This is going to be short and sweet. I'm going to hit on a couple of things and ride out.
1. Reunion Weekend this past weekend in Cincinnati was ON FIRE! Everyone showed up and we really GOT. IT. GOING. I actually think Dana's is smoldering in a heap of ashes right now because we burnt that place down on Saturday we were so on fire. While everyone was an MVP this past weekend, Kong took away the MVP in stunning fashion and DL took a close second. Among other things Kong orchestrated the night at Hofbrauhaus Friday night, he fired off Das Boot, he cooked a honey glazed ham, and then he went to the casino after dropping me off at the airport on Sunday. DL, well, what can we say about DL. He really did the things Thursday through Saturday. Highlights include getting beated Thursday night with a $30 cab ride, he walked from Edwards rode back to his apartment, he did what he does Friday night, he got the party started at Dana's, and he raked beer from Dana's. Great weekend fellas. It couldn't have been better.
Councilman...it was great to see you!
2. Xavier played a pathetic first half and rebounded with a baller second half to beat Rhode Island! Crawford had a dub-dub. Again, more often than not this year, Xavier goes as JC goes. Keep up the good play JC. Coach Mack, you're doing a heck of a job. Terrell Holloway is well on his way to being the best point guard Xavier has ever seen.
3. Dayton lost to St. Joe's. Dayton lost to Rhode Island. How's that sound pre-season champs? Keep crumbling under the pressure of "being so good." You obviously don't know what it takes to "be so good." Stay in the shallow end and enjoy the NIT.
4. Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour 2010 Tour Dates came out today. I'm attending:
Columbus, OH 6-22-10
Cyahoga Falls, OH 6-25-10
Virginia Beach, VA 7-20-10
Washington D.C. 7-23-10
So mark your calendars. I just gave everyone a clear time frame of when I'll be back in Ohio as well as what I'll be doing. That also should look like an open invitation to a rendezvous in VA for anyone interested in getting down.
****The Grammy's are this weekend, hopefully Dave Matthews Band gets what they deserve.
5. Colts v Saints in the Super Bowl. I gotta go with my former employer in this one, the Indianapolis Colts. I would also like to say as the Wide Receiver's manager I would like to take full credit for the development of Pierre Garcon. He was a rookie when I was there. I shot the jugs with him after practice and of course helped coach Clyde Christenson with all his wacky drills. Let's go horse.
Do what we do.
--'Killa
Do What We Do
Sorry for the delay. Honestly, I've been too tired and too lazy to drop a blog. But I think I have finally mustered up the energy to put some thoughts down.
I'd like to start with the team we all love, Xavier. The A-10 may have been trying to set Xavier up for failure in their pursuit for a 4th straight A-10 title. But, they weathered the storm. Xavier went on the road to Philly and Washington, D.C. and grabbed two big time wins. Now granted they didn't play particularly well in either game but they made the plays necessary to get the tough wins. First, LaSalle. Xavier jumped out early and even built the lead up to 20 in the second half before going ice cold for almost nine minutes. LaSalle stormed back and had they been a little bit better could have beat Xavier by 10. But, Xavier took control in the last four minutes and did what they had to do to win. Next they headed south to D.C. for an always tough match up against Karl Hobbs and George Washington. It's always tough to go into GW and win. The environment is usually hostile and typically GW plays Xavier tough. GW jumped out and went up by 11 and maintained that lead throughout the game. Xavier didn't play particularly well for about 30 minutes but over the last 10 minutes Xavier battled and Jordan Crawford once again stepped up and put the team on his shoulders and Xavier escaped with another big road, conference win. Xavier is now tied with Temple at 2-0 in the conference with 5 of the next 6 games being played at home. Xavier really needs to take advantage of this schedule to really set the tone in the conference. This week Xavier has Charlotte at home and then the big one, Dayton comes to town. But before I spout off about Dayton, Xavier needs to take care of business tonight. As a matter of fact, I'm not even going to say anything about Dayton. Although, it took overtime for them to beat Duquesne at home by only one point.
I would like to take this time to say that I need to apologize to Xavier, the players, and the staff. I think I came off a little to harsh on them. I had the opportunity to hang with the team this past weekend. Obviously, it's not like it used to be. I'm not around them everyday so I don't have the inside track as far as how the team chemistry is, how the coach is coaching etc. So after spending some time with the team I can honestly say I may have had the wrong perception. Coach Mack is a grinder. He stays up late looking at film, stats, etc just preparing for the next game. He puts a ton of effort into what he's doing and he definitely knows what he's doing there. As far as the team goes. I was only hard on Jordan Crawford because I know how good he can be. But, I honestly think it was just taking some time to adjust to playing and finding his role with the team and fitting in. You are now seeing him play within the offense. He's taking shots that come as a part of the game flowing to him. He's distributing, he's rebounding, and he's taking control of the team when he knows he has to. That's exactly what it's going to take if this team wants to win the A-10 and be competitive in March. Jason Love is working extremely hard day in and day out to get better everyday. Jamel is doing what he does and that's providing energy off the bench and being extremely productive. I know Xavier didn't play particularly well in these two games but they still won, isn't that all that matters? Getting a W at the end of the day? Now, just imagine how good this team can be if they play like they did in the last ten minutes of the GW game all the time. That's pretty sweet. They got stops, they rebounded, they scored, they shared the ball, they played extremely good team basketball. That being said, let's go out and get win number three tonight fellas.
My next take has to do with the Cleveland Browns. It's very simple. PAY JOSHUA CRIBBS. That easy. Pay the man. Again, he is the best player on that team but he's the 30th highest paid player. That doesn't make sense to me. So then you come out and offer him $1.4 million. No. Look, I know he doesn't have a true position. I get that. But the guy goes out there, every game, and gives it his all. He has said time and time again he will do what it takes to win. Whether it's playing running back, wide receiver, going wild cat, returning kicks, whatever. On top of that, the guy almost broke his neck and ended his career and still came back and played. Don't you think you should give the guy some money? PAY JOSHUA CRIBBS.
I'm really looking forward to Reunion Weekend.
-'Killa
I'd like to start with the team we all love, Xavier. The A-10 may have been trying to set Xavier up for failure in their pursuit for a 4th straight A-10 title. But, they weathered the storm. Xavier went on the road to Philly and Washington, D.C. and grabbed two big time wins. Now granted they didn't play particularly well in either game but they made the plays necessary to get the tough wins. First, LaSalle. Xavier jumped out early and even built the lead up to 20 in the second half before going ice cold for almost nine minutes. LaSalle stormed back and had they been a little bit better could have beat Xavier by 10. But, Xavier took control in the last four minutes and did what they had to do to win. Next they headed south to D.C. for an always tough match up against Karl Hobbs and George Washington. It's always tough to go into GW and win. The environment is usually hostile and typically GW plays Xavier tough. GW jumped out and went up by 11 and maintained that lead throughout the game. Xavier didn't play particularly well for about 30 minutes but over the last 10 minutes Xavier battled and Jordan Crawford once again stepped up and put the team on his shoulders and Xavier escaped with another big road, conference win. Xavier is now tied with Temple at 2-0 in the conference with 5 of the next 6 games being played at home. Xavier really needs to take advantage of this schedule to really set the tone in the conference. This week Xavier has Charlotte at home and then the big one, Dayton comes to town. But before I spout off about Dayton, Xavier needs to take care of business tonight. As a matter of fact, I'm not even going to say anything about Dayton. Although, it took overtime for them to beat Duquesne at home by only one point.
I would like to take this time to say that I need to apologize to Xavier, the players, and the staff. I think I came off a little to harsh on them. I had the opportunity to hang with the team this past weekend. Obviously, it's not like it used to be. I'm not around them everyday so I don't have the inside track as far as how the team chemistry is, how the coach is coaching etc. So after spending some time with the team I can honestly say I may have had the wrong perception. Coach Mack is a grinder. He stays up late looking at film, stats, etc just preparing for the next game. He puts a ton of effort into what he's doing and he definitely knows what he's doing there. As far as the team goes. I was only hard on Jordan Crawford because I know how good he can be. But, I honestly think it was just taking some time to adjust to playing and finding his role with the team and fitting in. You are now seeing him play within the offense. He's taking shots that come as a part of the game flowing to him. He's distributing, he's rebounding, and he's taking control of the team when he knows he has to. That's exactly what it's going to take if this team wants to win the A-10 and be competitive in March. Jason Love is working extremely hard day in and day out to get better everyday. Jamel is doing what he does and that's providing energy off the bench and being extremely productive. I know Xavier didn't play particularly well in these two games but they still won, isn't that all that matters? Getting a W at the end of the day? Now, just imagine how good this team can be if they play like they did in the last ten minutes of the GW game all the time. That's pretty sweet. They got stops, they rebounded, they scored, they shared the ball, they played extremely good team basketball. That being said, let's go out and get win number three tonight fellas.
My next take has to do with the Cleveland Browns. It's very simple. PAY JOSHUA CRIBBS. That easy. Pay the man. Again, he is the best player on that team but he's the 30th highest paid player. That doesn't make sense to me. So then you come out and offer him $1.4 million. No. Look, I know he doesn't have a true position. I get that. But the guy goes out there, every game, and gives it his all. He has said time and time again he will do what it takes to win. Whether it's playing running back, wide receiver, going wild cat, returning kicks, whatever. On top of that, the guy almost broke his neck and ended his career and still came back and played. Don't you think you should give the guy some money? PAY JOSHUA CRIBBS.
I'm really looking forward to Reunion Weekend.
-'Killa
The Rant
Hello all and Happy New Year. This is my first post of the decade so I figured what better way to kick it off than with a good ol' fashioned rant. So without further ado, here we go.
Mike Leach: You are just an absolute nut. You were in trouble before this year even began because of your terrible relations with those in charge at Texas Tech. It would have taken a simple apology to the university and the kid and you would have gotten your fat bonus. Instead you chose to be an ass and admit to nothing.
The James Family: Yes, this may be a contradiction of the previous statement on Leach, but I dont care. Craig James is nothing but a "helicopter dad" that got too involved. Listen, I understand that you want to protect your kid, but seriously, these coaches are going to motivate in various ways that may not make sense to many. Suck it up. Adam James, you just simply didnt have the talent to be getting major time in the Big 12. So what did you do? You went crying to daddy at ESPN and created a major hoop-la that ultimately got Leach fired. Mike Golic even called you and your dad out saying that his kids would never think to come to him with a problem they had with the coach. You are a big boy now, Adam; deal with it yourself and quit being a pussy.
USF: You fired your coach after the action in question was clearly explained by not only members of the team but the player involved. Jim Haslett then got canned for "grabbing his players shoulder pads and shaking them. I'll give props to the kids for trying to stick up for their coach, but USF? WTF?
ESPN The U: My brother and I were talking about this over break so I figured I'll bring it up here. While I do agree with Gaskill that the special on the U was great; there is one thing that really grinds my gears about the whole thing. Butch Davis. He was not really given credit for the work he did in making the u, THE U again. Dennis Erickson had to deal with an almost impossible task in taking over for Jimmy Johnson, but he did nothing but run that university into troubles with the NCAA. Yes, I know that he won a couple of National Titles, but honestly, he did so illegally. He left Davis with the task of rebuilding the U with less scholarships than usual because of . Butch Davis came along and turned the U into a powerhouse again, and he did it the right way. He got talent that is littered all over the NFL, and he set that university up for years to come until Larry Coker screwed the pooch. So to you Butch Davis, I raise my glass.
Roy Williams: You are simply a jackass. Now, I'll be honest, I have never liked the man. However what he did in a home game against Presbyterian is inexcusable. I mean are you seriously going to kick an opposing fan out for saying "hey Deon, dont miss"? You responded by saying that nobody should say anything negative to your players. Wow. Every free-throw that the opposing team takes your fans are yelling something negative at them. Are your players that special that they deserve to have their asses kissed by an opponent when they are shooting a free-throw? Dont think so. Suck one, Roy.
Pete Carroll: This is another coach that I have never liked. Pete Carroll says that this job with Seattle "came out of nowhere." Yeah right. You know who is coming, the big bad NCAA. In talking with Doc Gaskill on the matter there seem to be some similarities to Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV in the early 90's, and the U under Dennis Erickson. These were 2 powerhouses that were controlling their respective sports worlds, but their, how do I say this, generous financial aid to players really put their universities behind the 8-ball. In UNLV's case it was an 8-ball that lead to their downfall when a recruit, Lloyd Daniels, bought crack cocaine from an undercover cop in NYC. Tarkanian was then forced to resign for the association between his players, himself, and a sports gambler/briber that supposedly had mafia ties. We all know the U's past so we wont get into that here, so on to the Poodle we go. Petey the Poodle has troubling issues concerning Reggie Bush and most recently Joe McKnight. That whole athletic department is in trouble with the basketball team already banning themselves from post-season play. The Reggie Bush situation is not looking pretty, and it will be interesting to see how this thing plays out as the case will be open to the public. Joe McKnight has been riding around in an SUV that is definitely not his. Pete Carroll has a press conference coming up and it will be interesting to see what load of crap he has to say in the press conference. He saw this job as a way out from a "hairy" situation and he was going to jump at any opportunity in the NFL to get out of the mess he is going to leave at USC. I hate USC, but I feel sorry for the next coach who is ging to have to try and pull a Butch Davis anod save that football program. And one closing thought, JA Adande just compared Pete Carroll to Lou Holtz. That is complete garbage. Was there some question to what Lou was doing at ND? Yes. But he was essentially forced out by the alumni. He loved and still loves the University of Notre Dame and he would have stayed there had the alums not run him out of town. Pete Carroll is not being forced out. He is taking the easy way out.
Alright thats all I have in me for right now. Anways, hope all is well with everyone. Xavier plays _ayton this Saturday and "Reunion Weekend" is next weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone next week. Travel safely.
Holla Man.
Mike Leach: You are just an absolute nut. You were in trouble before this year even began because of your terrible relations with those in charge at Texas Tech. It would have taken a simple apology to the university and the kid and you would have gotten your fat bonus. Instead you chose to be an ass and admit to nothing.
The James Family: Yes, this may be a contradiction of the previous statement on Leach, but I dont care. Craig James is nothing but a "helicopter dad" that got too involved. Listen, I understand that you want to protect your kid, but seriously, these coaches are going to motivate in various ways that may not make sense to many. Suck it up. Adam James, you just simply didnt have the talent to be getting major time in the Big 12. So what did you do? You went crying to daddy at ESPN and created a major hoop-la that ultimately got Leach fired. Mike Golic even called you and your dad out saying that his kids would never think to come to him with a problem they had with the coach. You are a big boy now, Adam; deal with it yourself and quit being a pussy.
USF: You fired your coach after the action in question was clearly explained by not only members of the team but the player involved. Jim Haslett then got canned for "grabbing his players shoulder pads and shaking them. I'll give props to the kids for trying to stick up for their coach, but USF? WTF?
ESPN The U: My brother and I were talking about this over break so I figured I'll bring it up here. While I do agree with Gaskill that the special on the U was great; there is one thing that really grinds my gears about the whole thing. Butch Davis. He was not really given credit for the work he did in making the u, THE U again. Dennis Erickson had to deal with an almost impossible task in taking over for Jimmy Johnson, but he did nothing but run that university into troubles with the NCAA. Yes, I know that he won a couple of National Titles, but honestly, he did so illegally. He left Davis with the task of rebuilding the U with less scholarships than usual because of . Butch Davis came along and turned the U into a powerhouse again, and he did it the right way. He got talent that is littered all over the NFL, and he set that university up for years to come until Larry Coker screwed the pooch. So to you Butch Davis, I raise my glass.
Roy Williams: You are simply a jackass. Now, I'll be honest, I have never liked the man. However what he did in a home game against Presbyterian is inexcusable. I mean are you seriously going to kick an opposing fan out for saying "hey Deon, dont miss"? You responded by saying that nobody should say anything negative to your players. Wow. Every free-throw that the opposing team takes your fans are yelling something negative at them. Are your players that special that they deserve to have their asses kissed by an opponent when they are shooting a free-throw? Dont think so. Suck one, Roy.
Pete Carroll: This is another coach that I have never liked. Pete Carroll says that this job with Seattle "came out of nowhere." Yeah right. You know who is coming, the big bad NCAA. In talking with Doc Gaskill on the matter there seem to be some similarities to Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV in the early 90's, and the U under Dennis Erickson. These were 2 powerhouses that were controlling their respective sports worlds, but their, how do I say this, generous financial aid to players really put their universities behind the 8-ball. In UNLV's case it was an 8-ball that lead to their downfall when a recruit, Lloyd Daniels, bought crack cocaine from an undercover cop in NYC. Tarkanian was then forced to resign for the association between his players, himself, and a sports gambler/briber that supposedly had mafia ties. We all know the U's past so we wont get into that here, so on to the Poodle we go. Petey the Poodle has troubling issues concerning Reggie Bush and most recently Joe McKnight. That whole athletic department is in trouble with the basketball team already banning themselves from post-season play. The Reggie Bush situation is not looking pretty, and it will be interesting to see how this thing plays out as the case will be open to the public. Joe McKnight has been riding around in an SUV that is definitely not his. Pete Carroll has a press conference coming up and it will be interesting to see what load of crap he has to say in the press conference. He saw this job as a way out from a "hairy" situation and he was going to jump at any opportunity in the NFL to get out of the mess he is going to leave at USC. I hate USC, but I feel sorry for the next coach who is ging to have to try and pull a Butch Davis anod save that football program. And one closing thought, JA Adande just compared Pete Carroll to Lou Holtz. That is complete garbage. Was there some question to what Lou was doing at ND? Yes. But he was essentially forced out by the alumni. He loved and still loves the University of Notre Dame and he would have stayed there had the alums not run him out of town. Pete Carroll is not being forced out. He is taking the easy way out.
Alright thats all I have in me for right now. Anways, hope all is well with everyone. Xavier plays _ayton this Saturday and "Reunion Weekend" is next weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone next week. Travel safely.
Holla Man.
Shake Me Like A Monkey
Xavier is on the fence...of being really good or not being really good. Last night's game brings a new sense of urgency to the program. Xavier fell to Wake Forest in the first of 10 Skip Prosser Classics. I guess you could say Skip got what he deserved. A thrilling edge of your seat match up that took two extra periods to decide the outcome. Now we can sit here and debate all night and all day about the game but let me lay a few things out there. First of all, without Jordan Crawford, Xavier isn't even in the game. But, with Jordan Crawford there are still questionable decisions being made that may or may not have an affect on the game. I'm telling you guys, he is tremendously gifted and clearly was the most talented player on the floor last night. But, it just blows my mind at the lack of general basketball IQ he has. That's being blunt and maybe he's not entirely to blame. Before I give my opinion on what was the biggest mistake of the game I would like to point out ways Xavier wins that game in regulation. First of all, why in the world would you foul a guy taking an off-balance three at the end of the first half? This gives the Deacons three free throws that cut the lead to two (if this doesn't happen Xavier wins by three in regulation?). How or why is Jordan Crawford shooting two technical free throws that he misses? In the media timeout, you are made well aware of the fact there will be two technical foul shots awarded, so why not sub in Holloway (I don't think he was in the game at the time) who leads the A-10 in free throw percentage at almost a 90% clip or even sub in Brad Redford, a guy who just doesn't miss from the line (Xavier wins by 5?). You also have to look at about a 6 or 7 minute stretch in which I really wondered if Xavier was giving any sort of effort on the floor. Wake went up by 10 and Xavier had to crawl it's way back in and did a good job doing so but these lapses have to stop. After getting a call that blew me away, why with thirty seconds left, after taking two timeouts does nobody tell Jordan Crawford that shooting a fade away 25 foot jump shot is not the best decision? I mean it doesn't take a genius but with the ball game tied, wouldn't it just seem logical to create and try to get into the lane and put up a shot, layup, or even maybe get fouled to win the game? Let's face it, Jordan Crawford was unstoppable last night. He was scoring in every way possible: dribble drives, fast break, contested jump shots, the patented turn around baseline J, I mean he couldn't be guarded last night. So, why in a game where no one can match his athletic ability does he not try to create instead of hoisting up a shot that has a 30% chance of going in? I can't answer that question. That being said, I'm really tired of people saying well, go back to Miller's first year, look at the trouble he had. You know what, and I mean this in no disrespect, but are you being serious with me with that argument? Are you really being serious? That team, talent wise, couldn't hold a torch to this current team talent wise. There is just no argument. None. So don't bring that to me. What you have to ask yourself is, do you genuinely see this team getting better everyday? What I see is flashes. I see flashes of how good this team can be but I have yet to see it fully put together. It's scary to think about how good this team could really be when the click on all cylinders for a full game or for a full conference schedule. I need to be very clear about how I'm coming across as some may think I've thrown in the towel or being completely negative about a team who is still trying to find their identity under a first year coach and one that will be very good in the future. What I'm trying to point out is that this team needs to just have some accountability. They need to just go play. The parts are there. You have a point guard who is well on his way to being arguably the best point guard at Xavier. You have tremendous outside shooting with an inside game to compliment the range which spreads the defense out and opens up lanes to dribble drive, kick the ball for a shot, or get the easy bucket. You have a player who has the tools to play in the league and is still finding his way and chemistry with the team. Basically, as frustrating as it is, this team has one option and if it isn't taken then it could be a long and disappointing season. As a team, take accountability, show up everyday, and know that you're going to get better everyday and as a result you're going to look like Xavier teams of old. But, who am I to judge? I'm just an equipment manager. "Do what we do. No excuses, no explanations."
THE Ohio State Buckeyes finally got the monkey off their back. They came out and proved everyone wrong. By everyone, I mean everyone. Everywhere I read and everything I watched and heard was in favor of Oregon and their high powered offense. Well, there was offense from Oregon but there was also offense from Ohio State. Ohio State also had the D to lock it down. Ohio State's first drive was incredible. I mean #2 just picked apart that defense. Who would've thought that the Bucks would've come out throwing on the first possession of the game? I know I didn't. But being up 10, the Ducks struck and struck quickly. They marched down the field and scored with such speed to tie the game up. But in the end Ohio State wanted it just a little more as the defense made big plays and the offense was very efficient. I think that should shut up all the haters for awhile. I mean seriously, it's no argument that the SEC is king. Ok fine. But year after year Ohio State wins the Big Ten, they play in BCS Bowl games, and they produce NFLers. I'm already looking forward to seeing what they can do next year. If young Pryor can just keep getting better than it could be mistake city for a lot of people out there.
The Browns closed the season out with a four game win streak! Incredible. They found a running back, or so we think in Jerome Harrison. They damn well better pay Joshua Cribbs. They hired a man who knows what the heck he's doing. I think you gotta believe that Brady Quinn showed strides before getting hurt, he's gotta be the guy. The defense will only get better. The offense might be ok. Woah, I better stop because I do this every year, get way too optimistic. But, with a hope and a prayer maybe the Browns will no longer embarrass me.
The Cavs might be starting to really get hot. Happy belated to LeBron! Your book is pretty good homie.
Reunion weekend countdown: 16 days
Current Song: So Damn Lucky - Dave Matthews Band (Europe 2009 Box Set)
-'Killa
THE Ohio State Buckeyes finally got the monkey off their back. They came out and proved everyone wrong. By everyone, I mean everyone. Everywhere I read and everything I watched and heard was in favor of Oregon and their high powered offense. Well, there was offense from Oregon but there was also offense from Ohio State. Ohio State also had the D to lock it down. Ohio State's first drive was incredible. I mean #2 just picked apart that defense. Who would've thought that the Bucks would've come out throwing on the first possession of the game? I know I didn't. But being up 10, the Ducks struck and struck quickly. They marched down the field and scored with such speed to tie the game up. But in the end Ohio State wanted it just a little more as the defense made big plays and the offense was very efficient. I think that should shut up all the haters for awhile. I mean seriously, it's no argument that the SEC is king. Ok fine. But year after year Ohio State wins the Big Ten, they play in BCS Bowl games, and they produce NFLers. I'm already looking forward to seeing what they can do next year. If young Pryor can just keep getting better than it could be mistake city for a lot of people out there.
The Browns closed the season out with a four game win streak! Incredible. They found a running back, or so we think in Jerome Harrison. They damn well better pay Joshua Cribbs. They hired a man who knows what the heck he's doing. I think you gotta believe that Brady Quinn showed strides before getting hurt, he's gotta be the guy. The defense will only get better. The offense might be ok. Woah, I better stop because I do this every year, get way too optimistic. But, with a hope and a prayer maybe the Browns will no longer embarrass me.
The Cavs might be starting to really get hot. Happy belated to LeBron! Your book is pretty good homie.
Reunion weekend countdown: 16 days
Current Song: So Damn Lucky - Dave Matthews Band (Europe 2009 Box Set)
-'Killa
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