes of the second half, the Redskins had a total yardage of 14 yards. There were no first downs until the Redskins' final drive. The defense, though they put up a valiant effort, could not make up for the absolutely ridiculous mistakes that the offense was making. There was a glimmer of hope near the end, when Antwaan Randle El returned a punt to the Giants' 35, but it would've been better if he could have gotten the touchdown. Instead, the offense put up two stupid plays for each good play they came up with and, unfortunately, those last two stupid plays came from the Giants' 2 yard line.

Two unbelievable collapses from two undefeated teams. For a while there, I thought my teams had turned the corner and were ready to take that next step. Instead, they decided to reach back to recent tradition and lay a fat, rotten egg all over their respective home fields.

To Men's Soccer Coaching Staff, University of Alabama-Birmingham...

There's a little thing in this world called class. Class is a set of behaviors that set you apart from everyone as being that person that can take some heat, and continue on with your day with a smile on your face. Case in point: Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods gets a little criticism here and there, pops back up at the next tournament, and kicks everybody's ass.

Now, in the world of intercollegiate athletics, there is an extra element to everything called students. Students, myself included, are loud, boorish idiots when it comes to being spectators at a sporting event. We taunt you, we make fun of you, and we try to make your life as miserable as possible for the time that you are on our field of competition. However, since we're the ones who pay the university thousands of dollars a year, plus whatever the cost of tickets might be, we get cut a little slack. We're trying to defend the turf that we are putting huge amounts of our money into.

However, you the coach, making tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per annum, have no right to turn around to face the students and be a total dick.

So, let's set up the scene. UAB's men's soccer team has come to take on the Indiana Hoosiers and, most importantly, IU Soccer's fans, who are probably some of the toughest fans in the business. UAB's head coach (whose name I don't care to look up because I have no respect for them right now) is complaining about everything all evening. Whenever the referee blows his whistle, coach is right off his seat, saying some stupid thing to any official he can find. On one play, there is some mutual shoving in front of the IU net, a UAB player goes down, and the ref gives IU the ball after a lengthy discussion. Coach is not thrilled, and he gives the business to the assistant ref, who finally gets the coach to sit down and shut up. On a later play, and IU attacker is blatantly tripped up in the box and is awarded a penalty shot. Coach is back on his feet, goes over to the assistant ref (who had absolutely nothing to do with the call, mind you), and starts giving him the business again. The AR is obviously annoyed at this point, forcefully sends the coach back to the bench, and puts his flag up to signal the head official. Head official comes over, chats with the AR, and puts the red card on the coach. Game over, goodbye, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

Of course, the student section is going to get on the coach, because he was being ridiculous and he really deserved to be ejected from the game. Unfortunately, the players on the UAB side happen to be really good at getting up, dusting themselves off, and overcoming these kinds of issues. They come back a few minutes later and put the ball in the IU net for the go-ahead goal....and this is where things get stupid.

The IU fans are quiet. Their team is three minutes from getting beat and they know that it'll be a tough battle just to come back and tie the game. The UAB players go mob the goal-scorer, as soccer players would generally do, but there is one man who isn't joining the celebration: UAB's fat piece of shit of an assistant coach. This guy immediately turns around and starts dancing around in front of the bleachers like a fucking retard. Then, he repeatedly pumps his fists up in front of his face and, even though he kept them down, you know he was just dying to throw his middle fingers up at the IU faithful.

I would describe what might have happened to this gentleman had there not been a fence between the stands and the field, but i think your imagination can figure it out. In fact, if this had been in Europe of South America, that gentleman would be damn near dead right about now. As a member of a collegiate coaching staff, it is not your place to go around being a total dick to the opposing fans, just because they had been taunting you. Even your team, which you are in charge of in the head coach's absence, was playing it real and celebrating the goal. They know what it's like to be in an opposing stadium and take the heat from the fans, but apparently you don't. You seem to think that because the students are taunting you, you can turn around and taunt them right back because you seem to be better than everyone. Well guess what, dickwad. You're a terrible role model, a terrible human being, and you're damn lucky that you coach intercollegiate soccer because, if this had been football or basketball, your ass would be out of a job real fucking fast. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fucking fire.

...Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. Pardon my French.

Hail to Monday Night

Tonight around 8 PM, Hank Williams, Jr, will come out on screen and ask Redskins fans the most important question that can be asked on any Monday this time of year: Are you ready for some football?

Of course, everyone who knows anything about Washington, DC, sports fans is that they are always ready for some football. What's important is whether or not the Redskins themselves are ready to go into the Veterans Stadium Light (Lincoln Financial Field on Philly's south end) and take on the boys win green and white. This will be an amazingly difficult test for this Washington team who, for the first time, will throw Jason Campbell into the fire of Philly's raucous crowd. Obviously, the most important thing for this team will be to establish the running game with Ladell Betts, Clinton Portis, and Mike Sellers, so that Campbell can feel a little easier in the pocket.

If the Burgundy and Gold can establish their running game, the job will fall to Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El to find their way past the secondary and make the big plays happen. This game will be vintage Redskins football, with most of the work coming out of the backfield, and the receivers playing the part of the old Fun Bunch to nail down the game.

On the other side of the ball, it will be all about containing Bryan Westbrook and preventing him from making the big run. Donovan McNabb, though still a skilled and intelligent quarterback, has nowhere near the physical ability he once did because of the rash of injuries that he has been through during his career. If he is forced to drop back into the pocket because Philly's run is going nowhere, he can be left to the very tough front seven, who should have a large impact on the game. Look also for a lot of blitzing from the likes of Carlos Rogers, Shawn Springs, and Sean Taylor.

Since I really haven't seen much of either of these teams so far this season, I'm somewhat weary of giving a final score. However, I believe that, if the Readskins do everything I just mentioned, they could take this game by the margin of one touchdown. See you tonight, folks.