Hello all, it's been about a month since I've been able to update, I've been swamped with school work and trips home, but I think I'm finally back on track and into a routine again. With that said, this post will cover the important stuff that's happened this past weekend.
Bedlam
If you've never experienced Bedlam, I suggest you put it on the bucket list. School spirit everywhere, friendly (and sometimes unfriendly) trash talking wherever you look, and the pride you feel when your team you're supporting runs out on the field is something I've never experienced before. It's unfortunate that this has to be the last game of the year, as this game pumped me up more than any of the prior 6 home games, and now there's not another one until next September! Here's what I thought about the game.
Offenses
OU is a machine. They always have been, they always will be. 16-27 on third down's is unreal, but people are overlooking the fact that they had 27 third downs, and instead paying attention to their conversion percentage. They weren't necessarily dominant, but made the perfect timed scores and conversions in order to control the game, gaining 65%+ of the time of posession in the game.
Oklahoma State's offense was something I hadn't seen all year. The Cowboy's live and die off of the home run play, but they didn't even have a chance in the first half. Whether it was Dana Holgorsen trying to feel out the OU defense, Gundy trying to build momentum, or Brandon Weeden being rushed on his reads, it wasn't the Cowboys we had seen. Weeden finished the game with 2 touchdowns, 3 INT's, and 250 yards passing. I will give him credit on the INT's as not all of them were his fault, but I counted 2 plays in the first half that were what I consider a long pass/home run play. One was when he completed a fly pattern to Justin Blackmon down the right sideline (I believe in the 2nd quarter), and that brought all the momentum to the Cowboy's. Why did they turn conservative? Why did the running game not work? Unfortunately, I can't ask these questions to the coaches, so I won't be able to get answers.
Defense
Both defenses played well in my opinion. Yes, Oklahoma State gave up two plays at the end of the game that sealed the deal, but as I previously stated, they forced the Sooner's to TWENTY SEVEN third downs. The Sooner coaching staff did a great job disguising defenses and keeping the OSU Offense on their toes, and ultimately it paid off with a win and a Big 12 Championship berth.
Play of the game
Yes, the interception that Brown tipped in as he flew out of bounds was a top 10 play. Yes the Interception returned for a touchdown was a game changer. However in my eyes, one play changed the entire game. The Cowboys had stopped the Sooner's around the OU 45 yard line and forced them to punt. The Sooner's had a great kick and pinned them inside of the 10 yard line, but instead of the Cowboys taking over, they got a penalty for roughing the punter. The Sooner's got the ball back, marched the final 30+ yards, and got a touchdown out of it.
P.S.: OU won by 6. They received 7 for the touchdown on that drive, and also received the momentum.
TCU Accepting the Big East Invitation
Finally! I'm excited for the Horned Frog nation to finally receive some legitimacy to their name. Do I think they should be in the national championship this year? No. Do I think they would've gone 12-0 in an automatic qualifier conference? No. But I am glad that they will now be tested every week, and that they won't have to worry about going 12-0 just to get into the BCS bowl conversation. This also helps the Horned Frogs because it opens up their recruiting. Not only can they now pull from Texas and all the states around it, but they can use the strategy of "We go to the East Coast every other week" to land recruits from east coast high schools. TCU can now easily attract any high caliber recruit that lives between New Mexico and the East Coast, which will only make them better.
Quick Ranger Thought: Josh Hamilton receives AL MVP Award
First off, I would like to congratulate Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero for their Silver Slugger awards, Vladdy for his Comeback Player of the Year award, Ron Washington for getting 2nd in the Manager of the Year award, and Neftali Feliz for his Rookie of the Year award. It was a great year for the Ranger's franchise and hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
I would also like to congratulate Josh Hamilton on his AL MVP. Not only has he shown the baseball world what he can do, but he has also shown the world what someone can do if they put their mind to it. After drug's, alcohol, and family issues, he's risen to the top and has World Series experience. With this confidence, as well as the talent he already has, look for an even bigger year next year (if he stays healthy.)
That's all I've got!
Go Rangers, Cowboys, Pokes, Mavs, and Stars!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Who's To Blame? The Tale of a Head Coach.
Sports are tricky, and there are a bunch of components that go into playing a game, much less coming out with a win. Whether it's effort on the field, preparation during the week, or simply having the desire to win, the world of sports is a mine field. A mine field that if not crossed in a smart manner, can result in an explosion of negativity, and possibly career ending decisions.
This is brought about by the firing of Wade Phillips from my beloved Dallas Cowboys. After weeks of "Wade Phillips job is secure" comments from Jerry Jone's, Wade has been finally set free from the prison of a 1-7 season.
Preseason
The Dallas Cowboys were in every conversation involving the Super Bowl before the season started. They have the talent (Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Miles Austin, Demarcus Ware.) They have the fan base and facilities (Dallas Cowboys Stadium, if not a sellout every game, very close to it.) The 'boys had all of the makings for a magical season, and seemingly had more tools at hand than the Patriots in '07 when they put together a perfect regular season, and everyone was excited for it.
So It Begin's...
A football team has three parts. Talent, Experience, Leadership.
Those three components make up the "Great Team". Those three components build teams that transcend through the ages.
The '72 Dolphins had all of these components. They had the big names (Talent) that were always in the spotlight, always fielding questions. They had the veterans (Experience) that always helped out the young players and knew what it felt like to play in the post-season. Lastly, they had the coaches (Leadership) that knew what it took to win a football game, to play past the last week of the regular season, and knew how to sport a Super Bowl ring.
The Cowboys seemingly had all of those coming into this year, but the one thing that seemed to lack was the mixture of leadership. They had the player leadership in the Keith Brooking's of the defense and the Jason Witten's of the offense, but they never developed the next rung of the ladder. The next step was the authority leadership, and that was always a mixture of Phillips and Jerry Jones. The same problem came up when Bill Parcells was in Dallas a few years ago. The personality that goes along with a coach in Dallas is that of an iron willed man. A man who receives criticism well, who understands he plays backup, and who knows how to make that situation the best he can make it.
Jerry Jones won't change, that's the obvious part, and it's looking doubtful that he will ever see another championship in his lifetime if he keeps running the team how he's been running it. So if that doesn't happen, the only other thing he can do is change the coaching.
With that said... I didn't think Phillips was the coach suited for the Cowboys. He had success in Dallas, but he didn't have the personality fit for it. He didn't ever stand up to Jones and take the team over like a head coach should. Obviously, as seen in Minnesota this week with the Brad Childress/Randy Moss situation, there are limits on that. But in Dallas, you have to step up and make Jerry realize you can handle the team, but not in excess to make him think you can't handle him (As seen when Parcells got the boot.)
Overall, I'm sad to see what's coming out of Dallas this week and this season. I'm a Cowboy fan for life, but it's to the point that I have to talk myself into watching the games on Sundays, then deal with being upset the following Monday. There needed to be something done. Obviously, Jones can't fire all of the players (Although he probably could buy the Texans and move them to Dallas), so instead he had to make a change at the top.
So, with hopefully all of this behind us, I would like to take this chance to welcome Jason Garrett to the world of the Head Coach. You're now on a seat that is forever hot, no matter what. You're now in a city demanding wins and Super Bowls. It's your job to make those fans take the paper bags off of their heads, to take those signs down that call for the crucifixion of you that are up every week, and to get the media and players on your side. It won't be easy, but today you were given the OK to start working on the foundation of the mansion you're hopefully about to build in Big D. May your leash be long, your patience strong, and your emotions nonexistent, and may you have good luck!
And if none of that happens... at least my OSU Cowboys are having a historic year!
Go Pokes, Go Cowboys, Go Rangers, and from now on, Go Stars, and Go Mavs!
This is brought about by the firing of Wade Phillips from my beloved Dallas Cowboys. After weeks of "Wade Phillips job is secure" comments from Jerry Jone's, Wade has been finally set free from the prison of a 1-7 season.
Preseason
The Dallas Cowboys were in every conversation involving the Super Bowl before the season started. They have the talent (Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Miles Austin, Demarcus Ware.) They have the fan base and facilities (Dallas Cowboys Stadium, if not a sellout every game, very close to it.) The 'boys had all of the makings for a magical season, and seemingly had more tools at hand than the Patriots in '07 when they put together a perfect regular season, and everyone was excited for it.
So It Begin's...
A football team has three parts. Talent, Experience, Leadership.
Those three components make up the "Great Team". Those three components build teams that transcend through the ages.
The '72 Dolphins had all of these components. They had the big names (Talent) that were always in the spotlight, always fielding questions. They had the veterans (Experience) that always helped out the young players and knew what it felt like to play in the post-season. Lastly, they had the coaches (Leadership) that knew what it took to win a football game, to play past the last week of the regular season, and knew how to sport a Super Bowl ring.
The Cowboys seemingly had all of those coming into this year, but the one thing that seemed to lack was the mixture of leadership. They had the player leadership in the Keith Brooking's of the defense and the Jason Witten's of the offense, but they never developed the next rung of the ladder. The next step was the authority leadership, and that was always a mixture of Phillips and Jerry Jones. The same problem came up when Bill Parcells was in Dallas a few years ago. The personality that goes along with a coach in Dallas is that of an iron willed man. A man who receives criticism well, who understands he plays backup, and who knows how to make that situation the best he can make it.
Jerry Jones won't change, that's the obvious part, and it's looking doubtful that he will ever see another championship in his lifetime if he keeps running the team how he's been running it. So if that doesn't happen, the only other thing he can do is change the coaching.
With that said... I didn't think Phillips was the coach suited for the Cowboys. He had success in Dallas, but he didn't have the personality fit for it. He didn't ever stand up to Jones and take the team over like a head coach should. Obviously, as seen in Minnesota this week with the Brad Childress/Randy Moss situation, there are limits on that. But in Dallas, you have to step up and make Jerry realize you can handle the team, but not in excess to make him think you can't handle him (As seen when Parcells got the boot.)
Overall, I'm sad to see what's coming out of Dallas this week and this season. I'm a Cowboy fan for life, but it's to the point that I have to talk myself into watching the games on Sundays, then deal with being upset the following Monday. There needed to be something done. Obviously, Jones can't fire all of the players (Although he probably could buy the Texans and move them to Dallas), so instead he had to make a change at the top.
So, with hopefully all of this behind us, I would like to take this chance to welcome Jason Garrett to the world of the Head Coach. You're now on a seat that is forever hot, no matter what. You're now in a city demanding wins and Super Bowls. It's your job to make those fans take the paper bags off of their heads, to take those signs down that call for the crucifixion of you that are up every week, and to get the media and players on your side. It won't be easy, but today you were given the OK to start working on the foundation of the mansion you're hopefully about to build in Big D. May your leash be long, your patience strong, and your emotions nonexistent, and may you have good luck!
And if none of that happens... at least my OSU Cowboys are having a historic year!
Go Pokes, Go Cowboys, Go Rangers, and from now on, Go Stars, and Go Mavs!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Ranger's Season; What It Meant To Me
This was the greatest season in the history of the Rangers franchise, and it also happened to be the first year I appreciated baseball fully.
When I was in 7th grade, I quit baseball. My mom says it's because I didn't like the pants and that they were too hot. All I remember was playing in a fall league with my select team, and literally going 0 for what seemed like infinity at the plate. That marked the end of my baseball career until Senior year, when I would now give anything to keep playing.
Now the Rangers are done with their season, and I have to wait another 5 months to live vicariously through them yet again.
But doing so isn't attained just by watching them on television. Watching the Rangers live my dream is something done best in person. Over this year, out of 162 games, and 81 home games, I attended (on my count) 16 of them. It's a rather expensive habit, but it was my favorite place to be this summer. I would have paid double the price to see Josh Hamilton drive one to the wall, Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off home run (I saw 2), Elvis Andrus stealing a base (I saw... a lot), or the entire dugout throw the claw (usually with me doing the same from the front row of the second deck.)
This season started early and started right. We had baseball practice at the same time as opening day. After days of figuring out ways to get out of it to go to the game, we finally figured out that there was no way. So instead, Coach pulled out the old boombox to practice and blared the last couple of innings of the game. That was easily our least productive practice, by the way.
When summer finally arrived, I was either at the ballpark, watching them on TV, listening to them in the car, or looking up probable starters and stats on their website. This past summer was everything baseball. I even went and threw the baseball around weeks after the high school season was over, just because it let me think I was still playing.
Now, the World Series dust has finally settled. The Ballpark in Arlington will be empty for 5 months. The stand right next to the entrance of the first base dugout won't have an enthusiastic, sunflower seed chewing manager, conducting his team like a decorated general. The San Francisco Giants fans may be rioting in the streets, mobbing cars, fighting, and "celebrating", but Dallas-Fort Worth is in a much better position.
Dallas-Fort Worth has a baseball team.
I never thought I would be able to say it. The Rangers have arrived, and their test-run is over. This was the first time I've ever constantly checked the score of the Ranger game while out on the town in my Halloween Costume. This was the first time I've ever watched baseball while wearing a jacket. This is the first time. Hopefully the first of many. Maybe the last time ever. Who's to know?
One thing is for sure, the summer of 2010 is one I'll never forget. Not only did I rediscover my love for baseball, but I am now a genuine fan for life. Yes, I went to games back in the A-Rod days. I screamed my lung's out while John Wettland and Jeff Zimmerman threw pitch after pitch. I stood ready at the fence in centerfield waiting to jump the fence to fight for a Juan Gonzalez or Pudge Rodriguez home run. I jumped out of my seat as Rusty Greer made another highlight reel catch. But never have I been so into the game of baseball like I was and am this year.
In my book, the summer of 2010 will go down as one that was dedicated to baseball. Not just my own baseball, but Ranger baseball, and I'm excited for next year's team. I'm excited that the Rangers now know that there are die-hard fans like me out there watching them every game, and even more fans that jump on the bandwagon to root them on to success. Baseball has become more to me than a game, it's become a part of life.
I'd like to believe that the Ranger players agree. I'd like to wish that the Ranger players felt a sense of loyalty to the Texas Ranger franchise, the Ballpark in Arlington, and the 52,000 people that turned out for every playoff game.
Who knows, I guess we'll see this offseason. HopefuLEE this offseason has made that loyalty something that takes over the locker room completeLEE. But one thing is for sure, I'm ready for another season. I'm ready for April. I'm ready for another winning June. I'm ready to sweat in August. I'm ready to freeze in October. HopefuLEE we can return, and next time go out with a bit of a different tune.
Go Rangers, Go Cowboys, Go Pokes!
When I was in 7th grade, I quit baseball. My mom says it's because I didn't like the pants and that they were too hot. All I remember was playing in a fall league with my select team, and literally going 0 for what seemed like infinity at the plate. That marked the end of my baseball career until Senior year, when I would now give anything to keep playing.
Now the Rangers are done with their season, and I have to wait another 5 months to live vicariously through them yet again.
But doing so isn't attained just by watching them on television. Watching the Rangers live my dream is something done best in person. Over this year, out of 162 games, and 81 home games, I attended (on my count) 16 of them. It's a rather expensive habit, but it was my favorite place to be this summer. I would have paid double the price to see Josh Hamilton drive one to the wall, Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off home run (I saw 2), Elvis Andrus stealing a base (I saw... a lot), or the entire dugout throw the claw (usually with me doing the same from the front row of the second deck.)
This season started early and started right. We had baseball practice at the same time as opening day. After days of figuring out ways to get out of it to go to the game, we finally figured out that there was no way. So instead, Coach pulled out the old boombox to practice and blared the last couple of innings of the game. That was easily our least productive practice, by the way.
When summer finally arrived, I was either at the ballpark, watching them on TV, listening to them in the car, or looking up probable starters and stats on their website. This past summer was everything baseball. I even went and threw the baseball around weeks after the high school season was over, just because it let me think I was still playing.
Now, the World Series dust has finally settled. The Ballpark in Arlington will be empty for 5 months. The stand right next to the entrance of the first base dugout won't have an enthusiastic, sunflower seed chewing manager, conducting his team like a decorated general. The San Francisco Giants fans may be rioting in the streets, mobbing cars, fighting, and "celebrating", but Dallas-Fort Worth is in a much better position.
Dallas-Fort Worth has a baseball team.
I never thought I would be able to say it. The Rangers have arrived, and their test-run is over. This was the first time I've ever constantly checked the score of the Ranger game while out on the town in my Halloween Costume. This was the first time I've ever watched baseball while wearing a jacket. This is the first time. Hopefully the first of many. Maybe the last time ever. Who's to know?
One thing is for sure, the summer of 2010 is one I'll never forget. Not only did I rediscover my love for baseball, but I am now a genuine fan for life. Yes, I went to games back in the A-Rod days. I screamed my lung's out while John Wettland and Jeff Zimmerman threw pitch after pitch. I stood ready at the fence in centerfield waiting to jump the fence to fight for a Juan Gonzalez or Pudge Rodriguez home run. I jumped out of my seat as Rusty Greer made another highlight reel catch. But never have I been so into the game of baseball like I was and am this year.
In my book, the summer of 2010 will go down as one that was dedicated to baseball. Not just my own baseball, but Ranger baseball, and I'm excited for next year's team. I'm excited that the Rangers now know that there are die-hard fans like me out there watching them every game, and even more fans that jump on the bandwagon to root them on to success. Baseball has become more to me than a game, it's become a part of life.
I'd like to believe that the Ranger players agree. I'd like to wish that the Ranger players felt a sense of loyalty to the Texas Ranger franchise, the Ballpark in Arlington, and the 52,000 people that turned out for every playoff game.
Who knows, I guess we'll see this offseason. HopefuLEE this offseason has made that loyalty something that takes over the locker room completeLEE. But one thing is for sure, I'm ready for another season. I'm ready for April. I'm ready for another winning June. I'm ready to sweat in August. I'm ready to freeze in October. HopefuLEE we can return, and next time go out with a bit of a different tune.
Go Rangers, Go Cowboys, Go Pokes!
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