Thursday, November 29, 2007

Buckshots...

How about good ole Bobby Knight? The Texas Tech basketball coach gets into it with a homeowner in the Greater Lubbock area for ALLEGEDLY spraying buckshot in his pool during a dove-hunting expedition.



You mean to tell me that the guys that said all of that above in the ESPN Top 10 isn't an upstanding citizen?!?!?! How dare anyone accuse the ageless Bobby Knight of such a crime!?!?!?!?

On a serious note, I did ask Knight last year, when Tech came to play UTEP in El Paso, to spin a yarn a bit about Don Haskins, and you'd have thought that the 2 had been seperated at birth. After all, when Haskins and Dan Wetzel put "Glory Road" together, Bobby Knight wrote the forward.

Only during post-game football and basketball game press conference do I wish sometimes that I worked in Lubbock. Sometimes Knight, and Mike Leach



throw in such pearls of wisdom. It'd be fun to write a book of them one day, but I might end up with buckshot in my pool if I did...

UTEP topped NMSU in Hoops the other night, 84-76. I'm told that new NMSU basketball coach Marvin Menzies honeymoon period in Las Cruces officially ended after the loss. Remember, these recruits, while highly rated, aren't his guys. Also remember, that 1 of his assitants was interviewed for his job, and was kept on the staff. Comfortable situation?!?!?!?

Keeping it with NMSU, went to Accuweather.com after watching their bloopers on Youtube. Enjoy how clueless the weatherman gives the weather for Friday's NMSU- Fresno St. game, and calls it "Loboland." Nice work, Gump.

By the way, check out the weather for the Oregon- Oregon St. game. 1 of the 2 in this game, depending what USC and Arizona St. do, will be headed to El Paso for the Sun Bowl. Oregon has the top rushing offense in the PAC 10 by a mile statistically, but that's changed since QB, and Heisman Hopeful Dennis Dixon went out of the season with a knee. With cold rain scheduled, this is anyone's game. I'd bet that the Sun Bowl Committee would like to see the Ducks win this one, considering how poorly Oregon St. traveled to El Paso last year.

Keeping it on the Sun Bowl, how refreshing is it to see South Florida coming to the Sun Bowl???? They're PUMPED about coming, and according to Sun Bowl Exec, and fellow Jos. A. Bank shopper Bernie Olivas, tickets sale have been unbelieveable from the folks out in Tampa.

Lastly, I wonder if Oregon St. Coach Mike Riley, and Oregon Coach Mike Belotti invade the others TV show before they play with a Sun Bowl berth on the line??? Whaaaa? That doesn't happen??? It did back in the day... Enjoy!



Finally, an update on the possibility of Mike Price leaving UTEP to return to his old stomping grounds at Washington St.

KLAQ Morning Sports stud Duke Keith had a sit-down with Price earlier in the week, and asked him about that. Enjoy the non-denial denial (stolen from Seattle PI writer Bud Withers).

Sunday, November 4, 2007

From Hawaii/Ft. Worth/ Houston to ??????

This time last week, we were all trying to decide whether or not the Miner football team would be bowling in Hawaii, Houston or Ft. Worth. After their heartbreaker in Houston against Rice Saturday, bowling seems like a mirage...

Rice turned the ball over 7 times, lost 2 onside kickoffs to UTEP, and were down in the 4th quarter to the Miners by 20 points. This game was OVER. As the "Voice of the Miners," John Teicher eloquently put it, the Miners "collapsed" in the 4th quarter. Rice scored 28 unanswered points in the 4th quarter, to not only take the lead, but win the game, 56-48.


The obvious problem? The UTEP defense. They've been giving up BIG yards, and BIG points all year. According to the box score on Yahoo Sports (unofficial), Rice gained 570 yards. Brace yourselves, and consider the problem officially diagnosed in this game.

Here was the REAL problem to the ending of this one. The UTEP offense went 4 and out twice, not including a missed field goal, and going 0-2 on 4th downs in the 4th quarter.




What does that translate into? A Miner defense being on the field for far too long. They were on the field for 80-90% of the 4th quarter, and were exhausted, forcing them to give up the big plays late. ALL defenses need a break in the 4th quarter.



The Miners statistically will be eligible for a bowl if they can win 2 of their last 3 regular season games, but realistically, they need to win all 3 to secure a berth. Does this team have enough character to turn it around after losing 3 straight? History says no, but this season's final chapters aren't written.... just.... yet.