Gopher Basketball
And thank you for the kind comments from last week´s initial installment of This, That, and the Other. This week I go into the archives for the 1981 Minnesota-Ohio State contest, take a look at the acclaim MBIII is garnering, post a couple interviews with rival Big Ten basketball coaches, and see Brett Favre photoshopped into a suit, to name a few of this week´s many articles. Let´s get it going!
This
* When I think back to my very first memory of Gopher sports that crystallized in my mind and I can recall, it is this 1981 Minnesota-Ohio State football game. The memories come from one of the local newscasts when highlights of an exuberant Jay Carroll holding aloft the football he caught for the winning touchdown, in front of an ecstatic crowd. Next morning´s Star & Tribune had the photo of the exultant Carroll which still is etched into my mind (unfortunately, I was unable to find it on my web search). I have been following the thread on the football board discussing the rebroadcast of the game on the Big Ten network, but unable to tap into that resource, I give you a couple links to look into. The first is Ray Christensen´s account of that wonderful game and the second link gives us an update (albeit a bit dated now) of one of the standouts of that game:
Ray C´s Recollection
* I promise I´m not going to turn this column into a Tubby Smith slobberfest each week, but I did find an interesting tidbit from the Lexington Herald-Leader, towards the bottom of this column. I thought it was a classy move by Tubby to vouch for the Kentucky program even though it would have been easy to tell this father to look another direction (such as northwest, the land of 10,000 Lakes. . .)
Tubby gives Billy G some help
* However, there is a good chance that this column will turn into a shrine for MBIII, now carrying the moniker of Marion the Barbarian, which fits oh so well. There´s no doubt that MBIII is among the best running backs in the game, but he is also marking himself with the bruising style that recalls such legendary running backs as Earl Campbell, Walter Payton, and Christian Okoye (okay, perhaps not legendary in Okoye´s case). I have little doubt that Cowboys fans will speak his name in revered tones whenever his career ends, hopefully sometime in the distant future. There´s a couple links here, one from an avowed Cowboy hater and Hawkeye lover, so it´s not Sid Hartman writing the blog and the other is a little youtube clip where MBIII sends a hapless linebacker into orbit.
MBIII-cult hero
* I thought I´d throw in this brief snippet on recent Gopher commit Justin Cobbs, this description, along with the video seen over on the basketball board (posted by leftyslefty) seem to indicate a pretty strong, athletic, and passionate point guard joining the squad. My excitement is building to see this Gopher team when I return to the States in a couple years.
Recruiting Comments
* I may be the least qualified poster on this board in regards to Gopher hockey, but I know that Blake Wheeler played for the “U” and it looks like the Bruins are excited to have him.
Blake in Beantown
That
* Dan Wetzel turns out another excellent column which begs the question-if Gangelgate had broken nine years later, would Clem Haskins still be coaching the Gophers and the banners still raised in the rafters?
NCAA´s Blind Eyes
* The Sporting News has been spending a good deal of time looking at Big Ten hoops lately (if you head over there, you can see additional articles on Purdue and Wisconsin) and they recently interviewed Indiana´s Tom Crean and Michigan´s John Beilein. I especially found Beilein´s interview interesting in regards to his comments about the challenge of rebuilding a program with the trend towards early commitments and how summer recruiting´s not an effective way of evaluating talent.
Tom Crean interview
* I thought this article about the oldest black college in the nation restarting their football program spoke to what athletics can add to a college campus-and forgive me for the hackneyed comparison, but there were aspects of the article which made me think the Golden Gophers will experience a similar rebirth when they are back on campus next year.
A Football Rebirth
* Before we get too cocky about Rodney Williams being a sure-fire commit to the Gophers, take a look at Gary Parrish´s column on the recent trend (or perhaps aberration, depending on your point of view) of elite prospects committing to non-BCS schools.
Non BCS scooping up elite prospects
* Two years ago it was Greg Oden. Last year, it was Eric Gordon. This year, if not for an injury that virtually wiped away his senior year of high school, I think Michigan State´s Devlon Roe might be entering the Big 10 with the most hype and expectations for a newcomer. The attention will probably be focused on a pair of Buckeye recruits (B.J. Mullens and William Buford) now, but Roe sounds like he has the ability to lead the Spartans to places they are accustomed to visiting.
Sparty´s next Superstar?
* We all know that the Golden Gophers non-conference schedule, particularly at home, leaves something to be desired in marquee matchups. The biggest name is Virginia and one of their all-time greats, Sean Singletary, just exhausted his eligibility. However, they do welcome to their campus one of their most acclaimed recruits of recent times in New York City standout Slyven Landesberg. Here´s a very early scouting report on the Cavaliers.
an early look at the Cavaliers
* Do you remember Willie Williams? He was the standout linebacker, ranked #1 in the nation who committed to the Miami Hurricanes amidst much hoopla and even more notoriety once it was discovered that he had a lengthy police record as a juvenile. His career at Miami was short-lived and he began floating. Well, he´s surfaced and I have to admit I´m surprised, it wasn´t what I expected to read when I clicked on the story. No, he´s not up for the Nobel Peace Prize or anything on that scale, but he seems to be headed in the right direction in his life, something I wouldn´t have predicted from following his story as a prep.
* I guess when your football team is getting beat down 70-0 and 51-28 (to Arizona and Western Michigan, mind you) you need to concentrate outside of the hash marks and the Idaho Vandals cheerleaders caught the attention and consternation of some of the fanbase. When I first saw the links, I was expecting leftover outfits from the days of the XFL, and I can´t quite understand all the hand-wringing. If it were me, I´d spend time on thinking of a new moniker, as I think the Vandals nickname is the worst one going in NCAA sports.
Too Sexy for the Sidelines
Other
* Al Jefferson recently conducted an interview with nba.com and he came off as likeable, humble, and hardworking as he presented on the court last year. Consider me crazy, but I´m going to miss seeing how this young team evolves-watching young talent such as Jefferson, Kevin Love, Ryan Gomes, Corey Brewer, Randy Foye (and perhaps Shuan Livingston) gel together and grow could be very entertaining.
Al Jefferson interview
* I know there´s quite a few Winona State alums on this board who have enjoyed the incredible success of the Warriors over the past three seasons. Jonte Flowers was an electrifying standout for the team and he is beginning his pro career overseas. Best wishes to him!
Jonte Flowers heading overseas
* Remember the hubbub just a couple weeks ago when Mario Chalmers and Darrel Arthur were kicked out of the NBA´s rookie symposium for having weed and ladies in their hotel room? Turns out there was a third amigo with them, the #2 pick in the draft. Michael Beasley appears to be following the introductory chapters of the Derrick Coleman/Glenn Robinson handbook on how to torpedo a promising career thus far, and perhaps we can make sense of why Pat Riley was so eager to find a trade partner at #2.
Michael Beasley is busted
* Interesting article on Brandon Jennings experience in Italy, but before we get too excited, shouldn´t he play a game first? (his first pro game is October 5th)
Jennings´Italian Adventure
* I found this to be a very entertaining read from the world of baseball 100 years ago and I think tells us this: the Cubs are lucky that it´s only been 100 years, not 101 since they last won the World Series. Perhaps the true jinx on the franchise has nothing to do with a billygoat, but rather the enactment of an inane rule forced by an obsessive-compulsive Cubs legend.
Fred Merkle´s unfortunate legacy
* Okay, I know Deadspin already has their comment on this, but what in the hell is Patrick Ewing doing wearing shorts at his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame? I´m not an etiquette expert by any means, but I know this much-when being honored for exemplary work in my field, I´m not showing up in my bahamas and flip flops! Good God Patrick, first your legendary labor comment (“you need to understand that while NBA players make a lot of money, we also spend a lot of money”), then your starring role in the Gold Club scandal, and now this!
Patrick Ewing stylin´
* Perhaps you won´t find this as hilarious as I do, but GQ´s recent idea to photoshop Brett Favre in a variety of looks has been the best comedy I´ve seen since Chris Farley tried out to be a Chippendale. Favre in a suit? C´mon! If you give me an over/under of five in the times that Favre has worn a suit in his life, I´m taking the under. The first link is of GQ´s photoshop idea and the second link is a more realistic look at Favre´s personal style.
Brett Favre like you´ll never see him
Favre´s true self
I´m Glad to be Out of the Country
(This may become a fairly regular feature, when I find some article or news item that I anticipate will get covered ad nauseum by the likes of ESPN, the national media, etc. to the point where you are reluctant to turn on the TV, dial into sports radio, or bring up a sports website)
I know there´s been some groundswell of discussion on this already, but I can see Kobe Bryant dragging this discussion out as long as possible, making his episode of perhaps I´ll sign with the Clippers from a few years back pale in comparison to this ego stroking measure. By the way, when did Sonny Vacarro become an admissions counselor for MIT?
Please go Kobe
War and Peace, Internet style
If you subscribe or have subscribed to Sports Illustrated in the past, you know that one of the highlights on the magazine is whenever a Gary Smith column appears. He recently released a book of twenty of his best articles from Sports Illustrated, and one of those articles is Damned Yankee, linked below. One of the finest sportswriter I´ve ever read, period.
Damned Yankee by Gary Smith
You Tube Clip of the Week
Mr. Rogers breaking it down, one time, one time.
Mr. Roger´s ´Hood
And on that Note
I leave you with Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, teaming up for a fiery rendition of The Ghost of Tom Joad. Go Gophers, beat the Buckeyes, and see you next week with an excess of articles and items to read!
The Ghost of Tom Joad
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