Tuesday, November 30, 2021

USA Today projects that Pitt will play Michigan State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. I like that soo much better than Notre Dame in the Peach. The beauty of the college bowls is the matchups that you never see. Pitt plays Notre Dame every other year or so, they're in our conference, and has played them forever. In ND's classification of their opponents Pitt is, not a rival, but a "traditional opponent." Whatever, we play them very, very frequently. But Michigan State? I'm sure we've played sometime in the last 100 years but not frequently at all. That's what a great bowl game means to me.

The Sporting News and CBS has us still in the Peach but against Ole Miss. Fine with me too! However, the Fiesta Bowl has a fond place in the heart of Pitt fans. The Fiesta was created to give Arizona State someplace to play. In 1973, the first year of "A Major Change in Pitt Football" the project was just getting started, we finished only 6-5, but got our first bowl invite in a long, long time and it was in the Fiesta against the Frank Kush-coached, Danny White-quarterbacked "Sun Devils." They waxed us 28-7 or something but it was the springboard. Three years later we dominated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 27-3 to win our last national championship. "Pitt Is It" Sports Illustrated proclaimed on its cover.

 

Five-star QB Malachi Nelson first former Oklahoma Sooners commit to follow Lincoln Riley to USC Trojans

(ESPN)

Devastating for Oklahoma, just devastating. I wonder how many L-L recruits will follow Billy Napier to FU LOL.

Trump Hate Muslims Day! Visit to Britain Canceled!

 

The Bum in Chief retweeted videos by a far-right British Islamophobe on November 29, 2017. Four years ago today his planned "working visit" to the Mother Country was canceled.

Hey "Gators", psst--Virginia Tech made a coaching hire today that got even less attention than yours, PSU defensive coordinator Brent Pry. *thumbs up*.

ACC

This weekend is conference championship weekend. Based on cumulative ranking the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game featuring Pitt, 15th in the CFP poll released an hour ago, and Wake Forest, 16th, is the lowest-ranked championship game among the Power 5 conferences, and lower-ranked than the American Athletic Conference championship, a non-power, "Group of Six", conference. Conference championship games ranked:

1. SEC. Surprise! #1 Georgia-#3 Alabama (cumulative ranking, 4).

2. Big XII. #9 Baylor-#5 Oklahoma State (14).

3. B1G. #2 Michigan-#13 Iowa (15).

4. American. #21 Houston-#4 Cincinnati (25)

5. PAC-12. #10 Oregon-#17 Utah (27)

6. ACC. #15 Pitt-#16 Wake (31).*

Now you can kinda sorta put an asterisk next to the ACC because Notre Dame, #6, is an ACC member in all sports but tackle football and still plays half of its football schedule against ACC teams. If you included the "Irish", presumably in place of Pitt based on geography, the conference's cumulative ranking would be twenty-two, fourth in the conference lineup.

FT MIA 111 DEN 120

Before the supernova hit last night I had been tracking the game. I think in my penultimate dispatch I recorded that the "Heat" could not shoot and were not playing defense. The latter continued throughout the remaining course of the game. At FT Denver shot 58.1% (51.4%). The "Nuggets" had seven players in double figures, including Mr."Bones" Hyland with 19. Of course I don't remember when a Miami team was equally porous but I assume there was a game. Damn few, I'd wager! That is beyond embarrassing. They just didn't try. I didn't notice until this post that Jimmy Butler did not play. He was out with a bruised tailbone. I'm not making excuses, I do think Jimmy's absence goes a long way toward explanation for the olé defense. They miss Jimmy's toughness. Also Haslem didn't see action, he was confined in a straitjacket on the bench.

From memory the "Heat" shot better over the remainder of the game after I over-and-outed. Their final was 47.3% which is damn good for an NBA team; not nearly as well from range, 34.1%, which is bad for an NBA team, and only 66.7% from the free throw line, which is Shaq territory.

When I first checked, it was early, I think the score was 5-3, Duncan Robinson was 1/1 (1/1), which I took to be a very good sign indeed. He finished 1/9 (1/9). Which is Justise Winslow territory. Spoelstra can't do this any longer. But I think he will. The tinkerer has turned into a man made of stone.

Tyler Herro was unavailable as relief of Duncan's misery for "overall body soreness", which is my daily condition.

Kyle Lowry had BY FAR his best game with the "Heat" and his stat line is as fine as you are ever able to read for point guard: 14 assists, only one turnover, 17 points on 5/9 (2/5). Kyle was sublime.

Bam had a big game, a team- and tied for game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, he did have five turnovers.

No word whether the Jokic brothers were in attendance.

"All the News that's fit to print" does not include Florida

 

Brian Kelly Leaves 

Notre Dame for L.S.U.

(NYT)

Brian Kelly will leave Notre Dame to become the football coach at Louisiana State, the latest in a series of changes at some of the country’s most storied college football programs.

Billy Napier's hiring not mentioned "in a series of changes". Florida not included among "some of the country's most storied college football programs."

The news was confirmed Tuesday morning by L.S.U.

The hiring follows the move of Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to Southern California. Both shifts surprised the college football world, where coaches do not regularly voluntarily leave elite programs, and created enticing vacancies at the universities Riley and Kelly left behind.

Scott Stricklin Has Faceplanted Florida



Not a mention of Billy Napier. And why should there be? Can the “Wildest Week in College Football HISTORY” possibly include the hiring of Louisian-Lafayette’s coach when Oklahoma’s coach goes to SC and Notre Dame’s coach goes to LSU? That is laughable. Didn’t TCU hire somebody today? FU’s hire got, and deserved, attention comparable to TCU’s. This has completely blown up in Scott Stricklin’s face in utterly humiliating fashion. It is clear that for ambitious AD’s who think big there was no impossibly elusive whale out there. Stricklin didn’t even try. He has acknowledged he met with only ONE MAN, the coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. He did his university and the supporters of its football team a disservice. Stricklin has shown himself a pygmy walking in the shadows of giants behind Scott Woodward and Mike Bohn. To Stricklin the coach at Louisiana-Lafayette is the apex for Florida football.

Monday, November 29, 2021

RedditCFB

@RedditCFB

·

1h

On Sunday, Lincoln Riley did the unprecedented by going from Oklahoma to USC.

On Monday, Brian Kelly bolted Notre Dame for LSU.

If we follow this trend, this clearly means that on Tuesday Nick Saban will go to Texas.

B. Fox

@BearcatsRadio

If someone had said they thought Brian Kelly would leave Notre Dame for LSU last week, I might’ve laughed out loud. What in the world is going on?

11:22 PM · Nov 29, 2021·Twitter for iPhone


Oregon Recruiting

@duckscrootin

Within 24 hours Lincoln Riley leaves Oklahoma for USC and then Brian Kelly leaves Notre Dame for LSU.



What is going on, indeed. Amazing.




the last hour has been one of the funnest of my
life h.t.g. Two beautiful genies popped out of magic lamps in Baton Rouge and Los Angeles after much rubbing and wishing.
This is amazing. Twitter is just on fire tonight. You guys (and gal-guys, actually MORE gal-guys) rank me.





😂Marcus Freeman is an ass’t coach at ND.


You win, Ms. Sadeghi! Best tweet on this story.

What did humanity ever do before Twitter?

 


DickieV is the greatest guy, and that’s a good one. Glad he’s doing a.w.a.c.b.e.

Cognos said savant AD Scott Woodward’s reputation for always landing whales was on the line with missing out on Billy Napier (snicker) and Lincoln Riley. Guess he showed them. FU, maybe you can fire Billy and really go big, like with Coastal Carolina’s guy?

Oh My God


 

What a fucking scoop by Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports. Mr. Thamel, 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 

35-50, 3:35 2Q

It got away from us because WE CAN'T SHOOT OR PLAY D! 

MIA:

36.8% (28.6%), 25% from the FREE THROW LINE!

DEN:

57.7% (53.8%), 78.6%

That is despicable. Okay boys and girls, I'm gonna take a lap until, if, the "Heat" come to their senses. Pisses me off.

35-47, 6:21 2Q, "Heat" Full TO

Denver beat us in that Jokic-Morris game, right? And they're killing us now. Why do they suck? They have a 9-10 record!

35-44, 6:38 2Q

Got away from us again...Look at this: Did that article I quoted in re "Bones" get it fucked up. ESPN has "Bones" on the "Nuggets"! Motherfucking "Bones" has 11 points, too! FUCK me. No wonder I didn't recognize those guys as "key pieces" of the "Heat"! Fucking article.

 Nuggets
ON THE COURTFG3PTREBASTPFPTS
J. GreenPF1-20-10003
A. GordonPF0-20-00113
F. CampazzoPG1-20-11302
B. HylandPG4-53-400011
A. RiversSG2-31-20005

35-38, 8:33 2Q

Have you ever noticed that the "Heat" don't have any foreign-born players (Canada doesn't count, don't be a wise guy.)? The only two who come to mind historically are Goran Dragic and Sasha Danilovic. But, look at Denver's current roster:

-Nikola Jokic
-fucking Zeke Nnaji
-Facundo Campazzo

Other teams have, or have had, great foreign ballers. Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Vlade Divac.

That's not an accident. Riley wants "built American."

MIA 23 DEN 32, End 1st Q

Boy, that quarter got away from the "Heat". That's a significant deficit after only 1Q.

23-29, :20.7

 See, ESPN doesn't even know what the fuck Bones Hyland plays for!

1:48Bones Hyland makes 12-foot jumper (Facundo Campazzo assists)
29 - 20

MIA 20 DEN 25, 3:12 1ST Q

"Bones" Hyland just entered the game.

Miami 17 Denver 21, 5:18 1st Q

 Jokic has nine points. Put Haslem in.

I know Adam Silver will take every precaution and I don't think there is going to be an incident. However once the ball tips off preventative measures are useless and only after-the-fact intervention can occur. The whole country is volatile, people are acting oddly and sometimes violently. The whole country includes the association.

 

 

Preseason Heisman favorite Rattler leaving OU

(ESPN)

This coaching change has already been a catastrophe for Oklahoma. Not just losing Riley. Or Rattler. They have also had recruiting decommitments from a five-star QB commit from California and five others--and it's only the day after! Oklahoma cannot succeed recruiting locally, they have to branch out--California is prime recruiting area for them and they have made numerous successful raids there. This is going to set the program back significantly in the short term. They need to make a home run hire to re-gather these recruiting classes. My goodness.

Recent Assholes

 

Adam!














This shit is starting again:

“I have nothing to do with that, man. We’re going to play a basketball game. That’s over with. I don’t have nothing to do with that. I keep hearing about the Jokic brothers buying tickets to come to the game. They better stay in line and don’t come down there and start trouble. Miami is my city. It’s my city. What the hell you buying tickets for? To come do what? That’s my city. Don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing. Come enjoy the game and take your asses home. Ain’t nobody messing with your brother. We come to play basketball.”-Udonis Haslem



Haslem, shut the fuck up. You're an asshole.

Two Elite Programs Make Coaching Hires on the Same Day—Only One Gets the Attention


If you are a Florida fan, this puts you in your place as an “in other news.”
I knew a man, "Bones" Hyland and he danced for you
In worn out shoes
Silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants
The old soft shoe
He jumped so high
He jumped so high
Then he'd lightly touch down
...
He grabbed his pants, a better stance
Oh, he jumped so high
Then he clicked his heels
He let go a laugh
He let go a laugh
Pushed back his clothes all around
Mr. "Bones" Hyland
Mr. "Bones" Hyland
Mr. "Bones" Hyland
Dance
The Heat will also be without several other key pieces, as Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and P..J Dozier will all miss Monday’s game. Rookie guard Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland is listed as questionable.

WHO?! “Key pieces” my ass, I have never HEARD of ANY of those “key pieces.” Cris….Where’s M.? M. Garrett’s a “key piece”. WHERE’S M.? WE WANT M.! WE WANT M.!  “Bones” Hyland, who the FUCK is “Bones” Hyland! Christ.




Pitt Basketball

Gawd. 

It used to be bees and gees that Pitt was more basketball than football school. Went to the Final Four in, 1974 I think, Paul Evans, Ben Howland, Jamie Dixon. Billy Knight, Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Sean Miller, DeJuan Blair, even had Steven Adams for one year. A number one ranking. Twenty-win seasons were the expectation, even playing in the best basketball conference that ever was. There was even a 30-win season. The most physical college team in the country, opponents would visibly wilt under the pounding. The Peterson Events Center (“The Pete”) was packed every game. Pitt basketball was It.

And then it wasn’t. A move to the ACC, Jamie Dixon couldn’t adapt, Jamie never recruited at the elite level his teams played at. hoops grew stale, a plateau had been reached never to be surmounted again and was in fact receding. Fans were restless. So, Change! The natives were getting restless around Nashville, Tennessee too. Some were calling for head man Kevin Stallings' head. So Pitt athletic Director Scott Barnes let Jamie go "home" to TCU and plucked Stallings from Vanderbilt for Pitt. Fans were perplexed.

It was an unmitigated disaster. A 16-17 record, 4-14 in the ACC, a 55-point loss in January, 2017 that was the school's most lopsided since 1906--and that was the Stallings high water mark! The next year: 8-24 (0-18), the school's worst record since 1976/77. Barnes left after a year and a half for reasons that remain totally unconvincing (but I'm thankful he did). It was like Barnes was a Manchurian Athletic Director, a plant whose job was to eliminate a target. He eliminated his target and went to Oregon State. Fittingly, the narrative in Barnes’ Wilipedia entry is erased of any mention of his dirty work at Pitt

Heather Lyke replaced Barnes. From her first day on the job Heather was determined to get rid of the Stallings pestilence, and she did. She made what I and so, so many others considered a home run hire, Jeff Capel from Duke, former head coach at Oklahoma. Jeff had a 30-win season in Norman but his time there was marred by scandal and two losing seasons at the end. He went to get cleansed by Father Krzyzewski, staying seven seasons, becoming Assistant Head Coach. Then Pitt.

Jeff just started his fourth season at Pitt. The basketball team is now an afterthought (I had no idea what their record was this year or who they had played.), The Pete is half, or mostly, empty. Jeff' has gone 14-19, 16-17, 10-12 his first three years. So having not given any thought to Pitt basketball in months and months I looked them up. See how they were doin'. Terrible. They're 2-4. 

College basketball followers know this but more general readers may not: A team schedules cupcakes, almost all at home, as kind of a pre-season training before starting conference play. Teams that end up 16-17 will frequently enter league action with gaudy records like 9-0 or 8-1, glittery and fake as zirconium. That's what Pitt does too. They're still 2-3. "Umm, that's not good," to self. Their first game was against "The Citadel." Military school, The Citadel. Height restrictions. Tall enough to beat Pitt 78-63. Number two was at WVU, a substantial opponent. Lost 74-59. Back to cupcakes at The Pete, two W's over North Carolina-Wilmington by eight, and Towson by four. Then Vandy (non-cupcake) at The Pete. L 68-52. Then another cupcake, Maryland-Baltimore County and, another loss, 87-77. Two wins, both over cupcakes, four losses, two of those to cupcakes. Pitt basketball is now a cupcake for other cupcakes.

USC Pounces

 

Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma to become USC head football coach

(ESPN)

Look at the difference in ambition between USC and Florida.

Billy Napier?

That is the Florida "Gators" new head coach, apparently. Whew, I don't know about that. From the Sunbelt to the SEC, from Lafayette, Louisiana to Gainesville, Florida. He's a southern boy, he's got that going for him. Pre-season Napier was the subject of fawning profiles. Then the "Rajin' Cajuns" played their first game, a 38-18 beat down at Texas. Some people thought Louisiana-Lafayette would win that game! Only game they lost, 11-1, damn sweet, undeniably. The rest of their opponents this season:

-Nicholls
-Ohio
-Georgia Southern
-South Alabama
-Appalachian State
-Arkansas State
-Texas State
-Georgia State
-Troy
-Liberty
-Louisiana-Monroe

Okay! Not exactly preparation for the SEC East.  He'll be coaching against Georgia minus the Southern, Alabama minus the South, and occasionally Arkansas minus the State and Texas minus the State.

Napier is 42 years old and has been head man at only Louisiana-Lafayette, where he does have a bling resume, 7-7, 11-3, 10-1, 11-1. Obviously an excellent coach, it's just a humongous step up. Can he recruit, the sine qua non of college coaching? How would we know? This hire says to me "lack of ambition" by Florida. Or maybe “best we could do”. The FU job just may not be able to attract a latter day Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer any more. A Twitter site with obvious close ties to UCF tweeted a subtly snarky comment that nonetheless has too much truth in it:

@UCFKnightsNatn

Billy Napier to the Gators is a really good hire, and probably the best they could get considering their fan base and boosters. Sorry Coach Napier, but the clock is ticking starting now. Better start winning immediately...

5:30 PM · Nov 28, 2021·Twitter Web App

“Gators” fans ran off Spurrier. The day Ron Zook was hired a #FireRonZook site went up. The Napier hire does feel like “the best they could get,” rather than the best, period, money no object (but beware of boosters).

Scott Stricklin, FU AD, is obviously thinking "Urban Meyer" Repeat. Two very good years at Bowling Green of the MAC, two excellent years at Utah of the then WAC. But man the Sunbelt ain't no WAC 2004. The "Utes" went to the Fiesta Bowl; L-L has been to the Cure, Lending Tree, and First Responder. I think you need a step between the Sunbelt and the SEC, like Meyer's step to the WAC. 

I was wondering what USC and LSU were going to do now that James Franklin and Mel Tucker are off the list. Why didn't LSU hire Napier?...Right down the road. I don't know, I wish him the best, hope this turns into the Second Coming for Florida, I'm just nonplussed.
It's still Michigan's day, Michigan's weekend, but how 'bout my Pitt, huh? 10-2. Ten wins, the most in a regular season since 1981. They will be favored to make it 11 in the ACC championship. If they get that the chalk is they will play Notre Dame in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Day. 12 wins? It's not out of the question. 

Yeah, it's been a strange season; yeah, the ACC sucks, even more than usual; yeah, we didn't play Notre Dame, yeah, there was, but we were 17th before yesterday's win, now 10-2 (!), we had a far better season in every respect than 1) North Carolina 2) Paterno-Sandusky 3) Clemson, USC, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Iowa State, on and on and on. We beat 7-5 Tennessee on the road, we beat now 9-3, 23rd-ranked Clemson at home, Pitt in fact was the last team to beat Clemson, they've won five in a row--We. Had. A. Damn. Good. Season. Hail to Pitt.

FT "Male Cows" 104 "Heat" 107

Kyle Lowry had a good game: six asts, two turnovers, a 3-1 ratio; 19 points on 7/13 (3/7) and five boards.
Tyler didn't play. Sick, not injured, I think.
Duncan was pretty good, 16, 6/14 (4/11).
Jimmy had a good, complete game: 18, 6/15 (0/4), 4 rebs, 5 asts, 5 steals, only 1 turnover.

Only three of the starters played starters minutes. When all was said and done Gabe Vincent and Max Strus played more than PJ and Duncan. Vincent led the team in scoring with 20, 6/11 (4/8). PJ only played 18', wonder if he got a knock.

Bam had a good, if fairly quiet, game, 33', 9 points on 4/9, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 1 steal, 1 turnover.  Bam's been a little quiet for a few games in succession now. He missed a game or two with a minor injury, I think he bumped knees with someone, he played third-high minutes, and 9 points and 7 rebounds in 33' is not exactly all-star. Bam is game, it wouldn't surprise me if he hurts more than he's letting on. Nice win for the "Heat" who are now second in the conference and fourth overall in the association.

FT Manchester City 2 West Ham 1

That was a big win for God's Righteous Angels. Hammerheads were fourth in the table, City third. Swine Chelsea is the leader?! Oh jeez, I thought it was Liverpool. I h...ha...I am strongly annoyed by Chelsea. City are now second to...them.
Pitt started the day ranked 17th in the CFP. They won of course. Wisconsin, 14th, lost. They will fall below the
 .Texas A&M, 15th, lost in Baton Rouge. Ditto. We’re up to at least 15th. Oklahoma, 10th, lost and maybe could fall beneath us. BYU, 13th, is winning. So 15th, maybe 14th, although I doubt it, and maybe 12th if SC somehow comes back to beat BYU. I’ll take 15th all day.

It was snowin’ some in Ann Arbor today—but nothing like it was coming down in East Lansing. Is there a North Lansing lol.

               That there is a gridiron lol.



               GREAT angle


         Look at that!

That could be anywhere on the fucking field for me. But know what it is? The goal line. That’s a North Lansing Spartak touchdown lol.

      Pick-six TD by PSU.

GREAT photos.