Eye on the Tiger

I wake up Friday morning and get ready for some college football and thanksgiving left overs. I'm warming up my food and turn to the Auburn versus Alabama game. I'm watching Auburn give Alabama all they can handle in the first quarter and then my heart drops. Breaking news, Tiger Woods was in a car accident. With the way his highlights were being played I thought Tiger Woods was going to die. Things sounded sketchy as no one really had factual information. All they knew is that he crashed into a fire hydrant and a neighbor's tree. Hearing those details and seeing how early the accident was. The first thing that came to my mind was drunk driving. Then I thought it's Tiger Woods, he wouldn't do that and I was right because officers said it looked like alcohol was not involved with the accident. So then I thought that Tiger was puffing the putting greens and then I wondered why would he do that knowing he's the most powerful role model to date right now, but then I thought like a grown up and said this seems to weird. Something has to be up and certainly it was because as the days went by more facts were coming out. It appears that Tiger Woods was having an affair and he and his wife were arguing about it. Sources said Tiger told a friend he was about to get a "Kobe Special" before he rushed out of the house and hit everything except the car path. Tiger is free to do what he wants, but cheating does show poor character. So if he is getting chased around the house by his wife holding a golf club then let it be known. Other reports were made saying that Tiger's wife Elin told officers that she was chasing Tiger around the house with the same club I guess she used to save him from the SUV. Other statements came out that Tiger Woods told an officer said that he didn't get those lacerations from the car accident. Look Tiger, whatever happened that Friday morning is between you, Elin and that golf club. You may be ruling the golf courses with it, but Elin is betting the house that she can get to you in under three strokes. I'm happy he was not drinking and driving and I'm glad he released a statement of him taking responsibility for his actions. Even though Tiger didn't give out every detail he gave the right one. That he is not perfect and like him nobody else is.

USC's Donward Spiral

This is a sad season for Trojan fans all over the world. This season USC showed us that they are in a rebuilding year and they need more work to be done with their team. With me being a real USC fan I am totally disappointed with this Pete Carroll team. Pete had to see something brewing with him wanting Jet's quarterback Mark Sanchez to come back and play another year. The Trojans of 2009 started off the year great. They beat the Spartans of San Jose in there tune up game and then went to Ohio State and won the battle of the highly ranked teams, but the team fell with true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. After he went down against Ohio State the following week was a true disaster and this is what got me. Aaron Corp was the starting quarterback till he broke his femur in practice, so why was it when he was the starter against the Washington Huskies he looked like the true freshman. Also why didn't Pete play Mitch Mustain a transfer from Arkansas. He could have probably did better than Aaron Corp against the huskies. Not to mention that the head coach and defensive coordinator had the upper hand by leaving the Trojan's staff just a year ago, but still that is no excuse. So after that bump in the road USC went on a four game winning streak and was back in the top ten of the BCS rankings I just wanted to see USC and Boise State play each other in a BCS bowl game, but SC hit a wall. They first got man handled by the Oregon Ducks and was later embarrassed by the Stanford Cardinals. Look I have great respect for Pete Carroll he has won the Pac-10 conference title almost every year he has been there and has won every big game except for the Rose Bowl against Texas. Pete has put more players in the NFL than any other colleges combined. Carroll has done a great job with a true freshman quarterback and has kept the Trojans in the hunt, but I must admit that I am spooked for the rest of the season. The Trojans plays UCLA today who seems like a decent team when they are working on all cylinders and an Arizona team that is putting in work and almost beat the Oregon Ducks. USC has a great tradition and like all good things they came to an end this year, but maybe just maybe the Trojans of USC can be back in full force next year and make a run for the national title.

Another Wrong Answer

After fourteen years of awesomeness Allen Iverson has chose to retire from the National Basketball Association. One of the greatest offensive scorers in the league, and lets not forget his dynamic defense. Iverson was a three time season leader in steals. He was quick to anticipate the passing lane, exploit it and get the steal for the lay up. Allen Iverson was a player that could score from all over the court and as a team leader put his body on the line to get that "and one". This is the guy who crossed over Jordan and didn't just cross over Jordan, he made the shot. Allen single handily led the Seventy Sixers to the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the only reason the Sixers won the first game and now after a couple appearances with a few teams Allen is being forced into retirement. Look, no matter what anybody says I believe Allen when he says he still has some gas left in the tank. I know everybody else is arguing how when he was complaining about practice. Plus he didn't want to come off the bench and I feel he shouldn't have to. Depending on the team he goes to and I have three right answers for Allen Iverson. Number one, like I said before if Allen was a Laker he would have to come off the bench and that wouldn't be a bad thing for him. If you look at the Laker games and you see Phil put the second unit in. The only person who can actually score right now is Odom and Shannon Brown when his three pointers are on. Allen would sure up that second unit by running the triangle like Kobe and score all his points in spurts and at the end of the game when the Lakers up by twenty. Plus he would probably start from time to time over Derek Fisher. Second is the Cleveland Cavilers because they have no real two guard. I mean they start Anthony Parker. Put Delonte West on back up duty as he gets his self together and start Allen Iverson. Finally he could run the two and lead a surging Oklahoma Thunder. I know they are not a championship contender, but he could start there. I understand why teams are apprehensive to sign him. They don't want Iverson to just be a cancer to their team and I know they've seen that Iverson is having a little trouble finishing around the rim. Allen Iverson shouldn't be sitting out this year or playing overseas in some European League. Iverson should be playing in the NBA continuing his legacy and fighting to win a championship. If Allen Iverson is the question, then retirement is another wrong answer for Allen Iverson.

The Ron Artest Affect

The Lakers are the returning champions for this new season and with new seasons are always new additions. The Lakers felt they had a great team to make a run for another championship, but things were quickly derailed when Trevor Ariza and his agent were trying to play hardball with the Laker's General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Not only that, but Laker fans thought Lamar Odom would be gone as well. I remember talking to my friends about who we should pick up in the off season and a few names came to mind such as Rasheed Wallace, Charlie Villanueva and the always troubled Ron Artest. My friends was like hell no! Why would the Lakers get Ron Artest who got physical with Kobe in that playoff series against the Houston Rockets. I didn't care we needed to become tougher and I felt Ron Artest and his defence was able to do so. I saw Carlos Boozer pushing around Gasol, Bynum and any other big men we had and the year we lost to Boston the Celtics did the same thing. So as I'm walking into my local YMCA and my friend behind the counter quickly tells me the Lakers just signed Ron Artest and the reason was to get him before the Cleveland Cavaliers did. I was so happy I started high fiving everybody I came in contact with because I knew this would ensure our back to back championship. I mean Trevor was a great defender and could shoot the three, but Ron Artest is a fierce defensive player and has the skills to go for at least twenty-five a night. Look I knew the media wouldn't like this acquisition, but I didn't think it would be so negative. I don't know why I didn't expect it though. I mean sports writers are hammering Ron Artest and I think they're doing it to get Ron to blow up and destroy the chemistry of the Laker team. All I have to say is this, Ron was playing on a bunch of teams that really had no chance of winning a championship. Now he is on a team that has won one the year before and is playing with arguably the best player in the NBA. Ron's antics are small and trivial. So what he came out half naked on Jimmy Kimmel. Dennis Rodman wore a dress and make up. The problem is we love the troubled athlete, but are quick to judge them when we feel they do something we don't approve of. Ron has been a great addition and is being a warrior on the court and a good Samaritan off of it. He's giving away tickets on twitter and now he's trying to speak against violence with the guy from the "Malace at the Palace". Even though I couldn't blame because no one should get any kind of beverage throed on them. I don't care if they are a professional or not. Getting disrespected is a tough pill to swallow, But we can see Ron is taking it in stride. He just needs to run the triangle offense, play "exquisite D" and try his best to help the Lakers win a championship without any major incidents. Lets just let Ron be Ron.

A Tale of TwoQuarterbacks

When the New York Jets drafted Mark Sanchez Jets fans were happy and skeptical. The Jets of New York traded up in the draft to pick Sanchez fifth overall. After that Sanchez was quick not to make any brash promises or predictions and chose to let his play do the talking, but before he even stepped on the practice field he was being dubbed as " the new Broadway Joe" when he posed like David Hasselhoff in Baywatch. Sanchez took the good ribbing and when the season started Sanchez showed he should have been a top draft pick at quarterback and he made the right decision to leave USC after only playing one season. He started off the regular season even better by leading his team to a 4 and 0 start as New York named him Mark Franchize. The media was praising Rex Ryan for the coaching job he was doing on both sides of the ball and then it happened. Darren Sharper in a comment before the Jets and Saints played each other he said he's been studying film and Sanchez has a few tales before he makes a decision. Well Sharper must have been right because during that game Sharper had two interceptions and returned one of those for a touchdown. The Jets went on a three game losing streak and it took no time for the mild manner New York fan and media start to question Sanchez and the Jets ability to win. It looked like Sanchez got his swagger back when they ran up the score on the Oakland Raiders, but we realized that it's the Oakland Raiders and they only play hard against teams that have a great chance of reaching the playoffs. Then Rex Ryan cried and then Jets fans cried and the team was on the skid again. Look Sanchez is a winner because he came from that great USC tradition. He's showed more skill than Jamarcus Russell, Brady Quinn and Mark Stafford, but is a rookie so he showed some immaturity. Rex Ryan was doing a great job when he was keeping Mark in his rookie bubble and wasn't making him win the game, but as soon as Ryan opened up the offense more and more it seemed Mark kept messing up throwing interception after interception. All I have to say is Mark has had two different halves of his rookie season. The first half he was a lock at Offensive rookie of the year, but now he isn't even close. Mark shows to much trust in his arm right now thinking he can squeeze the ball in coverage or throw the ball with more touch than he really can. Those areas of trouble will change with time will and next year Mark Sanchez will be back to Mark Franchize and every Jets fan will be back on the bandwagon looking forward to the playoffs.

Hot Seat Charlie

Another Saturday of college football's rivalry week, beer and Notre Dame football. I must admit I'm like Hank Hill from the show "King of the hill" because my day feels perfect when Notre Dame football loses. Don't get me wrong I love the tradition of Notre Dame football you know Joe Montana, Tim Brown and lets not forget the great Ricky Waters, but I'm just totally upset when Weis comes in flashing his Super Bowl rings, talking cocky and then ends up with terrible seasons after his two BCS appearances. I mean this coach was saying, I could get hoodlums and criminals and when tomorrow. I won't do it that way". I mean how could you support a guy like that? I can't. You see I know America would love to see more "white players" and so will I, but that is no excuse for that kind of talk. I just wish Charlie should have went with his first mind and headed straight to the hood and start recruiting, because if he did that he would have won something better than the Hawiian Bowl. Look Charlie Weis was a great offensive coordinator, hell he might even be a good head coach, but he's not living up to expectations or that lucrative contract they gave him. Notre Dame paid less to Ty Willingham and he took them to two bowl games and was bounced after two years even Bob Davie took them to their first BCS appearance and bunch of bowl loses as well, but even though they lost those bowl games I felt Notre Dame was actually on the map. Not waiting for next season and thinking to myself will Weis and Notre Dame ever make it back to the BCS series. It looked like after Ty Willingham's recruiting classes left Charlie's team got real suspect. The funny thing about Notre Dame getting rid of the two previous coaches is them and Charlie Weis has the same winning percentage. All I have to say is first I wasn't going to even write this until after the season, but after a lost to Navy two out of the last three years, then this lost to Uconn and then Charlie said he has no thought of resigning. I knew I had to get on this quick because he might not make it to Palo Alto. I'm not saying that Charlie Weis should really recruit criminals because look where it got Kiffin, but watch the big talk and get back to your winning ways with the next team you coach at.

Problems for Mangino at Kansas

After a wonderful football season last year the Kansas Jay hawk'S football team is in turmoil right now. Not only are the Jay hawks sitting at a five and five season and a chance at missing a bowl game. The Kansas football team is now looking into the conduct of their head football coach Mark Mangino as certain present and former football players are accusing him of mistreating them by verbally abusing them and physically abusing them. Of course Mark Mangino denied all of these allegations, but that didn't stop Kansas Jay hawk's athletic director Lew Perkins from opening an internal investigation. Mark later showed no further intentions of admitting to anything by saying all he expects to do is coach against the Texas Longhorns this weekend, but there's to many allegations to ignore. Most of the people that played for Mangino at Kansas or Kansas State says that Mangino would take your personal information and use it against them. They said that he would embarrass them by putting information they shared with him in confidence believing he would keep it secret, but later he would put it out in front of the team. One former player told Mangino that his father was an alcoholic and he wanted to further his education and become a lawyer. Later on Mangino was talking to him in front of the team and asked him if he was going to be a lawyer or become an alcoholic like his father. Another incident occurred when a player dropped a pass and was talking on the sideline Mangino told him to shut up or he will send him back to St. Louis where he can be shot with his homies. Former players said that Mangino would grab them, shake them and poke them with his finger. One time a player fell asleep in a film session and players said Mangino pushed him out of the chair and kicked him in his butt as he tried to get up. Look coaches do a lot of things to players that we as athletes don't like. They do grab us or push us, call us all kinds of names if we mess up and they do go to far. My brother had a scholarship out of state to a division two university, but he quit the team because the coach was highly disrespectful by calling him and other players from California that he thought wasn't playing to their ability California vagina's (You use the other word for that.)and football players from Florida the Florida retards. My brother still attends that school and will get his degree in December, but I feel it's wrong when you go to college to get a taste of the NCAA football life and it is cut short due to a coach demeaning you and expecting you to take it. Why would you want to continue to play for a person like that. As I mentioned earlier I choked out a coach. We were playing a team that was blowing us out and a friend of mind had a vicious hit on one of the players from the opposing team and me and a friend of mine were laughing at that player and giving props to our teammate. Quickly an assistant coach came out of no where and told us to shut the (explicit) up. I told him I wasn't his kid and he should never feel comfortable talking to me like that. After the game that assistant went to the head coach and told him what I said. The head coach politely told me to get the (explicit) off of his field. I through my shoulder pads and helmet and stormed off the field only to have the coach chased me down and grab me. I turned around and grabbed him by his neck telling him to never ever get the urge to grab me again. All I have to say is this, coaches need athletes else they wouldn't have a job. Most coaches just blow smoke up your butt to have you come to their college only to treat you like crap when they feel you are useless to them. We just need to have coaches that will be considerate to their players and treat them with the same respect they feel they deserve from their players.