Basketball Articles
Odds and Ends
Posted by TaylorTRoom on June 16th, 2009 under Basketball, Football
I really wanted to call this “Scattershooting”, but that just wouldn’t be right.
First item…Aggie Journalist John Lopez is working without an editor now, and it shows.
LOPEZ: Inside the Fourth Estate — UT Media Bias
He blows the lid on the BOMC. He gives four examples of the bias in action…
A writer at a major newspaper in Texas was asked if he wanted to cover a big Texas Tech game last season. He refused. When asked by an editor why, he responded: “Because it’s Lubbock. And Tech.
Really, John? Bias? Or logic?
While talking with an investigative reporter about a piece aimed at exposing irregularities at a major state program, I asked the reporter why he never seemed so eager to investigate UT. He responded with a chuckle, raised a Hook ‘em ‘Horns sign and said, “You know.”
I’ll give you that one. Or maybe he just wanted to move you along.
An editor coordinating NCAA Tournament coverage at a Texas newspaper was asked in a staff meeting why the Longhorns basketball team consistently was played on the front page, while the Aggies ? ranked higher ? consistently were inside. He responded curtly, “I make those decisions, not you.”
If you’re like me, you’re thinking, “In Lopez’s 25 years of covering sports, when the hell was TAMU ranked consistently higher than Texas in basketball?” As near as I can figure, this must have been the 2006 – 2007 season (Lopez left the Chronicle in the summer of ‘07). Final rankings (pre-NCAA tournament)- TAMU at #9, and Texas at #11. TAMU had Acie Law, and Texas had the consensus player of the year, Kevin Durant.
The Ags did have the front page all to themselves for the five days that their greatest team ever was still in the tournament after Texas was eliminated.
An executive sports editor in Texas was approached with sourced information that indicated Vince Young’s Wonderlic test score was well below par prior to the 2006 NFL draft. The editor quashed the story, which ultimately was reported elsewhere.
Imagine that! And in Houston, too! I have a good feeling about Vince in 2009. Good things happen when the Ags feel safe calling him an idiot. Stay on the case, Lopez!
Second item…This is the 20th anniversary of Switzer getting canned from OU, and the Tulsa paper has a series remembering those dark days. Their consensus- Switzer really didn’t do anything that bad, he’s a prince of a guy, and dumping him doesn’t make sense to anybody now. I’ll help them out.
You guys flushed Switzer for the same reason the Ags dumped Sherrill- because the NCAA grew some balls in the ’80s and gave SMU the Death Penalty. 20 years later, this current version of the NCAA would never do that, but in 1989 the threat of losing your program was very, very real.
‘The King’: Turmoil led to the end of a grand era, but Switzer remains
“First of all, I want to set the record straight. I was never fired,” Switzer said. “David Swank (OU’s interim president in 1989) never fired me and never asked me for my resignation. We never had any conversation in regard to that. All he ever presented to me were accusations and fabrications that were false.”
So, how exactly did it go down, if he wasn’t fired, and he didn’t quit?
Switzer Says Taking Over Dallas Cowboys Was a Tough Job.
It was a lot tougher on the fans.
He took black players from poor backgrounds and gave them an opportunity for a better life, while many of his peers refused to recruit them.
I’m all for giving the devil his due. Switzer never worried about quotas in recruiting, or reserving certain positions for whites, and he deserves credit for that. Let’s not get carried away, though. I’m pretty sure that the African American athletes he offered could have played anywhere in the country. He wasn’t exactly offering guys that didn’t have opportunities everywhere else. Joe Washington, the Selmons, Daryl Hunt?
Also, Switzer was a college assistant from 1960 on. There is no record of him agitating Broyles to accelerate the integration. My point is- let’s not get carried away.
After leaving OU and before accepting the Dallas Cowboy job in 1994, Switzer says he was offered two college head-coaching jobs.
“I won’t mention (the schools). I don’t want to embarrass them because I turned them down,” Switzer said. “The success I enjoyed at Oklahoma — I wasn’t going anywhere that didn’t (provide) the same opportunity to win and be successful. There are very few of those jobs around.
I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that one of them was Mississippi State- after all, Bobby Collins was a finalist when they selected Jackie Sherill.
Which leads to the next item…
MSU Football – 2009 Coaching Staff
The 2009 Bulldogs coaching staff with three ex-TAMU coaches…Les Koenning (OC, just like at TAMU under Fran), Carl Torbush (DC, ditto), and Melvin Smith. Well, at least they don’t have to throw away the maroon gear. It will be interesting to see how this team (4 – 8 in 2008) compares to our local maroon squad.
And the final item…I know we’re all tired of Justin Chaisson, but here is a little bit more info that may shed light on why OU is so willing to give him a second chance. There are two current Sooners from his High School, Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas- DeMarco Murray and Ryan Reynolds. Evidently, it’s a little bit of a feeder school for the Sooners. Also, their former High School coach, David White, has been a graduate assistant at OU for the last couple of years-
Legal path cleared for top OU recruit Chaisson
White is 35 years old, a little old to be going to grad school, but this kind of arrangement isn’t uncommon…in Memphis Tigers basketball. Was he the guy in charge of special teams last year?
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Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem 2 hours, 15 minutes ago
lawdog – on the topic of regression, this crew can’t compare with the senior seasons Thomas and Atchley put up. Something ain’t right in this scenario. Mason topped out his sophomore year and Pittman last year.
Wangmene is ‘Manos de Piedra’ redux, so that was really never going to work out.
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Top Ten Reasons Why Cal Can Beat Duke 4 hours, 15 minutes ago
This would probably go a bit better if you read it in your Bobby Knight voice and it had two decades worth of goodwill built up from its gratuitous appearance on a popular late night television show. But oh well.
1) Interior Worries. As in the Bears shouldn’t have any defensively
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Round 2 Saturday Recaps 5 hours, 12 minutes ago
We talked about the upset of the decade in this post, but I watched some other great basketball today I’d like to comment on.
For me, the theme of the day was well-played basketball. I’m not only talking about what Northern Iowa did, I’m talking about the other seven games being really well
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas 5 hours, 25 minutes ago
Just a phenomenal game.
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Recapping The South 5 hours, 37 minutes ago
Udoh was a fargging beast in that game. Very athletic player.
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Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout 6 hours, 1 minute ago
Jesus. I think I see four horseman on the horizon.
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Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas 6 hours, 4 minutes ago
Today reminded me why I love this tournament so much. A good friend of mine mentioned to me that college basketball is the great equalizer of all athletic endeavors. At least of the sports we care about. He’s right.
For instance, you can have a 40 inch vertical, be Iverson quick,
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Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout 6 hours, 8 minutes ago
Patrick,
Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fuller Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not
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Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout 6 hours, 8 minutes ago
Patrick,
Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fulmer Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not
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Sailor Ripley wrote a new blog post: This Is Sparta! 6 hours, 21 minutes ago
Please make yourself welcome and Adam will be by shortly to keep you up to date on all Michigan State Spartan happenings.
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Barnes worst team 6 hours, 25 minutes ago
I suppose anyone could be your “favorite Longhorn basketball player” but Ford did more than just about anyone…although Durant is clearly better. Ford’s supporting cast was better than Durant’s in his sophomore year. Durant’s had more talent (Augustin, James, Abrams) but Ford’s was more developed (Boddicker, Ivey, Mouton, Thomas) and had worked with him for
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton? 6 hours, 32 minutes ago
Crazy Joe, your thoughts intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
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Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton? 6 hours, 35 minutes ago
This notion of Hamilton as being a disaster area on defense is all a bit much. He rebounds extremely well which, if it wasn’t obvious, is extremely important in this game since it secures possession of the basketball. Winning in basketball is achieved through the scoring of baskets and it’s necessary to possess the basketball
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Ojnab Bob commented on the blog post Best Opening Round I Can Remember 6 hours, 45 minutes ago
I posted earlier about how Collins’ effort just crippled Kansas today, but what amazed me the most was his complete inability to stay in front of his man on defense. UNI got a LOT of good looks out of penetration/pass after one of UNI’s modestly gifted athletes blew right by Sherron. The best
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Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: Best Opening Round I Can Remember 7 hours, 57 minutes ago
At least it’s shaping up that way if Sunday delivers.
As disappointed as I was in last year’s opening weekend of March Madness, this one is exceeding all expectations. Putting aside the fact that my bracket now resembles Kabul after the Taliban rolled through in ‘96 – a map of ordered failure –
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J commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three 8 hours, 24 minutes ago
Thanks for the kind words, Trips.
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J commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three 8 hours, 24 minutes ago
You know who’s bitter and angry as fuck? This guy —> ME.
I can only hope our returning players (whoever that may be) remember this and realize they need to play motivated EVERY FUCKING GAME and put forward 40 MINUTES of effort each game.
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Raoul Duke commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG 8 hours, 56 minutes ago
Kid seems like a fantastic collegiate player. I haven’t seen any NBA info. Is he a legit prospect?
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Raoul Duke commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three 9 hours, 2 minutes ago
Tough day for Sherron on O and D.
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GoHornsGo90 commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton? 9 hours, 47 minutes ago
To leave or stay?
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 9 hours, 48 minutes ago
KSU moving on led by a hot shooting Pullen. BTW, White Mormons can shoot FTs. 22 for 25, I think. Imagine if we could shoot like that.
Wake’s coming back on Kentucky. They’re within 25 right now…..
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Trips Right commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three 10 hours, 6 minutes ago
Just wanted to say I feel for you guys. As a Texas fan I know how this feels even if it’s from a football perspective.
I still think you’re the best basketball team in the country, and unfortunately you ran into a team that packed a Villanova circa 1985 type game today. Meaning they
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 10 hours, 15 minutes ago
Wow. Wake won’t break 50. Not surprising really — we should have beaten Wake and they are not a very good team.
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 10 hours, 21 minutes ago
Kentucky doing their best to beat Wake by half hundred. Close call….
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RRR wrote a new blog post: Survive and Advance 10 hours, 24 minutes ago
We really struggled in the first half, but battled through it to get a tough win against Jacksonville. On to Oxford!
Forget what conference they play in, Jacksonville is a very good basketball team, and they got to Lubbock not because of a crazy bank shot at the buzzer in Phoenix, but by playing aggressive, intense defense for
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 10 hours, 42 minutes ago
The shamrock is on his left shoulder. The Griffin looking thing is on his right.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 10 hours, 51 minutes ago
Everytime I see a Gumbel brother I think of “Gumbel to Gumbel”
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 11 hours, 4 minutes ago
Kentucky starting to pile on Wake. That would have been our fate…..
KSU just killing the Mormons on the glass…
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Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 11 hours, 31 minutes ago
10 point lead for the Mormons again…
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post NCAA Tournament Open Thread: Weekend Edition 11 hours, 46 minutes ago
This is the first-time Frank Martin has ever met a Mormon who wasn’t on a bicycle.
Barry Switzer said:
June 16th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
John Lopez is one of my boys.
bob said:
June 16th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Next up from Lopez shocking revelations about how the people at the state capital are biased towards the Longhorns and how it costs the Aggies at least 6 games a year.
Kenny Hand and Craig Roberts said:
June 16th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Damn we must really suck if Johnny can get a job and we are selling cars and doing shows on 51.
Blackie Sherrod said:
June 16th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Never use a term I used in a column that includes that no talent Aggie hack.
George said:
June 16th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
We’re surrounded by idiots, Jerry. Idiots.
RansomStoddard said:
June 17th, 2009 at 4:50 am
One of the local OKC tv stations had a vigorous of Chiasson on its sports show Sunday nite, including the two hosts going back and forth and getting agitated while repeatedly stating what a “great guy” Chiasson is and how he “just made a mistake”. Incredibly, they ended the five minute segment defense by saying there are “serious doubts” about whether the incident really happened. Bootlicking lapdogs indeed
TaylorTRoom said:
June 17th, 2009 at 5:06 am
I think I know where the “serious doubts” come from. If you check the Las Vegas news sites reporting the story, there are comments sections with a back and forth between friends of Chaisson and the victim.
Between what is officially reported, and what can be surmised by the speed in which Chaisson’s family reacted (the dad told the police when they came to arrest the kid that he has just enrolled him in Anger Management, starting the next day), and that Chaisson (the school’s biggest football star) didn’t finish the year at Bishop Gorman- yeah, it happened, and it doesn’t reflect well on Chaisson at all.
Dave said:
June 17th, 2009 at 5:50 am
“He took black players from poor backgrounds and gave them an opportunity for a better life, while many of his peers refused to recruit them.”
When did this happen?
Texasholdem said:
June 17th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Houston really had some shitty sports reporters.
Wasn’t Kenny Hand the guy that wrote the Jerry Glanville bio? He kept pumping up Glanville even after he went to Atlanta and made that comment about “If you’re not in Atlanta you’re just camping out”.
Charles Thompson and Jamielle Holieway said:
June 17th, 2009 at 6:59 am
We had a better life, thanks to Barry.
Steve Nebraska said:
June 17th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Look at it this way…the players Barry saved would have done a lot more time in TDC had they gang-raped those girls back home as opposed to in a dorm room in Norman. Boomer!
Parlin Hall said:
June 17th, 2009 at 11:06 am
*He kept pumping up Glanville even after he went to Atlanta and made that comment about “If you’re not in Atlanta you’re just camping out”.*
‘I’m William Tecumseh Sherman, and I endorse this message.’
Billy Sims said:
June 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Boomer!!
Submariner Pitchers said:
June 17th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
OU sucks
n-ea said:
June 17th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Lopez’s article is the epitome of Aggie. What I really love is the irony of the whole article and the fact that he gets it, but ultimately he’s not willing to accept it as evidenced by the decision to write the article.
“But most important, to complain about the lack of objectivity or a real or perceived slight because of the UT bias is still little more than bitter whining. No matter how blatant, unfair or premeditated it may be, just shut up and win and even the most orange-blooded reporter or columnist could not help but give your team its due. If I’m not mistaken, Oklahoma has made a few headlines in recent years. It pains some who write them, but the Sooners do make headlines.”
Nordberg said:
June 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
“…. so, I guess go ahead and ignore everything I’ve written up to this point. Fuck.”
Pupskievua said:
June 17th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Hello, I am working as a sex photo-model at an international magazine published in Kiev.. Kiev lady. Escort Kiev. Do you want me.
CrazyJoeDavola said:
June 17th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Typical of the modern sportswriter. Screw up the few crumbs of courage you have to say something vaguely controversial, then back away at the end.
Lopez is a dullard in both style and substance. He’s finally found his true station at TexAgs.
exuLt said:
June 17th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Looks like Lopez is trying to ride the career trajectory of Marvin Zindler when he blew the whistle on the biggest open secret in the state at the time in the Chicken Ranch expose.
Slime in the press box.
Faggy Assball said:
June 17th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Boy, you guys sure do have a low opinion of fellow Texans. Just what is the difference between the Aggies and you all that you view them with so much negativity and yet view yourselves so positively. What is this dramatic and self worth defining difference exactly comprised of? Aren’t you all just another group of Texans, just like the Aggies? Doesn’t seem to be much of a difference here. Or are the admission standards any different between the schools (top 10% rule)?…the quality of education?…the size of the schools? Aren’t you both state institutions, both of which are located in pretty much the same geographic area? Doesn’t seem to be much of a difference here, either.
The only difference between you and the Ags seems to be the arbitrary choice of which school to attend when you are teenagers. To an unbiased Aggie, yep, that seems to make all the difference in the world between you all and them. Yea, I now can see how you guys are so much better, so much different from the them. Bwahahahahahaha.
My God, you Texans sure do love to eat your own. It’s alot like spitting in your own Texan faces, but you guys sure do love to do it all the time. Makes an old school Aggie, like me, laugh at you guys about it all.
the Bobs said:
June 17th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
wow… for a cajun, you sure are aggy!
From the outside looking in – you look like an idiot. From the inside… well, who knows what the world looks like to a complete idiot? Although I guess you just told us first-hand…
Tom W said:
June 17th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
You’re never too old to continue your education.
JUICE said:
June 18th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
“A writer at a major newspaper in Texas was asked if he wanted to cover a big Texas Tech game last season. He refused. When asked by an editor why, he responded: ‘Because it’s Lubbock. And Tech.’”
This is news? My dad was a wire service reporter. He was not the top dog in the state. Although he was based in Austin, he often found himself in Waco and College Station on Saturday’s America, because the top dog wanted to cover the big show, in Austin (where they served Matt’s El Rancho in the press box and bourbon after the game).
“He took black players from poor backgrounds and gave them an opportunity for a better life, while many of his peers refused to recruit them.”
This is a version of the Jerry Tarkanian argument (”I expose them to college life”). Some day, John Calipari will be associated with this sentiment, and if there is any justice, Pete Carroll will too.