History Detectives looked into a scorecard for a barnstorming game in 1946. It’s a most interesting investigation and explores the world of Robinson, barnstorm games and intergration.
Here’s a direct link to the video.
BIG 12 Preview Time
August 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By James Lawrence
The 2009 season saw a broad toning down of scoring and offensive statistics in the Big 12 compared to the frenzied shootouts of 2008 and to some extent 2007. 2010 looks to be a continuation of that trend, as the conference has lost its top two quarterbacks and most of its top receivers. Additionally, the defenses that improved in 2009 appear to be similarly strong in 2010.
Of course, the most obvious change will likely take place at Texas Tech. With Mike Leach gone and Tommy Tuberville in place, the Texas Tech starting QB and their receiving corps is no longer a lock to put up big numbers week after week. Tuberville claims to be committed to the spread, but a) that’s a claim we’ve heard before (when Tony Franklin was OC at Auburn) and b) earlier this spring, Tuberville also said that Tech QBs had been concerned about the lack of support from a running game – likely a hint that the offense would be undergoing at least some level of changes. But even if Tubbs were to commit to the spread, you don’t just step in and run an offense like Mike Leach does. So expect decline there.Texas will be without Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. Oklahoma loses Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham – neither of whom played much/any in 2009 – but also line anchor Trent Williams and Brody Eldridge.
Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant are no longer at Oklahoma State; Missouri loses their top two WR from last season, Kansas loses Todd Reesing, Desmon Briscoe, and Kerry Meier; Kansas State loses 4 of their top 5 receivers… it is just not looking like a good year for many offenses.
On the bright side, Texas A&M returns most of their starting offense, and Baylor should rebound in a big way if QB Robert Griffin stays healthy.g
Once again, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska should field very formidable defenses – possibly all top ten units in the nation. Because of their elite defenses, one of these three teams should finish with the best record in the conference. A&M might be considered a sleeper; however, to win the Big 12 South they will have to show much more consistency than they have in recent years.
Nonetheless, there are still many players in the conference worth looking at:
Jerrod Johnson’s poised to make this conference his?
Quarterbacks
Jerrod Johnson is the clear preseason favorite for top conference QB here, and as a dual threat QB his rushing TDs will be a big boost to fantasy stats.
Blaine Gabbert benefits from an incredibly easy non-conference schedule and the fact that the Tigers do not face the Big 12′s top secondary, Texas.
Gabbert narrowly beats out Robert Griffin, who is likely to struggle against TCU, Texas, and Oklahoma as those defenses will give the Baylor offense fits. (Nonetheless, I’m half-expecting and whole-heartedly rooting for Griffin to lead Baylor to a bowl eligible season.)
Landry Jones will lead an Oklahoma offense that returns most of its receiving corps and can only expect improvement over 2009.
If it gets this late in the draft, Garrett Gilbert and Austen Arnaud are your two best bets. We likely know what we’re getting with Arnaud – solid production but an offense that isn’t going to put the ball in the end zone a lot. Gilbert is more of a question mark — I think he performed admirably against Alabama given the circumstances, and that 2010 will be a redeeming season for him. But on the other hand, the team’s best WR (who caught both TD passes against the Tide) is also gone and the running game has been problematic for several seasons now.
Running Backs
The Big 12 has no nationally elite running backs. However, there are some good picks in this bunch.
Daniel Thomas basically is that Kansas State offense. He may not score heaps of TDs because of the team he plays for, but he’s got a good shot to finish in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards just because of the volume of carries he gets.
Demarco Murray is in the opposite situation. Oklahoma’s offense is bound to improve, and with Chris Brown gone, Murray should be nearing full-time status in the red zone. He can expect a lot of scores.
Kendall Hunter should be the focus of Oklahoma State’s offense now that Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant are gone. Keith Toston is also gone, so Hunter will reclaim his featured role.
Looking a little down out list, Derrick Washington will be playing in an offense that could score a lot of points, and his priority will be emphasized in the red zone as some of the experienced WRs are gone. Alexander Robinson is likely to be a major emphasis (along with Arnaud) for the otherwise lackluster Iowa State offense.
Roy Helu has become something of a name in the conference, but I expect Nebraska’s offensive woes to only slightly improve in 2010. Likewise, Christine Michael’s stats may be hurt by the fact that Jerrod Johnson himself is a threat to run in the red zone, so Michael may be deprived of some of the easy scores that other top fantasy RBs get.
Baron Batch plays for an offense that has been prolific in the past, and his new coach has hinted at more of a running game than the team has used in the past. However, I am skeptical that this Tech offense will continue putting up numbers even resembling those of previous seasons.
Rodney Stewart is probably the only other RB in the conference worth looking at.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
The first pick at WR is easy, as Ryan Broyles had a monster season in 2009 and could be the nation’s top fantasy receiver in 2010. Broyles doubled as the conference’s top punt return man in 2009.
Jeff Fuller won’t be in Broyles’ point range, but he has been Johnson’s favorite target in the past and should be the #2 receiver in the conference.
Beyond this, things are less clear. Detron Lewis and Alexander Torres both had similar stats a season ago for Texas Tech. With Torres having been just a freshman, he should be expected to see the greater improvement, and thus could be the third-most productive receiver in the conference.
Jerrell Jackson is the top receiver returning at Missouri and could be due a 1,000 yard season. Wes Kemp ought to settle in as the offense’s #2, but I see no reason he won’t be within 200 yards of Jackson.
Anyone expecting a resurgence of Robert Griffin should look for Kendall Wright to be catching plenty of balls and getting more open looks as defenses struggle with Griffin’s mobility.
Malcolm Williams had more yards per catch than any other Texas receiver in 2009, and could lead the team in yards in 2010. The problem is that James Kirkendoll outscored him in TDs 6 to 2. One of these will likely be the top receiver on the team… with Gilbert throwing a deeper ball than McCoy, that could be Williams.
Scotty McKnight emerged as a reliable receiver at Colorado, and could easily place above the Tex recivers and Wright on this list. There is some variance here due to Colorado’s offensive issues, particularly at QB.
For Oklahoma State, Hubert Anyiam stepped up to become the #1 receiver after Dez Bryant became ineligible. However, Anyiam had just 515 yards and 3 TDs in this role, and shouldn’t challenge the top of the league’s receiving stats.
At the TE position, Mike McNeill is the clear league favorite and will get decent production in Nebraska’s offense. The rest of the league is full of question marks at TE. Missouri could well field the #2 TE because of the offense they run, but whether that will be Andrew Jones or Michael Egnew is not completely clear at this point.
Kickers
Place kicker is a very strong position for the Big 12, and just about everyone is returning their kicker from 2009 (save for Texas).
Grant Russell hit 26/27 for Missouri in 2009 and could be the nation’s top kicker in 2010.
Alex Henery was reliable for Nebraska with an 86% conversion rate, and his stats are helped by the fact that Nebraska’s defense often puts the offense in favorable positions, but the offense is often unable to put the ball in the end zone. He is the most likely challenger to Russell’s spot at #1.
After these two, the question becomes which teams will likely get the ball into field goal range the most. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are my picks here as both could be running fairly one-dimensional offenses that don’t quite fire on all cylinders, but are still successful enough to push the ball well past midfield.
Texas actually was one of three Big 12 teams to have a kicker hit over 20 field goals in 2009 (nobody else hit over 13 in fact), but Hunter Lawrence is gone – replaced by John Tucker who did most of the punting last year as well as handling kickoffs – and the offense is full of question marks.
Betting on Oklahoma’s offense never seems like a bad idea, and returning kicker Jimmy Stevens converted 11 of 13 last season. I’d look for a 50-100 point improvement for this offense over the season, and Stevens would obviously see a large chunk of that.
Defense
As mentioned, the Big 12 has three top tier defenses. In this order: Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma. Beyond these three, Texas Tech might see some improvement under a more defense-minded coach, and Missouri looks like a passable choice if your options are limited.
Where Now for Shell-shocked Villa?
August 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Leigh Sanders
It all looked so promising. Following the massive blow of Martin O’Neill’s resignation as manager of Astion Villa merely days before the new Premier League Season, Villa seemed to be coping well.
With the James Milner transfer saga continuing to drag on Villa kicked off the new season at home to West Ham United with most of last term’s successful European qualifiers still on the books.
A comfortable 3-0 victory ensues, with Milner bagging the third with a sweet left-footed sweep across goal from the edge of the box. Promising displays from youngsters such as Marc Albrighton pointed to a rosy future for caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald.
Then a much changed and very youthful Villa side pinched a creditable 1-1 draw away at Rapid Vienna in the Europa League Playoff Round. This is the side that defeated a much stronger (on paper) Villa side at the same stage last season under O’Neill’s stewardship.
But then Milner’s deal suddenly pushed through after Man City’s Stephen Ireland agreed a payoff from the mega-rich club to move to Villa alongside a cool £16m in exchange for the England international’s services.
I’m not sure what has happened inside the club in the two days since that deal was confirmed but Sunday’s 6-0 drubbing away at Premier League new boys Newcastle United looked very ominous.
Newcastle rarely had to work for any of their goals. Other than Joey Barton’s opening wonderstrike Newcastle were gifted five goals from horrendous defending you wouldn’t expect to see from an under 15’s park team.
Toon striker Andy Carroll scored the easiest hattrick you are likely to see this season. The first came after a Newcastle corner was sliced as Richard Dunne attempted to clear and Carroll slammed home the ball left-footed from roughly 8 yards.
The second came when another Newcastle set piece was bundled forward by defender Mike Williamson and Carroll watched the deflected ball drop over his shoulder before volleying home.
The third came in the last minute when Barton’s lung-bursting run resulted in Carroll being played in behind a static defence and sweeping the ball home past Villa ‘keeper Brad Friedel.
Friedel himself was at fault for the second as he saved the first Kevin Nolan header from a Carroll knockdown but palmed the ball straight back at him and Nolan took the second bite at the cherry very thankfully.
Nolan’s other goal came when substitute Shola Ameobi knocked down yet another Newcastle corner and Nolan swivelled quicker than FOUR Villa defenders to poke home on the half-volley.
All in all, nightmare stuff. The kind of bad dreams every manager suffers the night before a Cup Final.
After what was a hugely promising week, MacDonald will now be very worried about the prospects of landing the Villa job full-time for himself.
If there’s one thing Villa always were under O’Neill it was organised. They defended well, pressed teams in to losing possession and then used the pace of Ashley Young, Milner and Gabby Agbonlahor to break quickly on the counter and punish teams either through them or by feeding battering ram John Carew. Carew’s shocking penalty miss, blazing the ball sky-high over Steve Harper’s crossbar, summed up Villa’s afternoon to a tee. With the score at 0-0, the day could have been oh so different.
MacDonald has a lot of soul searching to do. That away dressing room must have felt like a funeral after the final whistle. On Thursday comes the second leg of their tie with Rapid Vienna and MacDonald must now be considering wheeling out the kids again.
Then on Saturday they face another home league game against Everton who haven’t exactly started like a house on fire. They then face Stoke away, Bolton at home and then face two tricky trips to fierce rivals Wolves and Champions League-bound Tottenham Hotspur before facing goal-crazy Chelsea at Villa Park.
Villa realistically have to aim for three wins before that Wolves fixture as the next few are going to feel like a hangover on AGM day.
Teams don’t become poor overnight. Last year Villa pulled out some highly impressive results and in Ireland have a ready-made replacement for the departed Milner. Perhaps with one or two additions to the squad, namely a more prolific striker, they could get themselves back on track quickly and again challenge the higher echelons of the league.
Villa are a good club and deserve to be challenging for honours. If they can solve their managerial situation soon and bring stability back in at the top level then things may settle down.
One thing’s for sure, another display like that against Everton and it could be panic stations all round.
Clemens, Mariotti: Now The Shoe Is On The Other Foot
August 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Beaker
I’ve been away. Like you care. But I felt I should check in for my reader (Hi, mom. The voices haven’t stopped I’m afraid) and offer a couple of thoughts about Roger Clemens and Jay Mariotti.
First, Clemens. Guy is a mean, egotistical asshole from what I’ve read and observed over the years. He sounds a lot like Barry Bonds. What guys – and the people who personally know them – don’t quite grasp is what they do in private essentially doesn’t exist when it comes to public perception since we’re not privy to it. Once they step out of their private cubby holes they become public domain and what they say and do before our eyes is “reality.”
Therefore when they act incredulously, or in the case of Clemens lie under oath, that’s the image they’re portrayng to the public. It’s not smart PR to say the least.
People sense that and when it comes to pleading before fans and casual observers alike, they shouldn’t expect any sympathy or even understanding. What comes around goes around.
Now, it should be noted, in my humble opinion (whatever the going rate for that is these days), Congress should never have stuck its collective noses into the whole steroid problem in baseball. The whole point was to get ball players to admit using drugs. They didn’t get that – at least in Bonds, Clemens and Mark McGwire’s case – instead they pinched Clemens on purgury or lying to Congress. It’s a pointless exercise and waste of time and money.
It says here on my compooooter there are far more pressing matters in America.
The case of Jay Mariotti is different in that he didn’t lie to Congress or take drugs, rather he allegedly smacked around his girlfriend. Nonetheless, it’s still a case of a negative persona clashing with public perception. Mariotti, though, coulda been a great Congressman given he’s made a career being a finger wagging “do as I say not as I do” cantankerous moralizer. Sounds a lot like a crusading politician with a penchant for censorship to me. He should start cracking and knock on some doors. November is right around the corner.
Seriously. Should we really care?
This is the sad fact of our poorly ventilated fish bowl lives these days. At the click of a button everyone and anybody and anything under the sun, stars and moon, not just the rich and famous, can end up on Vimo or Youtube.
Why do we consume gossip so much? People take glee (for whatever reasons including jealousy) in watching perceived jerks get clipped. That’s a fact. Who knows what’s the psychology of this? However, people who have built up a respected reputation too have been torn down by our infinite graving for gossip. It can take a lifetime building credibility and goodwill and but a single moment to destroy it and all the goodwill to go with it. At that point, you may as well be a leper seeking Jesus.
A guy can be great in public and be a master of slithering around working the room and do the same thing as Clemens and Mariotti yet people will be far more willing to listen despite committing the same indiscretions or felonies. He “seems” so nice. Don’t under estimate the power of “coming off nice.” My wife who holds two masters and possesses a natural intelligence and powerful intellect still comes with a “I can’t believe that “Hollyood couple” are divorcing! They seemed perfect!”
We crave. There’s something about celebrity (of which I include athletes) voyeurism people get off on. It’s like an aphrodisiac. And the media – thought you were going to get away with it, eh? – are all too willing to satisfy our appetite. They come with hors d’oeuvres, antipasto, first and second entrees and dolce in one full swoop. I’ve always asked myself why certain writers are employed to begin with. Some of their stuff is so puerile and frighteningly generic it makes me wonder what the heck is going on in the minds of sports editors.
I realize one can be a great writer and be a jerkoff, but when a person is universally reviled he’d (or she) better offer insights that surpasses anything out there. You have to really get a guy like me to say, “Yeah, I’d punch him but holy shit he makes a great point and writes like he’s possessed by Dante’s soul.”
Does Mariotti fit that mould to be have been employed by big companies? What makes him so special to be on ATH being the character he is? Or is it exactly because of his polarizing personality he gets so many gigs?
In any event, these days, Mariotti is just another voice on the internet. True, not many get to be on PTI or ATH but that’s only important if you think the opinion-express begins and ends there. Don’t get me going on the access thing. And the blog versus mainstream journalism debate. That’s for another time.
Mariotti and Clemens are just two examples of two unlikeable guys who didn’t comprehend the reality that when you’re a celebrity the request for privacy is a suggestion if not loose request. You can’t on one end feed a naricissistic impulse to further a career that makes you fabulously rich and expect to be left alone at McDonald’s. It’s just unrealistic.
Now they must live with the whimsical wrath of fickle individuals.
The Most Unlikely Controversial Transfer Saga EVER
August 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Leigh Sanders
Like the unexpected summer smash hit at the Box Office one transfer saga involving not-so A-List names has been on the lips of most football fans throughout Britain this week.
Following the conclusion of those involving Cesc Fabregas, Joe Cole and James Milner comes one which has pushed Welsh football firmly in to the spotlight and has divided the country in two. Not 50/50 that is, but South Wales against the world.
This week Welsh Captain Craig Bellamy has moved from mega-rich Manchester City to his hometown club of Cardiff City on a season-long loan. But it is not quite that simple.
If the press and opposing supporters are to be believed then Cardiff have committed a triple homicide on their way to securing the deal while Craig has pretty much sold his soul to the devil.
So let’s siphon through the arguments surrounding the deal and try and boil it down to one simple question: is it fair?
First of all is the unfortunate front-running topic of modern sport: finances. Most want to know how a club who have this year alone survived four winding up orders for unpaid debts can afford to take on a player who was earning a reported £75,000-£90,000 a week depending on which rag you buy.
The same newspapers have also given us hugely differing estimates on who is paying what. The Sun believe that the wage is split 50/50 leaving Cardiff somehow coming up with £1.7m to fund the year-long switch.
The most common estimate is that Cardiff are, in fact, paying £20,000 a week with Manchester City stumping up the rest. Other Championship clubs believe this is vastly unfair and that Cardiff are taking advantage of a loophole in the loans system.
But what I want to know is how? Where in the Football league rules does it state that a loaning club must pay 100% of the player’s wage? This sum is up to the parent club and can be agreed between the two clubs involved. I wonder how many loan signings up and down the country are being funded solely by those bringing the player in?
And Manchester City will be left in this situation a lot as when they have to cull their squad to the newly regulated 25 the Premier League demands all clubs register there will be few clubs willing to take on the astronomical wages City pay even their fringe players. Just look at the £2m Stephen Ireland demanded City give him to move to Aston Villa as part of the James Milner deal. City will be seeing a lot of loan moves like this during this transfer window.
Secondly there are the monies Cardiff owe to various parties. The winding up question should be solved. The key word is that Cardiff have SURVIVED four orders from the courts. They have paid their dues to the taxman and players and staff are being paid on time. The club’s new Malaysian backers have lots of spare money in their back pockets and this deal, as well as the loan signings of Jason Koumas and Seyi Olofinjana, underline their commitment to taking the club forward towards Premier League promotion.
Thirdly in this financial section, the money still owed to Scottish club Motherwell for the July 2009 transfer of Paul Quinn which is believed to be in the region of £175,000.
Now this is an understandable gripe as Cardiff should rightfully be paying off what they owe before looking towards bringing new talent in. Motherwell Chairman John Boyle is claiming the sum is in fact over £200,000 but, as always, who do you believe? His threats to bring in the bailiffs on the day of Bellamy’s news conference may have seemed over the top to many supporters of Cardiff but it was a brave and bold move from a man who firmly has his own club’s interests at heart.
I hope this issue is resolved quickly as I fully support Boyle’s claims. Cardiff CEO Gethin Jenkins has stated that this should be resolved within the next seven days so I hope this is the case.
Moving on from finances you have the issue of Bellamy’s career, which, in my view, is completely irrelevant. I saw one anonymous internet poster slam Bellamy as a “moron” for “leaving himself with no option than to drop down as nobody else would have him.” Bellamy has had his problems in the past and nobody can defend those. But Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolfsburg, Celtic and Fulham were all firmly interested in the player which rubbishes those untouchable claims.
As for Bellamy, this is the move he wanted. Born in Canton, a stone’s throw away from the old Ninian Park stadium, he is Cardiff born and bred. He left home as a teenager for Norwich City due to the ramshackle nature of the club’s youth academy at the time but he and his family remain staunch Cardiff supporters. He lives just outside the city in a large and beautiful property in the same village as Cardiff manager Dave Jones. He has spent the past six years driving back and for to his various clubs from his South Wales base and has missed a lot of his young children’s growing up.
This decision to “return home” was his and it is what HE wanted. All this talk of him wasting his career is absolute nonsense. How is a career wasted if a man has no regrets? What happened to it being better to do something you enjoyed than slave away at something you don’t? It just seems to be one rule for one and one rule for another. Craig has always said he would love to play for Cardiff one day and at 31 has decided to do it now instead of waiting till he is too over the hill.
Another gripe, and by far the most ludicrous, is the question of competition. One or two supporters, and some supposedly knowledgeable ex pros have hinted that it is unfair on some other teams because Bellamy is too good for this division. They believe it will distort the balance of the Championship.
Yet there were no moans about Premier League parachute payments for relegated clubs. There were no cries of disdain when the loans system was originally brought in as clubs believed they could all secure unwanted players at higher division clubs who could lead them to glory.
Are you telling me that when a team is relegated from a higher division that somebody should sit down and declare which of their players are too good for the league below and should therefore be sold? I am actually laughing out loud at the thought of this. The notion is stupidly preposterous.
The only argument which has any standing is that of finances. As a Cardiff supporter I hope that this deal has been well thought through and won’t damage us in the long term. Cardiff are a club who seriously cannot afford another expensive Robbie Fowler-shaped mistake and I hope this isn’t an all-in gamble on Bellamy taking us up and recuperating the money that way.
Even without Bellamy, Cardiff have the best attacking selection outside of the Premier League, with the exception of maybe Middlesbrough, so promotion should now firmly be in our sights, starting with this Saturday’s match with Doncaster Rovers.
With the Football League now demanding to see financial plans before ratifying the signing, if we pass these tests then it will be a sign of how sound the deal really is and should put paid to a lot of these ridiculous outbursts from all and sundry.
If they do block it, it will be an indication of how damaging the deal would have been to our long-term ambitions and so saves us from possible financial meltdown.
Either way, the result of these meetings will completely make the Bellamy deal legitimate and fair, so why should the moaning continue? But for many English fans who despise a Welsh side doing so well, the moaning will just never stop.
Big 10 Fantasy College Football Preview
August 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Mike Ware
Well Buckeye fans, this is the year the Buckeyes take the BCS title. They are loaded with weapons and ready to unleash their destruction upon anyone that steps in their way. If the Terrelle Pryor (featured on the right, thanks SMI) we saw in the Rose Bowl shows up this season, the Buckeyes will be unstoppable. It is time for the Buckeyes to take the next step and become national champions.
Head coach Jim Tressell has a team with plenty of experience and weapons. This year he will utilize those weapons more efficiently than ever. Expect to see better passing numbers from Terrelle Pryor. The QB has shown he knows how to use his legs to open up the passing game and he was throwing lasers in the Rose Bowl. His completion percentage should take a huge jump this season and his rushing yards should decline a little as Tressell attempts to get the QB to throw more this year.
That is good news for RB Brandon Saine, who rushed for 739 yards and 4 TD’s last year. Saine should get more work this season and come closer to posting 1,000 yards. Dan Herron should also see increased carries this season and improve on his 600 yards from 2009.
The Buckeyes have two of the top Big 10 receivers returning this year. Expect to see big numbers from DeVier Posey who posted 828 yards and 8 TD’s last season. Dane Sanzenbacher will also see an increase in numbers over last years 570 yards and 6 TD’s. Both receivers will benefit from breakdowns in coverage created by Pryor scrambling around in the backfield. Tight End Jake Stoneburner is a great blocker and has the ability to get down the field.The Buckeye defense will be one of the best in the nation this year. Ross Homan, Brian Rolle, Chimdi Chekwa and Cameron Heyward anchor this defensive unit. The only weakness for now is concerning the safeties. But when you have big monsters attacking the offense and keeping the opposing QB on his heels, it should keep the pressure off your safeties.
The good news for the Iowa Hawkeyes is that QB Ricky Stanzi is back for his Sr. year and it should be a great one. He finished last year with 2,417 yards and 17 TD’s. The downside, he also threw 15 interceptions. He has to reduce that number for the Hawkeyes to have a real chance at contending for the Big Ten title against Ohio State. The offensive line has some questions with the loss of three big men from last year. With a rebuilding line and a tendency to play close games, as well as falling behind early in games, it may put pressure on Stanzi to produce those numbers again this year.
The bright side is the running game will take some of the heat off Stanzi. Adam Robinson should see an increase in his number over last years 834 yards and 5 TD’s. Brandon Wegher compiled 641 yards last year and 8 TD’s. Jewel Hampton, who tore his ACL last August, also returns to give coach Kirk Ferentz a triple threat running attack. Expect the bulk of the carries from Robinson but Wegher and Hampton should split the rest of the work load.
Stanzi does have the luxury of throwing to two familiar faces at the wide receiver position. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos hauled in 750 yards last year and 2 TD’s while Marvin McNutt pulled in 674 yards and 8 TD’s. Expect to see similar yardage numbers from these guys and an increase in TD’s for Johnson-Koulianos. Tight End Andy Reisner returns and should see a better year than last years 143 yards and 1 TD.
The Defense should be tested this season after an impressive 2009 campaign. They should be able to fill many of the holes and build on an already strong and experienced defensive core.
The big question is who is that playing QB this year for the Penn State Nittany Lions? Kevin Newsome is expected to be the guy. He has good size and is mobile enough to buy time as he learns how to run the Spread HD attack. Newsome will be a gamble in fantasy leagues this year but will be one with lots of upside potential considering the weapons he has at his disposal.
It doesn’t hurt to have one of the best running backs in the conference in your backfield. Evan Royster should build on last years numbers (1169 yards and 6 TD’s) as he carries more of the load this year. Royster is one of those backs that can be fed the ball 20 or more times a game and do well. Something Newsome can use in his first year.
The receiving game is one of the best in the Big Ten with Derek Moye (785 yards and 6 TD’s) and Graham Zug (600 yards and 7 TD’s). Chaz Powell also had 28 catches last year. All three may see a slight decline in numbers this year with a new QB. From a fantasy perspective the tight end spot is a gamble. Andrew Szczerba is expected to be the starter but he caught just one pass last year. Add in the fact that he has a new QB and it is a tough call on what to expect from the TE spot.
The defense has some big holes to fill this year but Joe Pa has always had good defensive units. Bani Gbadyu and Nathan Stupar should provide solid replacements at linebacker. The defensive line has Ollie Ogbu and Jack Crawford returning to a strong line. The safeties are strong as well with the return of Drew Astorino and Nick Sukay.
I have the Wisconsin Badgers ranked 4th in the Big Ten mainly due to their defense and concerns over the way the team struggled after tough losses in 2009. They could be a surprise team this year though since they don’t have to play Penn State and their toughest games are back to back against Ohio State and Iowa. The rest of the schedule is not that bad.
Scott Tolzien returns to lead the Badger air attack where he compiled 2,705 yards and 16 TD’s in 2009 and led the Big Ten in passing efficiency. He should improve in accuracy, passing yards and TD’s this year as well as cut down on those pesky INT’s.
The key to the Badger attack though is all about RB John Clay, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year last year. Clay racked up 1,517 yards and scored 18 times. Expect big numbers again from Clay as he makes a run for the Heisman behind his big offensive line. All five offensive lineman return for another season to pave the way for Clay.
At the receiver spot Tolzien will have one of the best Big Ten wide outs in Nick Toon to throw too again. Last year, Nick caught 54 balls for 805 yards and 4 TD’s. Look for Nick to improve on those numbers this year. Isaac Anderson will also return and should improve on last years 480 yards and 2 TD’s. Lance Kendricks should fill in well at Tight end and improve on last years 356 yards and 3 TD’s.
The Defense is a big question mark for the Badgers. Three of the front four have left and there are some really big shoes to fill at end. In total, five starters on defense have to be replaced and that is a little alarming. Last year the Badger defense yielded an average of 21.8 points a game. I’m not sure this Badger defense will be better than that. I would try to find another defense to draft.
Two Contrasting Styles Grace Premier League Canvass
August 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Leigh Sanders
Saturday saw the widely anticipated return of the English Premier League, largely considered the greatest domestic football competition the world over.
In a small corner of London two teams hotly tipped to trouble the usual ‘Big 4’ at the top of the table locked horns on day one with many anticipating a magical display of artful passing and aesthetically pleasing flicks and tricks to whet the appetite.
Well, one side read the script anyway. It was Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City at White Hart Lane. One side full of British stars equipped with pace and guile, the other a hotchpotch of global talent expensively assembled on the double in a world where wages really seem to be no obstacle for their multi-billionaire Arab owners.
But despite what you might be expecting to hear next, it wasn’t the latter that excelled on the pitch. Yes, this was a tremendous victory for whole-hearted advocates of the old-fashioned “English” free-flowing wing play where the ball is spread wide at the first opportunity and the wing-men bombard the penalty box with cross after cross where the waiting target men hope for aerial dominance.
On the one side we had Aaron Lennon. Dropped at the World Cup after England’s first couple of despondent displays he looked full of running once more on Saturday and if he can just finally work that final ball out in his mind he could be one of the world’s most dangerous wingers.
On the other there was Welsh whizz-kid Gareth Bale who added to his ever-increasing stock with a tantalising display of touch and move football where his dribbling constantly left City right back Micah Richards looking like a lost sheep.
Holding down the fort in central midfield are Tom Huddlestone and the dynamic Croatian maestro Luka Modric. Huddlestone is a giant of a man whose long-range passing and shooting has opponents cowering on the field. Modric may be shorter and slighter but he is no less of a combatant. His quick feet and seeming ability to pass with either foot allows him to spray the ball right and left looking to unleash Lennon or Bale at the earliest opportunity.
Once out wide, either man will look for the best opening to swing the ball in for the giant Peter Crouch or Roman Pavlyuchenko, depending on whom Harry Redknapp picks, in the hope of headed goals or scraps for the sprightly Jermain Defoe to pounce upon as he does so well.
On the other side we had Manchester City who looked every part a collection of big-name individuals rather than a star-studded team. Boss Roberto Mancini chose to deploy two holding midfielders in the shape of Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure with Gareth Barry on the left and Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right. Considering Barry doesn’t really play as a marauding winger then you could argue that there were actually three holders with David Silva popping out to the left to provide width.
This left new skipper Carlos Tevez up front on his tod. While his work rate is second to none and the talent in his feet is exceptional he prefers to play off a bigger man as he did Emmanuel Adebayor last season. He loves to feed off flick ons and interlink the midfield and attacking areas. He is not suited to playing the lone role and this became more and more evident as the game wore on.
Mancini’s answer? Take Tevez off and put Adebayor on. He was still sticking to that rigid 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 formation which was lapped up by the men in white all day long. Is this the kind of play you would expect from a team who has once again spent £100m on new talent this summer? I think not.
After bombing out Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland – two attackingly magnificent, if emotionally volatile, facets – from their squad this season they looked hugely short of ideas at times. The full backs seemed to just want to bomb forward, often caught out of position, and very little help was given to Tevez. On the rare occasions Toure bounded up field the end result often left City supporters wishing he hadn’t bothered.
I feel for Mancini. He has a hugely difficult task controlling all those egos at the club while he has outlandishly big expectations placed on him by the owners in return for their cash. But these tactics won’t help his cause and if things continue like this for a couple of months, particularly when playing at home, Mr. Mancini may soon be joining the ever-growing queues at the Manchester job centre.
How High Can Spurs Aim This Season?
August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Leigh Sanders
Reading Roy Keane’s autobiography, a common theme he continually hammers home is about ambition. One of his main criticisms of his former Manchester United teammates who secured that famous treble of 1999, and that which drew such scorn from Sir Alex Ferguson, was that he thought certain players rested on their laurels following that famous night in Barcelona where United came from 1-0 down in the 90th minute to score twice against Bayern Munich in stoppage time to lift the European Cup.
Keane felt that some players had decided that this was it, nothing could get better. They thought that they were now untouchable and that anything else they won would not eclipse what they had already achieved.
I share Keane’s thoughts on this subject. In sport you can never dwell on the past. What you achieved was magnificent, but now you have to look forward. If you are not aiming to go one higher then why are you playing? You need that competitive edge to help you continually push on and not to stagnate or, even worse, decline.
Harry Redknapp seems to have the same idea. His Tottenham Hotspur side performed magnificently last season to pip moneybags Manchester City, plucky Everton, Martin O’Neill’s English revolution at Aston Villa and a massively disappointing Liverpool to that fourth Champions League qualification spot and a place among Europe’s elite.
But he’s not just resting on that. He wants more. He wants his team to achieve again, to push on and further their ambitions to match the biggest clubs in the country.
Tottenham have not won the league title in England since their double-winning side of 1961 but this does not faze big-talking Redknapp in the slightest.
“We could contend for the title,” he told The Sun newspaper at the backend of last month. “We’ve got the players. We’ve got to aim for it. We could win it, it’s not impossible.
“Some people might look at what we achieved last season and say it was a flash in the pan. We have to prove them wrong and really go for it. Manchester City will be a massive factor in the title race because of the amount of investment they are making – and will continue to make until they win the title.
“But we have got to aim to try to win the title ourselves. Last year we started by saying we wanted to finish in the top four and got there. If you don’t aim for things, you’ve got no chance and the status quo will remain – with the big-spending teams winning everything.
“Somebody has got to do it at some time. It can’t all just be Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool – why not Tottenham?”
Very good point. Why not Tottenham? They are brilliantly placed in London to attract Europe’s stars and have had a pretty large transfer budget themselves over recent years. Last year they picked up some useful wins against the big clubs including a magnificent double over Manchester City which helped them secure that Champions League spot.
Unfortunately it doesn’t seem that everybody at the club is on the same wavelength. Coach and former Spurs and England star Tim Sherwood was quick to dismiss Redknapp’s claims of title aspirations and this baffles me. Shouldn’t the entire club be pulling in the same direction? Why should a coach publically come out and undermine what the manager has said?
“I’m not sure I’d agree with Harry about a title challenge,” Sherwood told the Tottenham Journal on August 4.
“I think we overachieved massively last season. It was beyond expectation, everyone would say that. For us to emulate that would be a massive success. We know how hard it was last year, it would be even more difficult this year.”
And here we see the difference in aspirations. Some are always the optimists. They want to achieve the highest possible accolades even in the face of massive odds. Others are quick to play down their own hopes in the fear of falling flat on their face and failing to achieve what they set out for. I hope Sherwood was disciplined by Redknapp for this lack of support.
You see it with fans too. I would say 95% of football fans are a fuzzy ball of optimism on day one of the season believing that this year is theirs, but there are always the doom-mongers hovering around (usually on internet messageboards hiding behind aliases) who preach the downfall of the club thanks to “inside sources” they know on the inside.
It’s not just at the top either we see high aspirations. Down in the NPower League 1, the hierarchy at Leyton Orient have offered their players an all-expenses-paid holiday to Las Vegas should they achieve promotion to the Championship this season.
Who’s to say you can’t dream?
Hope and aspiration are all part and parcel of football. If you cannot aim for glory then you shouldn’t be playing in the first place. Even the newly promoted clubs to the Premier League have to believe they have what it takes to go out against the ‘Big 4’ and get a result or they’ll get beaten 4-0 or 5-0 every week.
Just look at some of the results Hull City achieved during their first season of Premier League football – they won at both Arsenal and Tottenham and for the first half of the season at least were well placed until that confidence dried up and they dropped like a stone, only avoiding relegation on the final day.
So I fully back Redknapp’s claims 100%. Who can say how far a team full of confidence can go. Remember Birmingham City’s fantastic run in the middle of last season following their takeover by Asian magnate Carson Yeung?
Do Tottenham realistically have what it takes to win the Premier League title? Maybe not. But they can match any of the top teams on their day so just need to find the consistency to play that way week in week out. They have to aim high or they’ll begin to feel out of depth in the Champions League and fail in their European adventure this season.
Good luck to them. It will be great to see something different in English football this season. To hell with it, Tottenham to win the Champions League too! Tottenham to better Manchester United’s 1999 treble with the quadruple (Premier League, Champions League, F.A. Cup, League Cup). Tottenham to break the 100 points barrier and dominate football for the next decade.
Where does aspiration end and stupidity begin? Is Redknapp correct in his beliefs or is Sherwood the right man with his words? The next 9 months will tell and one thing is for certain, it’s going to be damn good!
You don’t need a dreamer to tell you that.
Baggio (Thankfully) Returns To Azzurri Fold
August 4, 2010 By 4 Comments
Italian soccer received a shot in the leg when the FIGC announced Roberto Baggio to be the president for its Technical Sector – another way of saying chief scout. This can only be a good thing for Italy’s youth development. Also hired was former AC Milan and Azzurri coach Arrigo Sacchi as a national team youth coordinator and Milan great Gianni Rivera (la regista of great style) who will act as president for the youth academy . Together, the trio represent a breath of fresh air and new sense of direction for Italian soccer.
Baggio in particular is simply beloved in Italy and around the world not just for his genius on the pitch. Humble, introspective and smart, he commands instant credibility and respect. It’s exactly what Italy needs at this time to rebuild its squad.
The significance and symbolism of Roberto Baggio can’t be under stated. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this guy. He’s simply one of the all-time great players. More importantly, he was never afraid to voice his opinions on Italian football and likely has his own ideas to implement. That’s a lot of knowledge and experience that will flow from the trio onto the young players.
On a personal level, I’ve been watching soccer for a long time and without doubt, he’s in the top 5 greatest players of the last 30 years. There was a certain aura to him that left you in awe. Unfortunately, he was mistreated by the likes of Arrigo Sacchi, Marcello Lippi and Cesare Maldini. For some strange odd reason, it was almost as if they wanted to deny his greatness – especially at the national team level. Reminds me a little of Gianfranco Zola (Marazola). Another stand out talent who never seemed to gain the respect of the Italian coaching ranks.
It’s a shame he and Paolo Maldini (I would even venture to add Franco Baresi in this group even though he was on Italy’s World Cup winning team in 1982 despite not playing) never lifted a cup as players, but I hope to see them part of a world cup team some time in the future.
It’s always nice to see classy individuals win anything in any sport.
Hodgson Has Work Cut Out to Rebuild Liverpool Empire
August 4, 2010 By 2 Comments
By Leigh Sanders
Roy Hodgson has just walked in to one of the most enviable, yet difficult, jobs in English football. He has to rebuild the once-magnificent empire known as Liverpool FC in to a real force in the domestic game.
It is a club steeped in history that has won trophy after trophy on both home soil and the European stage. Many of the games’ greats have plied their trade in front of the famous Kop stand while legendary managers from the old-skool ‘Liverpool Boot Room’ such as Bill Shankley and Bob Paisley have become iconic figures and household names by leading their players to victory.
Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler, Kevin Keegan, John Toshack, Ian Rush, Ian Callaghan, Michael Owen – the list of great names is endless and just as star-studded as any Hollywood gathering.
But over recent times the well has somewhat dried up. Yes they have won domestic cups on occasion and Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez led the club to a UEFA Cup and Champions League title respectively as well as the UEFA Super Cup too.
But despite all the magical days out in Cardiff, London and most notably Istanbul the one grating thorn in the side of this great club is their failure to land the sparkling Premier League since its inception in 1992 and the fact that Manchester United have now caught up and equalled their long-standing record of 18 league titles.
Chelsea may have prevented Utd. getting to 19 last year, but Liverpool will now be looking to hit that number themselves on the back of this gargantuan wave of hope brought in to the club by a man few really cared about before he took the reigns at struggling Fulham in 2007.
His patchwork career has seen him manage Halmstad (Sweden), Bristol City, Orebro (Sweden), Malmo FF (Sweden), Neuchatel Xamax (Switzerland), Switzerland, Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Grasshopper (Switzerland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Udinese, United Arab Emirates, Viking (Norway), Finland, Fulham and now he has landed in the hotseat at Anfield. That’s some journey!
He has won four Swedish titles, 8 domestic Swedish cups, 1 Danish title and cup, while he led both Fulham and Inter Milan to the Europa League/UEFA Cup final. He took Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup (their first since 1966) where they reached the last 16 before losing to Spain and helped them qualify for Euro 1996 in England before leaving to take over at Inter before the tournament began. He also almost led Finland to the Euro 2008 Championships but narrowly missed out.
Yet, before Fulham, he was never really viewed as too successful by his compatriots. His spell as Blackburn manager was unsuccessful and this led to him missing out on the England job when both Glenn Hoddle and then Kevin Keegan left. His success with Switzerland and Finland led to his name being considered when Steve McLaren was sacked but, again, he was seen as not too successful in his home country so Fabio Capello got the nod instead.
But in 2010 it is all a bit different. Under Hodgson Fulham were challenging the top half of the Premier League and not scrapping it out at the bottom. They played attractive football, they scored magnificent goals. Beating arch rivals Chelsea became an expectation and not a wild dream. When Capello’s boys flopped in South Africa many were calling for Hodgson to replace him.
Now Liverpool fans will be hoping for the same. Hodgson has already tied down enigmatic England winger Joe Cole, convincing him to leave London for the first time and turning down Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the process. He has convinced skipper and talisman Steven Gerrard to stick it out on Merseyside in his quest for medals. That’s two down.
Now he has to convince Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano to stay. Speculation will not stop surrounding the two who are continually being linked with moves to pastures new.
Torres is an absolute must for staying. Easily one of the world’s best strikers his goalscoring exploits have been one bright spark for the club in two miserable seasons. Mascherano, on the other hand, may not be such a loss. There is no questioning his defensive abilities but his passing is often suspect and he is increasingly becoming a liability with his hot-headed approach to big games and continual sendings off against the likes of Manchester United.
If Liverpool can get the reported £25m for him then sell, sell, sell. A suitable replacement is ready and willing in Alberto Aquilani and Lucas Leiva can also fill in the role, though his ability is far inferior to both Aquilani and Mascherano admittedly. But this is Liverpool FC. There will be a long line of willing midfield generals to fill the role and pass masters chomping at the bit to dispel the Xabi Alonso-shaped ghost haunting the halfway line at Anfield.
Cole is a huge step forward. A big name and English too. The Liverpool fans already seem to think they have what it takes now and there has been a marked increase in Liverpool shirts on display in South Wales since his signing, a hotbed of Liverpool support (unfortunately for Cardiff City).
But there is a hell of a lot of work to do. The one problem over recent years has been a lack of help for Torres in scoring goals. Dirk Kuyt is an incredible workhorse but far from a prolific goalscorer. Andriy Voronin was as useful as a solar-powered torch and David Ngog is as comical as he is talented. This weight now falls on the shoulders of Serbian Milan Jovanovic and I am unsure as to whether he’s ready to take such a responsibility on just yet.
Question marks still also remain over a sluggish defence too. Jamie Carragher continues to age, Martin Skrtel isn’t the quickest while Daniel Agger continues to sulk at playing third fiddle. A centre half with pace is a must for Hodgson as is a quality left back as Liverpool have just sold all theirs. Wayne Bridge is one name being touted by the British press and that is not a bad place to start!
They will be delighted by their rivals’ defensive problems as well. Chelsea have a wantaway Ricardo Carvalho while Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand continues to man the injury table although Nemanja Vidic has just committed to a nice new £18m contract. Arsenal seem to have strengthened their backline as have Manchester City but Tottenham Hotspur’s Ledley King and Johnathan Woodgate continue their injury-plagued careers.
But it’s not all about looking at your rivals’ plights. You have to get your own house in order and as his career has proved Hodgson is masterful at this. Defensively he has always been tight and gets his teams working as a unit. If he can add that extra attacking spark to his Liverpool team they could do some damage this year.
I hope he gets the success in this country his career deserves. At 62 this may be his last hurrah and he looks like he may be joining the likes of Brian Clough in the list of the greatest managers England never had. A couple of league titles and legendary status as the man who restored Liverpool FC to the top of the English game would definitely be a worthy consolation prize though.
The clock is ticking and the season approaches. Let’s see how Roy gets his Rovers playing and whether they can return to the summit of a game they used to rarely let other teams get involved in twenty years ago.
