Cornerback Terrell Buckley owned most of FSU's interception records following his terrific three-year career from 1989-91. Buckley earned consensus All-America honors as a junior after setting a Seminole record with 12 interceptions in 1991. He became FSU's second Jim Thorpe winner following his junior campaign. He held the FSU career record for pass interceptions with 21 when he was inducted and was also one of the Seminoles' all-time great punt returners. He scored seven career touchdowns, four on interceptions and three on punts. His interception return for a touchdown on the second play of the 1991 game at Michigan was quintessential FSU football. He was the fifth pick in the 1992 NFL draft after his junior year and played over 15 years in the NFL.
Captain's Memories: T-Buck as he's officially known amongst Florida State fans was my generations Deion Sanders. I remember being completely sure no one would ever throw to Buckley's side because he would take everything in his vicinity back to the house. Hell, he was likely to pick-6 a throw to the other side of the field too. He was also electric on punt returns.
No interception was more important in his career than in the 1991 game against Michigan in the Big House. All the talk was about Desmond Howard (1991 was the season he flashed the Heisman pose) and Buckley was assigned to cover Howard all over the field.
Right out of the gate Michigan wanted to set a tone for the game and get Howard the ball. Well T-Buck knew this too and jumped the curl route and took it to the house. A tone was set alright as the Noles went on to win 51-31 in what some call the Greatest Game In FSU's History.
Two Bonuses in this game:
1 - If you're a football fan of any kind you'll recognize Gene Deckerhoff's voice as the play-by-play man on this video. Gene has been calling FSU games for about 30 years so I obviously grew up with him calling every FSU game I ever watched. However Gene also does basketball, baseball and Tampa Bay Bucs football.
Gene is one of the best play-by-play men ever in sports and just hearing his voice gives me goose bumps and gets me ready for the season. Don't ever retire Gene, FSU Football wouldn't be the same without you.
2 - We get to see a forlorn Elvis Grbac after he throws the pick to Buckley. We would all grow to know that Grbac look well as he stunk in the NFL and threw plenty of picks. That also brings back memories.
Captain's Memories: Warrick Dunn is on the short list of best athletes, and people, ever at Florida State University. he was the starting running back for the 1993 Championship team that also featured Heisman winner Charlie Ward, and he would go down in Florida State lore for a play early in his Seminole career.
Early on the game looked to be a blowout as the Seminoles built a 27-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Gators would make a comeback behind freshman Danny Wuerffel, who would lead Florida to two quick scores to cut the Florida State lead to 27-21.
Charlie Ward would win the Heisman trophy on what happened next.
With six minutes remaining in the game and the Seminoles facing a third down and 21, the Swamp was shaking so hard it registered as an earthquake.
Ward would not be fazed by the noise or the shaking. He would find the other talented freshman Warrick Dunn, who raced down the sideline for the 79-yard touchdown.
I remember absolutely losing my mind when Dunn broke free down the sidelines and I was convinced he was never gonna make the endzone, it seemed the field was 200 yards long. I'm pretty sure I peed just a little I was so happy.
I searched high and far for video of this play as it's possibly the best play he ever had at Florida State but it was deleted from YouTube for some reason. In the end I think this deletion may be a good thing though as I ended up finding a video that I think works better.
Dunn is from Louisiana, and according to Wikipedia:
"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dunn challenged all NFL players, except for those who play for the New Orleans Saints, to donate at least $5,000 to the effort. The effort received over $5 million in contributions."
Warrick's long been known for his Warrick Dunn Foundation, started when he played for the home state Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However it's in small circles that he gets the praise he really should. If you're interested in finding out more about Warrick Dunn and his charities please google "Warrick Dunn Foundation" and donate to the cause; I make sure to do it every year.
In closing I want to say that Warrick Dunn is one of my favorite athletes I have ever had the pleasure of cheering for. I could have posted a list of his statistics at FSU, gone on about his role in bringing championships to Seminole fans, sang his praises for his generosity in giving back to the school or detailed the numerous athletic awards and achievements Dunn has been given for his prowess on the football field. However, I feel proud to root for Warrick Dunn the man, and that makes him one of the truly elite athletes of his era and a True Seminole.
For the next 30 days The Captain and The Coach will be counting down the days to the start of college football season. For each day we will look at a former UGA or FSU player that wore the jersey of the corresponding days left to kickoff on September 4th. Enjoy and come back daily.
#30 Keith Henderson
Henderson against the Clemson Tigers (Ht to DawgBone.net)
Coming to the University of Georgia from Cartersville High School Henderson played between the hedges from 1985-1988. While his primary position was fullback and he blocked for the likes of Tim Worley and Rodney Hampton, Henderson is best known for his performance against the University of Florida in 1985. Florida came into the game ranked number 1 for the first time in school history only to see Henderson rush for 145 yards on nine carries. He had two touchdown runs of 76 and 32 yards. As a team UGA ran for 344 yards on that glorious Saturday afternoon . In fact the writers at Gator Country called this loss the 5th most bitter in Florida history. Let's have Coach Vince Dooley give us the highlights.
Henderson ranks third all time in UGA history in average rush per career at 6.04 yards. His average of 6.77 yards gained per rush in 1985 ranks 5th. After his playing career days at the University of Georgia were finished he was drafted in the third round of the 1989 draft by the San Fransico 49ers. While with the 49ers Henderson played in Super Bowl XXIV which the 49ers pummeled the Broncos 55-10. His NFL career totaled four seasons 755 total yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
Other greats who wore #30 include co-worker and fullback Scott Williams.
Dawsey was part of the "Fabulous Four" WR group at FSU in the late 80's and early 90's along with receivers Bruce Lasane, Terry Anthony and Ronald Lewis. All four guys made a visit back to FSU for the 2010 spring game in which they appeared in a flag football game featuring former Nole stars at halftime.
This was a joy because I was only about 9 years old when they all exhausted their eligibility and I didn't have much of a recollection of them. Dawsey looked like he could still suit up and be affective even at 42. He never really relied on his athleticism and was more known as a posession receive although he could turn on the jets when needed as evidenced below:
After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dawsey won the Rookie Of The Year award in 1991. Dawsey would stick in the NFL till 1999, last playing for the New Orleans Saints before moving on to WR coach at The University of South Florida.
Dawsey has now entered into this 4th season with the Noles as the WR Coach at his alma mater and is an integral part in a fantastic recruiting class last year, especially at WR. He is officially credited with being the key recruiter for the four 4-star WR's FSU received a commitment from in February 2010 (Kenny Shaw, Christian Green, DeJohsua Johnson, Greg Dent).
If he continues down this successful path with the current FSU coaching staff then I suspect Lawrence Dawsey will be more remembered for his coaching exploits for FSU than his playing career, but he will be remembered. Finally, a bit more perspective on Mr. Dawsey courtesy of NoleFan.Org: After the 1990 season, Lawrence Dawsey was awarded the Crenshaw award. In 1989 he had been a member of the famous FSU "Fabulous Four" group of wide receivers. After the others had exhausted their eligibility, Dawsey came back for another year. Throughout his senior season, he was not only the team's leading receiver but maintained a major leadership role as well. He was regarded as a "blue-collar receiver" who was not particularly fast but who "got the job done." As a result, at the end of the season, he was an Associated Press and Football Writers Association first team All-American selection and made a number of other all star lists as well in addition to being designated as the Seminole that year "with the biggest heart."
Dawsey went on to play eight years in the NFL, the first five of which were with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 1997, he was inducted into FSU's Athletics Hall of Fame.
This morning my Brother-in-Law sent me an email about a discussion his local sports radio hosts were having concerning college football (he lives in Norman, Oklahoma and is a University of Oklahoma graduate). This discussion centered around the best jobs in College Football right now. We ended up talking about this for a very long time finally ending with an extremely long email chain and some very well thought out rankings. Since this subject is so compelling (I seem to discuss this every year with someone) I figured it would make for an entertaining read.
There are numerous subjective ways to discuss this topic but for the sake of this post this is the one thought I kept in mind while forming my rankings: "What job would I want if I was taking the job today and moving forward?"
Inherent within that question is a devaluing of the usual items put into play when discussing these jobs; namely, tradition. As you will see when I describe the 5 main criteria I used to rank these teams the storied history of some teams does not make them a candidate for this discussion. In my opinion a championship or Heisman trophy that happened in 1948 has no bearing on today's "internet age" culture. Only the last 5-10 years are relevant, anything earlier than that is ancient history.
With that in mind, here are the rankings.
The areas I looked at in order, because they would be most important to me as a coach:
1. Recruiting base - I am a basketball coach here in Tallahassee, FL. I've been told I'm a good basketball coach that knows the game and really relates to his players well. I've been told that I would be considered for a head coaching job at numerous places all around the city (a good basketball city). That being said I was winless, 0-13, as the head coach of my JV team. Coaches don't mean shit if you don't have the players. Recruiting is factor #1.
2. Conference - I want a BCS conference but an easy road. That road can be easy based on my teams talent (Texas) and/or based on the other teams in my division/conference (FSU/Miami). This makes the Pac-10 a better conference to take a job in than the SEC in my opinion.
Also, for teams in the same conference the conference rating can differ. Texas is easily the #1 Institution in the #1 recruiting state in their Conference making the Big 12 a better fit for Texas than it is for Oklahoma.
example: if I'm comparing taking a job at Texas or Miami I'd take Texas in the Big 12 because they own the Big 12 in every facet; but if I'm comparing taking Oklahoma or Miami I'd take Miami in the ACC because they'll dominate the conference more easily.
Finally, for you SEC homers that still don't understand this: LSU might be a great job, but I'd give Michigan a higher Conference rank because it's easier to get through the Big 10 than the SEC. Yes, the SEC's overall conference strength hurts them in my eyes. Why go slog through a dog fight every week when I get to play Indiana and Illinois sometimes?
3. Fan Base/Facilities - as much as we don't want to admit it, these two are tied together. A wealthy fan base/alumni will increase the level of facilities and experiences of a recruit tenfold (Okie St. wouldn't be shit without T. Boone Pickens...).
4. Brand Recognition/Cool factor/Influence - All 3 of these are very similar to each other and really matter to recruits. These are high school kids who just want to play football, get looked at/drafted by the NFL and impress chicks. Playing for Oklahoma doesn't impress the chicks or attract the NFL as much as playing for Florida does.
5. Recent Success/Tradition - This is a "what have you done for me lately" society. Young or old we move on so quick that even 10 years ago is a distant memory and considered "old school". It's still a factor, but it's not as major as people want to claim it to be,and RECENT tradition has more of an impact (UF, Bama, Texas).
With that in mind, here's how I would rank each team in my top 10 on each of those factors:
Recruiting Base 1. Texas - no competition in their own state which happens to be one of the best recruiting grounds in football 2. UF - Crazy amount of reach in best recruiting state 3. USC - Dominates California, also one of the best 4. Bama - Hits about 5 great states at the same time, quite possibly the most reach 5. Ohio State - Ohio/Michigan underrated for recruits, Wisconsin produces great Linemen 6. FSU - 2nd best recruiting team in Florida, recruits South Florida better than Miami 7. LSU - Completely owns a fertile Louisiana and taps into Texas some 8. Oklahoma - very strong in Texas and does well all over South/Mid West 9. Miami - Gotta lock down hometown to climb this ranking 10. Michigan - OSU gets most of the recruits, Wolverines get left overs like FSU, however Florida's leftovers are much better than Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan leftovers
Conference 1. Texas - Beat OU in October and they win the Conference Championship and more times than not go to the BCS Championship game 2. Ohio State - They have a bunch of 2's in their league, but no 1b to their 1a. 3. USC - Sanctions/loss of scholly's weaken their team, allowing Pac-10 to gain ground 4. FSU - Have you seen our division? It's terrible, how are we not in the ACC Champ. Game every year? 5. Miami - Coastal division not as terrible as FSU's, but beat Va. Tech and their in the Champ. Game every year. 6. Michigan - Iowa/Penn State better in conference right now, but they didn't make my top 10 7. Oklahoma - Tough task to beat UT every year, but nice to know if they win one game the Big 12 championship is theirs for the taking. 8. Bama - Have to go through UF 9. UF - Have to go through Bama 10. LSU - Have to go through both Bama/UF making them #3 in their conference at best and on the outside looking in every year.
Fan Base 1. Bama - they have old money, new money, big corporations and mom and pops. Plus NO ONE travels better than Bama. They turn their bowl game into a home game every year. 2. Texas - Bama Jr. with a bit more national reach as far as reaching fans IMO 3. UF - Money, hot chicks, tons of fans (arrogant prick fans, but fans none-the-less) 4. LSU - Fanatics that travel extremely well and are proud to wear purple, that counts for something. 5. Oklahoma - long standing fan base that are rabid with deep pockets 6. Ohio State - Dominate the North East fandom with lots of Boosters 7. Michigan - The Big House ALWAYS sells out and their facilities are funded from plenty of willing boosters. 8. FSU - 60K in attendance for this past spring game with a varied demographic because we're a public school. The money is newer than most programs so we're building. 9. USC - Too bandwagon and don't really show up even when they're good. Their true fan base is smaller than you think. 10. Miami - so fair-weather, Only game they sell out is the Noles, most of the time the stadium is half full
Cool Factor/Brand 1. Texas - I see people flashing the Hook Em Horns sign even here in Florida and the clamoring for LongHorn Network is deafening. Their Cheerleader outfits are legendary. 2. UF - Gator Chomp/Swamp are known everywhere. Dance team, Erin Andrews, Anyone? 3. Miami - "we invented swag" and the Bad Boy Canes live on, coolest entrance in College Football 4. Bama - The simple helmets, the Roll Tide chants and of course the Houndstooth hats 5. USC - Trojans are a Hollywood tradition. Rappers and Actors alike tout them, instantly making them cool. Plus they have smoking chicks. 6.Ohio State - everyone knows "THE Ohio State University". It can't be stated enough how much OSU dominates the North/North East 7. LSU - Death Valley is a great name plus they have the whole New Orleans party vibe for every game 8. FSU - everyone knows the Chop and we're famous for our hot girls (Jenn Sterger to name one especially "blessed" fan) and cool Helmets. Our recent struggles have quieted our thunder 9. Oklahoma - Boomer Sooner instantly recognizable and great helmets 10. Michigan - The Big House and the best helmets in college football. Appalachian State didn't help.
Recent Success/Tradition 1. Bama - tons of national championships including the most recent National/SEC Championships and Heisman 2. Florida - National and SEC Championship appearances and wins, Heisman winners (Tebow) 3. Texas - Ditto (Vince Young) 4. Ohio State - other than the fact they lost all their really big games they're one of the top 5 most successful programs recently 5. USC - scratching Reggie Bush from the Media Guide doesn't erase him from the minds of fans and recruits 6. Oklahoma - Recent championship winner with top draft picks, also boasts Heisman winner but not as clean a bowl record 7. LSU - Recent championship and top draft picks, as disgraceful as Jamarcus Russell has been (he should send Jimbo a Christmas card every year). 8 (tie). FSU/Miami - both have been down but played in epic games against each other and are remembered for their more recent glory days than Michigan. 10. Michigan - easily the worst performing group on the list recently.
Totals (lower score is better):
1. Texas - 8
2. Alabama - 18
2. Florida - 18
4. Ohio State - 23
5. USC - 25
6. FSU - 34
7. Miami - 35
7. LSU - 35
9. Oklahoma - 36
10. Michigan - 41
Honorable Mention:
Georgia - Decent recent tradition although they did flame out the year they started #1. They have a GREAT fan base but get out recruited in their own state by UF/FSU. I think the fan expectations are tad unrealistic sometimes as well (are they really wanting Richt fired? Maybe not anymore but for the past 5 years I would have welcomed him back in a second)
Penn State - great stadium and tradition, just missed the cut because of their relatively poor recruiting area. I switched between the Nittany Lions and the Woverlines for #10 about 4 times, they're that close.
Virginia Tech - one of the best 10 programs in the nation as far as results, just don't get the recognition and their area puts out one great football player every 10 years.
Clemson - ACC doesn't have a truly dominant team so the path is open for anyone to take. South Carolina is a very underrated recruiting area, good talent to choose from. Tons of money and great fans, although extremely unrealistic about the teams chances
Tennessee/Auburn - If they were in the ACC they'd be somewhere from #1-#4, instead they're somewhere from #5-#8 in the SEC.
West Virginia - really good fans but the opinion on the Big East hurts plus Virginia area just isn't great for recruiting.
**This is a disclaimer for anyone over 50 years of age - Please put down whatever it is you're drinking so you don't spit it all over the computer screen**
Notre Dame - face it guys, it's just not a good job anymore because:
1. Academics are ridiculously tough, making getting recruits extremely hard 2. Not located in a good recruiting area and any recruit in the area would rather go to Ohio State 3. Their success isn't recent at all, these kids have no idea about Notre Dame's tradition, it just doesn't factor in 4. Astronomical expectations, you immediately come in the door with nowhere to go but down. That's simply a recipe for failure and a firing.
Before we begin again I want to thank The Captain, Nabil, Lawyer Dan and the Good Doctor for their work on 10 Things while I took few weeks office this summer. Saturday two days ago marked 6 weeks to September 4th and kickoff for the college football season. Just as a heads up the Ten Things might not post to Tuesday of next week as I am going to the Natti this weekend to watch the Braves-Reds. Should be fun trip. As always any ideas for content please do not hesitate to contact me. Some of the items I have had the most fun writing were your ideas.The Captain and myself will begin a countdown when we are 30 days away from the start of the college football season. Each day we will look at a different UGA or FSU player who wore a number that corresponds with the amount of days to the college football season. I have started working on some of the UGA greats and this will be alot of fun.
1. Georgia Thoughts
I know the Damon Evans situation has been addressed by everyone with access to a computer and the internet but how does someone have their (and mine) dream job ruined by such stupidity. For the cost of about $50 (a cab ride home at night and back to the car in the morning) he decides to drive and have his whole career crash down. I found the quote odd at the press conference, "I have a beautiful wife, who is going through a lot right now, of which it haunts me and troubles me." The quote does not bother me as much as Evans cell phone records. They show Evans made an 8 minute call about an hour after the press conference to Courtney Fuhrmann. He must have been really haunted and troubled but what his wife was going through.
On to better news. Mark Fox with the hoops team got a verbal commitment this week from Kentavious Caldwell. Caldwell who was also being recruited by Florida and Tennessee is a top 15 ranked player in the nation. This is after Fox got a late signee in Marcus Thornton this past May. Fox was able to coach up an under manned UGA team last year. Let's see what he can do now that he is starting to get some talent to Athens.
2. Reasons for Hope/Worry UGA Football 2010
a. AJ Green-In every game this year he will be the best player on the field.
b. The offense returns 10 of 11 starters to a team that scored the most points in SEC game last season.
c. We are closer to the Gators than most realize. Despite being outscored 90-27 the last two seasons the Dawgs have only been outgained by 63 yards per game in those two contests.
d. We were -16 in turnovers last season and -3 in 2008. Some simple regression to the mean (to steal a phrase from the Senator at http://blutarsky.wordpress.com/) and the Dawgs can not help but be better.
e. Phil Steele ranks our offensive line number 1 in the country, our running backs #5 and our wide receivers #2.
f. The defense can not be worse as it allowed 25.9 points per game last season. In 08 we allowed 24.5 points per game. In 07 the unit allowed 20.2 points per game. I am not saying we are going to allow 14.5 points per game (the 2003 numbers) but it should be around 26 points a game.
g. Under Mark Richt Georgia is 20-5 after a loss.
h. This years Florida team is the most vulnerable team in years. New QB, new defensive coordinator, lots of turnover on the defensive side of the ball. And then their is this little detail about Florida heading into the 2010 season: “For the first time in three years, there are no returning first-team All-Americans.”(thanks to The Senator for the stat)
i. This year is UGA's easiest schedule in a couple years. We skip LSU and Alabama from the SEC west and replace them with Mississippi State and Arkansas.
j. We return the best punter and placekicker in the country. Plus coaches who will let them use their talemts.
Reasons for Worry
a. Will someone step up opposite AJ Green.
b.Only one returning starter on the defensive line.
c. Very thin at the outside linebacker position.
d. Despite all the returning starters on offense our QB is still a redshirt freshman. Let's not forget he had shoulder issues last season and was red-shirted. His senior year at Plant High is Tampa he broke his leg and missed most of the season. What happens if the unthinkable happens and Murray gets hurt.
e. The secondary is extremely talented but inexperienced.
f. We could not stop Stephen Garcia and Ryan Mallett, how are we going to do so this season?
a. September 11 is going to be a great day for college football. Miami at Ohio St, Florida St @ Oklahoma, Michigan @ Notre Dame, and Penn State @ Alabama. Who is getting excited?
b. How did I forget Georgia Southern @ Navy on the 11th? Or for that matter Georgia Tech @ Kansas or UGA at South Carolina or Oregon @ Tennessee.
c. How good is Bama's offense going to be this season. Both of their running backs were voted first team All-SEC. I think that is a little excessive but they might have their best offense in school history.
d. Speaking of BAMA how do they get stuck playing 6 teams coming off Bye weeks. Who at the SEC office overlooked that and how did you miss something like that?
e. I really like Iowa in the Big Ten this season. Ohio St probably has more talent but this Iowa team went 11-2 last season holding GaTech to 155 total yards in the Orange Bowl and they still know how to play defense. Let's not forget Ricky Stanzi should be healthy in his senior season. They also play Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State at home this season. How many trips to Iowa City is Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Mustberger taking this season?
f. As a programming reminder The Captain and myself will begin a countdown when we are 30 days away from the start of the college football season. Each day we will look at a different UGA or FSU player who wore a number that corresponds with the amount of days to the college football season. I have started working on some of the UGA greats and this will be alot of fun.
g. Here are so things I am looking at as NFL training camps open this week: Where will TO sign? Will he be a distrction or quiet and productive like he was in Buffalo last season?
h. Now that Kevin Kolb is the starter in Philly can he play 16 games like he played 2 last season?
i. The Lions will be improved, but will it show up in their performance as they have six games against the Bears, Packers and Vikings.
j. Can the Falcons stay healthy this year and improve on defense? The NFC south might get three playoff teams with the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers.
k. I am tired of all the drama that comes with this question but is Brett Favre going to play this season? I think he will but you know he will get all eyes on him before making a decision.
l. Is this the year the Jets or a team besides the Pats win the AFC East? The Jets are 6-14 and 2-18 ATS in games played before their annual trip to Foxboro.
m.Can the Titans or Texans stop the Colts run of AFC South titles? Vince Young is 10-5 and 12-3 ATS vs division opponents.
5. Fun with homeruns-3 in one game
a. Through June 1, 2010 hitting three home runs in one game has been accomplished 478 times by 337 different players. If you count the guys who have hit four home runs in a game the totals are 493 times by 345 players.
b. Mark Teixeira has hit three homers in a game for the Rangers, Braves and Yankees.
c. Among the 25 players with 500 or more career home runs only Rafael Palmeiro and Gary Sheffield never hit three or more homers in a game. Palmeiro hit 569 big flies with 34 multi-homer games. Sheffield hit 509 career homers with 38 multi-homer games. Crazy how neither hit three in a game.
d. Stan Musial is the oldest to hit three in a game when he did so at 41 years 229 days in July 1962 against the Mets.
e. The youngest player is Al Kaline who was 20 years, 120 days when he hit three HR for Tigers in 1955 against the A's.
f. The only pitcher to hit three home runs in a game was Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves against the Cubs in 1942.
g. Johnny Mize and Sammy Sosa are the players with the most three homer games with six apiece. Dave Kingman, Joe Carter and Mark McGwire have all hit three homers in a game 5 times.
h. Sammy Sosa has had the most three homer games in one season with 3. This was accomplished in 2001.
i.Reggie Jackson, Dave Kingman, Johnny Mize, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are the only players to hit three homers in a game with three different teams. 27 players have hit three home runs with two different teams.
j. 21 catchers have hit three home runs in a game. Some names you might not know include Andy Semincik, Walker Cooper, Wes Westrum, Smokey Burgess and Ed Bailey.
k.Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth (twice) are the only players to hit three homers in a World Series game.
l. The Rays and Diamondbacks both came into existence in 1998. The Rays have two guys who have hit three homers in a game while the Diamondbacks have hit three homers in a game 8 times.
m. I never hit three home runs in little league pr adult softball for that matter. I did once hit three homeruns with slugger Paste and team Jersey in the original Bases Loaded.
Haltime: This week's song that Smoak and myself used to listen to is a cover by Jason Aldean titled 'Heaven". This is probably as good as it gets for cover. Here are Smoak's words, "probably the best cover I have ever heard." I can not remember the last triva question and who got the answer right, plus I am to lazy to go back and look so lets start new. This week's trivia question is tricky so I will give a hint. Since 1901, only three players have totaled 200 or more hits and 100-plus walks in consecutive seasons. Name them. The hint: All three players are in the Hall of Fame. Since that is a weak hint here is another. Two of the three were Red Sox at one point in their careers. Ted Williams is not a correct answer. Enjoy.
6. Baseball Notes
a. In Tuesday night's Rays-Orioles game the first six runs were scored via solo home runs. The last time that happened? September 25th, 2008. I am surprised this has happened twice within two seasons.
b. Tony Gwynn of the Padres has hit two inside the park homeruns this season. Jimmy Rollins was the last player to hit two inside the park homeruns in the same season.
c. On Tuesday & Wednesday of this past week Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates hit 2+ HR in back-to-back games. He is the first Pirate to do this since Jason Thompson in 1984 and the 5th Pirate to do it since 1960.
d. On Thursday the Nationals scored 1 run in the 1st, 2 runs in the 2nd and 3 runs in the 3rd, the first team this season to do this.
e. The Cardinals had 1 hit in 11 innings Thursday. The last team to have only 1 hit in an 11+ inning game was the Angels in 1962
f. I found this stat very interesting when reading Baseball Digest over the past few weeks. No player has gone homer-less in a season in which he hit 50 plus doubles. The fewest homers by a player with 50 plus doubles in a season is three and this feat was accomplished by Wade Boggs, George Burns and Tris Speaker. Oddly enough both Burns and Speaker were both Cleveland Indians.
g. If anyone is in the mood for a legendary Wade Boggs story this website is a must visit.
h. What has happened to my man Ubaldo Jimenez? He has an ERA over 7.60 the past six trips to hill as his ERA has gone up more than 1.50 to 2.75.
i. A lot of people, myself included have talked how Teixeira is struggling this season. I did not know he is 5th in AL in HR, 6th in RBI and first in runs.
j. Entering 2010, Astros Roy Oswalt was 23-1 lifetime vs. Reds with a 2.58 ERA. His two starts vs. Cincinnati this season: 0-2, 6.75 ERA
k. Speaking of Oswalt and the trade rumors we hear this time of year I think the Cardinals and Twins make the most sense for the ace of the Astros. I would not count out the Yankees either.
l.We have a very interesting off-season ahead of us this year with potential of 15 teams looking at new managers. Teams include, Mets, Orioles, Braves, Marlins, Cubs, Brewers, Royals, Astros, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mariners, White Sox (you never know with Ozzie) and the Reds, Cardinals, and Yankees have managers in the final year of their contract. Will all 15 change mangers? No but it will be interesting to follow this offseason.
m. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe in his weekly Notes column writes how former D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes has had about 15 job offers since being fired in June.
n. Cafardo also brings up an interesting point when he asks...why do bad teams need closers? Thus he questions the availability of Joakim Soria and Mike Gonzalez. I never thought of this but both the Royals and Orioles can get some nice prospects for these two pictures.
o. Boy was I way wrong on the Mariners this season. The M's .234 team batting average is the worst in American League since Jays hit .226 in 1981.
p. I shocked how little the Angels had to give up for Dan Haren. While Haren has had a down year this year for him he has a great answer to the Rangers move for Cliff Lee. Let's not forget that the Diamondbacks gave up Chris Carter (minors), Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith for Haren and Connor Robertson.
q. It is going to be an interesting week to see what deals get done and ones that do not get done. Almost every team has question marks so look for a lot of rumors and some deals.
r. Here are some interesting nuggets from Bill Chuck and his BillyBall website. Jayson Werth is batting .279, but only .167 with runners in scoring position.
s. Albert Pujols leads the Cardinals with 11 stolen bases.
t. Through Wednesday, Josh Hamilton had 131 hits, including 23 homers. Adam Dunn finished the 2006 season and Jay Buhner finished the 1997 season with 131 hits and 40 homers each.
u. How good has Mike Leake been for the Reds this season? He is 7-1 with a 3.45 ERA and is hitting .385, tops among major league pitchers with at least 40 plate appearances. Leake is 15-for-39 this year with a double, two RBI and four runs scored. Leake has walked four times and has an on-base percentage of .442. Leake has struck out only nine times.
v. Yes he is a rookie PITCHER. The following hitters only have 15 hits this season: Brett Carroll, Andy Marte, Adam Everett, Max Ramirez, Rick Ankiel, Anderson Hernandez and Ramon Castro.
7. MLB Power 5
1. New York Yankees- Adam Dunn would be a perfect fit here (and in Chicago with the White Sox). This team may also need one more reliever and starter.
2. Texas Rangers- Despite the Angels deal for Haren they still have to be favorites in the West and maybe the American League with an impressive offense and now Cliff Lee.
3. Tampa Bay Rays - The thoughts of a Tampa-Texas ALCS is scaring the people at FOX right now.
4. San Diego Padres-Raise your hand if you had San Diego having the best record in the NL on July 26th. They have gone from sellers to buyers.
5. Atlanta Braves-Probably should have been four on this list but I am still upset about the Sunday loss to the Marlins.
8. Thoughts on The Boss & The Voice of God
I know this story is a couple of weeks old but I feel like George Steinbrenner needs to have a few words written about him. He has totally changed the business of sports and this includes all four major sports. I have heard and read lots of great Steinbrenner stories in my time. One of the best comes from a Braves clubhouse manager who tells me the story of the one time when the boss found one of the young Yankee clubhouse guys using the teams washer and dryers to wash his personal laundry year during spring training. Forgetting that this young employee was probably working 15-16 hour days for peanuts Steinbrenner fired him on the spot. This employee was crushed and went to his boss to see if he was really fired. His boss told him to show up the next day like nothing happened and wait to see if Steinbrenner said anything. The young employee showed up the next day, The Boss said nothing and he kept working for the Yankees for the next few years.
Multiple great reads about The Boss. The New York Times does a great job with his obituary and the New York Post and New York Daily News devoted sections of their papers to him.
Instead of reading about Bob Sheppard lets listen to his mastery of speech and the English language. Here is Mr. Sheppard in 1968 after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Here is Sheppard announcing Derek Jeter. Below is a video tribute to Bob Sheppard from Bob Sheppard in May of 2000.
9. What I Read These Few Weeks
One good thing about not writing the Ten Things on Sunday's the past few week is that I have read a lot of great articles. A couple of weeks ago the NY Times magazine had two great reads. The first one was on the great Mariano Rivera. In my opinion he is the reason the Yankees have 5 rings since 95 and the Braves only have one. For as great of a pitcher that he is, he might be a better person.
The second great read from the NY Times Magazine takes a look at Lindsey Graham, the republican Senator from South Carolina. Fascinating look at the new Maverick in the Republican Party. I love the fact that Graham does not cook for himself.
The third read comes from Esquire and takes a look at The Price Is Right which is must watch televison when I have a mid-week day off. With this said I miss Bob Barker as host of the show and I do not think Drew Carey is funny at all. In thirty-eight years, The Price is Right never had a contestant guess the exact value of prizes in the Showcase showdown. Until Terry Kniess outsmarted everyone — and changed everything.
10. Non Football or Baseball Thoughts
a. I found this fun game on Thursday night. The first time I named 96 teams out of the 122 teams that play in the four major sports. Just as a helpful hint, it is easier to name teams by cities than by sport. The second time about two hours later I named 119. Damn you Hockey.
b. How about the summer Spain has had...Nadal wins Wimbledon, Spain wins the World Cup, and Contador wins the tour de France again. I almost forgot that Pau Gasol won a NBA title.
c. You have to love the enthusiasm from the Baltimore cops in this video. It is like they do not even care.
d. A lot of you might ask what I have been up to the last few week's and their are only two answers; 1. working and 2. shenanigans
e. In early June an A-list crew of Smoak, Shep, Ben and myself went on a 5 day, 4 night, 3 city trip. We saw ballgames at the new Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards and Nationals Ballpark. Our nations capital in early June is undefeated.
f. Very impressed with Yankee Stadium, the great hall is presumptuous (typical Yankee). The food selections and options are very good. By the way Turner Field has televisions in their elevators while Yankee Stadium does not. Score one for the Atlanta 9.
g. On Friday morning we took the AMTRAK from NYC to our Nation's capital and I absolutely loved the ride and the scenery. I think it was my first AMTRAK since I was a little boy (maybe 3 or 4) and on that trip we took the train from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY.
h. On a very side and random note, I find it unbelievable that it is 2010 and I can not take a train to Athens, Ga or to Savannah or even to Augusta. No excuses that the cities of Atlanta and Birmingham, Montgomery, Nashville, Charlotte, Greenville-Spartanburg, Augusta, Columbia, Savannah, and Jacksonville are not inter-connected via rail.
i. Also, if you ever find yourself in our nation's capital and in the need of a solid meal of food I recommend Hank's Oyster Bar. I went Crabcakes and Mac and Cheesy. Solid very solid. Hat tip to the greatest kicker in Screven County history Donald Sheppard in doing the research in finding Hank's.
j. If you want more details of the trip you should come with us next year as we go to destination TBA.
k. I would have had a Ten Things up last week but I had an A-list crew of A-list crews visit the ATL last weekend and it was Shenanigan city. Picture this crew: Smoak, Shepp, Tmac, Daley and the Coach.
l. A perfect weekend with the Kichafoonee Cowboys and a Braves game. I can not remember the last time that crew was together and who knows when we will be together again. It was legendary.
m. Entourage was above average last night. I think we need more Bob Saget and the antics that he brings to the show. We definetly need more Sloan. Her having a 45 second conversation with E in the car does not suffice for me.
n. As far as other summer television, Hung has been decent while both Leverage and Royal Pains have been awesome. If you are not watching Leverage, do so now. It is Oceans 11 esque with the capers etc.
o. I also attended a Kansas, Styx, and Foreigner concert at Chastain this summer. Foreigner very good, Styx is average.
p. Yes, I am a jukebox hero.
q. It was my first time to Chastain. Very cool setup for a concert.
r. Again, I would like to thank The Captain, Nabil, Dan, and The Good Doctor for their great work while I took a vacation. I was hoping to post some smaller things but I never got around to that and I apologize.
s. I am heading to Cincinnati next weekend to watch the Braves-Reds in what could very easily be a playoff preview (that would be awesome). The last time we played the Reds Brooks Conrad did this and I am still in shock. Note: I have seen this highlight hundreds of time but for the first time you hear the theme from the Natural in the background.
t. I know all about Skyline Chilli and Graeters Ice Cream. Any other spots in the Natti I should know about?
u. I saw Inception Saturday afternoon and it is one strange movie. I am going to have to see this movie again and do some reading on the movie before I ever begin to understand what I saw.
Text Of The Week
The text of the week is from me to co-worker Jennifer Holman after she tweeted that she spotted Sara Evans and her husband (former Alabama great Jay Barker) at a bar in Destin.....heeeeyyyyyyy paparazzi...I need some Sara Evans photos or I might never talk to you again...u know I dont mean that.
Quote Of The Week
I can not recall any great quotes so I will give you some from Ari Gold and this seasons Entourage.
Ari: Even with a million man army sometimes you got to do some groundwork yourself. Saddam Hussein had to hang a few without assistants, no?
Ari: Well tell the school, that when they schedule a parent teacher conference for 2:30 on a weekday, that’s just their way of saying we don’t care about daddy.
Ari: Maybe they don’t want to make a show with you Drama.
Drama: They gave me a holding deal.
Ari: The guy who grills my hot dog at Carney’s had a holding deal in 1978.
Mrs. Ari: [This chandelier] is murano glass and it was originally owned by Sophie Loren.
Ari: I’d rather look at nude photos of her original body
Mrs. Ari: Why were you spinning her around Ari?
Ari: I have dreamt, since I was a kid, about owning a football team. I would have spun Lloyd around if he was in front of me. And if I could lift him.
Tweet Of The Week
The first tweet comes from Eric Stangel one of the cowriters for Letterman.
NFL: St. Louis Rams going after Terrell Owens. First they have to make sure his head can fit through the Gateway Arch
Tweet Of The Week II From @Real_BP_CEO Anyone watch that LeBron James special? Wow, and people call me a selfish prick.
Photo Of The Week
The newest survivor and Super Bowl winning Coach Johnson. Ht (Hat tip) to the Captain and the guys at Kissing Suzy Kolberg blog for the picture.
I am sure that most of you know that the Bulldog Nation took a punch to the gut a couple of weeks ago. In a drama better than “As the World Turns” Damon Evans life just took a serious nose dive. At 40 years old he was on track to make over $500,000 this year. He has (had) a beautiful wife and two young kids. Instead of going to Martha’s Vineyard with his family, he chose to go have a cocktail in Atlanta. One drink led to another and another. Instead of calling a cab, what does he do?
Mistake #1 : He decides to get behind the wheel of his 2009 Mercedes Benz. Not a good choice at all.
Mistake #2 : He has a 28-year old woman (Courtney Fuhrmann) in his car with him. To make matters worse he decides to “hold” her red panties behind his legs. At least they weren’t orange or blue panties.
My reliable sources in The Classic City saw a moving truck parked outside the Evans’ home this past Sunday. It appears the young and promising Athletic Director is about to get his own apartment in the very near future.
2. Da’Rick Rogers
Wide Receiver Da’Rick Rogers was once considered the crown jewel of the University of Georgia’s 2010 football recruiting class. He was the top player in Georgia, ranked as a top-10 player nationally, great size at 6-3 and 206 pounds. On signing day he jumped ship and signed with the University of Tennessee at the last minute. Huge loss for the Dawgs, right? Well, um…not so fast.
It appears he and a few other teammates got involved in a bar fight last night that resulted in injuries to an off-duty police officer, and Rogers is now charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Georgia fans likely became less sad at this news.
3. Dontavious Jackson and Tavarres King
In keeping with the theme of, “How big of a screw up can I be?”, two Georgia football players were arrested on alcohol-related charges this weekend and were suspended from the team Sunday night by coach Mark Richt. Backup tailback Dontavius Jackson and starting split end Tavarres King have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities, Richt said. More specifically, Richt said, Jackson will be required to sit out at least the first six games of the season — half of the schedule — and King will miss at least the Sept. 4 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Classy. Real Classy.
Coach's Update: Jackson has now decided to transfer once the summer semester is over.
Classy. Real Classy.
4. What I read this week
a.Harriet Lane Handbook: A Manual for Pediatric House Officers
The Harriet Lane Handbook represents over 50 years of expert guidance for pediatric residents and all those who treat children.
b. John Grisham’s The Summons – solid read as are all his novels.
d. The back of my eyelids because I have been really tired lately
5. LeBron James
Well I don’t know about you but I am thankful that saga is over. I was getting tired of hearing about everything LeBron when I turned on SportsCenter. I feel like I knew when LeBron ate, took a shower, and when he went to bed. Why is everyone so excited about a guy who has yet to win a championship?
For all you gamblers out there, I hope you placed your bet on the Heat before “The Decision.” The Heat were at 20-1 to win the NBA title next year before LeBron’s announcement. They are now 8-5 favorites.
This week Sports Illustrated had a nice article on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The article focused on their demise following there epic collapse in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. This got me thinking of my Top 5 Worst Franchises in all of Sports.
1. Detroit Lions
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Golden State Warriors
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Auburn University – no data to back this up. I was raised in Columbus, which is about 45 minutes from Auburn. I just hate them that bad.
8. Picture of the Week
9. Text of the Week
This week’s text comes from my good friend, Jill. She was apparently out dancing the night away in the ATL.
Time of text: 1:03am
Call me the landlord. Cuz I own the dance floor.
10. Non-Sports Thoughts
a. Why did I not invest in a DVR before this past year? These things are absolutely amazing.
b. Residency is getting in the way of my social life. I just finished my 3rd week of residency and I have already worked something like 225 hours. Coach wonders why I haven’t finished my Top 10 earlier.
c. Stub Hub – what a great idea. Why did I not think of this years ago?
d. My 10 –year high school reunion is next month. Should I go? Where has the time gone?
e. July 4th on Tybee Island is solid. There are a lot of people that should not be wearing bathing suits. However, there are definitely some that are nice on the eyes.
