How 'Bout Them Cougars?!

I posted last December on the year I spent teaching high school and coaching basketball. It was a great year - loved it more than any job I've ever had and we had a great team and a great season. At that point, we had the best team in the history of the school. That statement, however, is no longer valid.

This Saturday night, Apex plays for the state 4A basketball championship for the first time in school history. They're playing against East Mecklenburg, a powerhouse team from here in Charlotte, who is also playing in their first state championship game. Apex has really had a miraculous season. With their leading scorer academically ineligible and their 'star' having graduated last year (now playing at Fairfield University in Connecticut), the team started the season 4-9. They've been on a roll since and have shocked a number of heavily favored teams on the road to the championship. They barely even made the state playoffs when the season ended (seeded 3rd out of 3 teams from their own conference)!

Obviously the kids that I coached are long gone - most of them are already out of college but I'm still proud to have been at Apex and I'll definitely be pulling for them on Saturday!

Watch Sports on Your Computer - For Free!

I have my friend Todd to thank for today's website recommendation. Channelsurfing.net is a pretty bare bones, plain site. No fancy interface or pretty graphics to be found. That, however, does not lessen the 'coolness' of this site. What it offers are links to live video streams of sporting events from around the country and around the world. VERY COOL.

I have used the site to watch a number of blacked out NBA games or games that weren't being carried locally. I tested the site out today and saw that the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament was being shown. This is not to mention all the international sporting events that are linked to from the site (you can watch international soccer to your heart's content from this site). Todd has been spending some time on the west coast recently and told me that he watched the last UNC-Duke game on this site - all LIVE. Most live streaming sites are pay only and many don't have good performance. My experience with this site has been that it has very good performance and it's completely free! I will say that it doesn't always work well with Firefox (my preferred internet browser) - so if you want to give it a try, I recommend using Internet Explorer. Next time your favorite team isn't on showing in your area, give it a try. You might be able to watch online for free!

11 Year Old with NBA Skills

One of my favorite things to do when I feel not-so-good about myself and my declining athletic skills is to imagine how great I would be if I was playing against a bunch of little kids. I'm pretty sure I'd be the best player in the local Little League. I'm also pretty sure that most Pee Wee football players would have a hard time tackling me and that I'd lead the league in TDs if I were allowed to play.

Until yesterday, I also thought that I was better than every 5th grader in the country in hoops. This video has altered that perception and sent my ego into a tailspin. This kid is unbelievable. And - in addition to being good at basketball, he also is the world record holder in his age group for running a mile. Great - now I can't even beat up on little kids anymore. I'm depressed.

I Guess This Was To Be Expected

Given that I live in Charlotte (home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame), I guess I should have expected what took place last week. Our NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, had 'NASCAR Night'. Teams do promotional nights all the time and the Bobcats probably do more than most given the lack of attendance. I've got no problem with having a 'NASCAR night' or any other night that they want to have to get people excited. I don't even have a problem with them giving away Bobcats cars or having cars on display or whatever. I do, however, have a problem with the hideous checkered flag design they incorporated into their uniforms for the game.

I drove by the team store yesterday on the way home from work and they've got this disgusting design on display in the window of the store. Please - be a sensible person and do not buy anything related to this whole concept. We must ensure that this never, ever happens again!

The Resurgence of Baylor Basketball

UPDATE: In case you missed the news, Baylor won against Texas A&M in FIVE OVERTIMES. I've never even heard of a game going into five OTs!?

Those of you that know me know that I'm from a Baylor family. My parents, brother, sister, wife, aunt, and uncle all went to Baylor (weird I know). As such, I've grown up following Baylor athletics - albeit from a far distance and with pretty casual interest. What is happening this season with Baylor's basketball program is nothing short of remarkable, however, and more people should pay attention to what's going on.

Five years ago, Baylor endured one of the biggest scandals in NCAA history. A player on the team was murdered by a teammate. The coach at the time, in an attempt to cover improper tuition payments made for two players, asked assistant coaches and players to portray the dead student as a drug dealer. The NCAA, after reviewing the evidence, nearly imposed the death penalty on the program and Baylor was very nearly removed from the Big 12. It really doesn't get any more messed up than this.

Jump ahead five years and you'll find the Baylor men's basketball team ranked in the top 25 for the first time in 39 years (and ranked in both the men's and women's polls at the same time for the first time in history)! At 15-2, the team is also off to its best start in 63 years and is sitting atop the standings in the Big 12 - a conference that features traditional powers like Kansas and Texas. Tonight they play one of the biggest games in school history - on the road at #18 Texas A&M.

Blair Kerkhoff has an interesting story on the program's resurgence in today's Kansas City Star. If you like college basketball, are interested in Baylor, or want to know how a team has literally returned from the edge of extinction, check it out!

I'm Reeling...

Sorry for the lack of posts today. Frankly I'm still reeling from yesterday's Cowboys game. I'm a die-hard, life long Cowboys fan and yesterday's loss was just added another chapter to what's becoming a long list of disappointments. Last year's dropped snap was painful but Dallas wasn't as good last year as they were this year. This year's loss was just a collapse. Missed tackles, no pass protection, dropped passes - it literally made my stomach hurt.

Between the current state of Georgia Tech sports, the Cowboys exiting in the first round of the playoffs, and my fantasy football team absolutely collapsing down the stretch, I'm on the verge of giving up sports or punching a hole in the wall. I'll let you know which one I go with.

Website Recommendation: Cool Site for Football Junkies

As I've said here in the past, I'm a bit of a sports nut. If I were still single, I'd probably watch a lot more sports than I do (I try not to force my wife to watch them when I know she couldn't care less). But, even as a married man, I still watch a lot of sports. I especially like NFL football. It is by far my favorite sport to watch and, to me, has just the right number of games (16) so that I don't get bored with the season and I can actually follow along and pay close attention throughout the year.

My interest in NFL football started at a young age. I can remember being 5 or 6 and studying the cards in my football card collection. There was a time (probably 1977 or 1978) that I could tell you the 3 QBs on every NFL team. Pretty impressive for a 4 or 5 year old I think.

Anyway - if you like football as much as I do, you should definitely check out Pro-Football-Reference.com. This site is a virtual database of statistics, standings, individual player stats, you name it. You can waste a LOT of time on this site. I always enjoy browsing it and seeing some name that I hadn't thought of in years. Usually I can picture the guy's football card in my head when that happens!

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits that I picked up at Pro-Football-Reference.com:

• No college has put more players into the NFL than Notre Dame - 485 players!
• 465 players have played in the NFL without attending ANY college (second only to Notre Dame's 485!)
• Miami and Florida State have the most active players in the league - 33 each (strange that the pundits still say that the ACC has weak football?!)
• There are 162 colleges that have put just 1 player into the NFL - including one Division 1 school (Florida Atlantic - granted they've only been in D1 for 7 years)
• Morgan State, a Division II historically black college, has 4 players in the NFL Hall of Fame - more than Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, or Florida State.
• There has never been an NFL player with a last name that starts with 'X'

I could go on and on. If you're a football fan, check it out and prepare to waste a good chunk of time. Also - the same guy that runs this site has sister sites for BASEBALL and BASKETBALL!

Enjoy!

Professional Athelete Guessing Game

These things are so dang popular I thought I'd do yet another. Oh yeah - I'm gonna keep doing them until somebody starts to like it.

Now - here are 9 professional atheletes. Other than never having been in your kitchen, what do they have in common?

The Best Job I've Ever Had

Most of you probably know that I spent one year teaching high school about 6 years ago. I graduated from business school, took a high powered job in consulting, and watched it all disappear when the dot com bust happened. I ended up taking a job as a computer programming teacher and ended up absolutely loving it. If I could've made any money doing it, I'd be there today.

One of the other things I really loved was the fact that I also got to coach basketball. It was a weird "right place, right time" type of thing - but I was there the year that the school had our best team ever. We finished in the final 8 in the state in the largest classification for public high schools. We had a team of dedicated guys that knew our system (the Princeton offense) and we beat a lot of teams with better athletes. We had one player that went to a low Division 1 school (Campbell University). The picture includes all the guys that I coached against that year that ended up playing in Division 1 basketball and/or the NBA. What a collection of talent!! They are (starting in the center and then at top left going clockwise):

Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets/Wake Forest - NBA Rookie of the Year

Thomas Wilkins - UNC Chapel Hill

Eric Williams - Wake Forest

Todd Hendley - UNC Wilmington/Wake Forest

Shavlik Randolph - Philadelphia 76ers / Duke

DeEarnest McLemore - Wagner

Shawan Robinson - Clemson

James Mays - Clemson

Mack Montgomery - Columbia

Cameron Stanley - Wake Forest

Bryan Nieman - NC State

I'm proud to say that the only two guys in this picture that we lost to were Chris Paul and Shavlik Randolph. Definitely a year I'll always remember!!

NBA Team Names - What Could Have Been

I am not a huge NBA fan. I watch Charlotte's games when there is nothing else on (meaning no other sporting events) - but I would definitely not say I'm a fanatic. I am, however, excited about some of the upcoming games this week. The highlights include:

Charlotte Spirit vs. Milwaukee Skunks
Minnesota Polars vs. Orlando Juice
Miami Suntan vs. Memphis Express
Phoenix Dust Devils vs. Portland Chinooks

If those names are unfamiliar to you, it's because those were all franchise names that were NOT chosen when these teams came into existance. I remember well the public uproar over the name Charlotte Spirit. The original proposed colors were red, white, and blue and the mascot was going to be some kind of ghost. It was so lame. All of the names here are pretty bad - probably why they weren't chosen. The Orlando Juice ended up being used later by a team in the short lived Senior League (baseball league filled with 50 year old ex-big leaguers - I remember that too).

You can read more about how team names came to be HERE, HERE, and HERE.

NBA Guessing Game - Here's the Answer

While Scott's guess of people who have never been in his kitchen is, technically, accurate, the significance of the guys in the picture are that they are the last remaining players from the old Charlotte Hornets. All others have retired. When these guys end their careers, there will literally be no trace of this franchise remaining - the building they played in has been torn down, the uniforms/colors have been changed, and there's a new team in Charlotte. 19 years ago they were brand new and the city was crazy for them and now all that remains is 7 guys. Sad.

(Incidentally, the 7 guys are: Alonzo Mourning, Ricky Davis, Baron Davis, Jamaal Magloire, Eddie Jones, Brad Miller, and Malik Rose)

NBA - Guessing Game

Here's a little guessing game for you. Does anybody know what the significance of the guys in this photo is?

Basketball Stars - Where Are They Now?

I was recently reading some basketball recruiting information when I came upon something that I thought was pretty absurd. This site ranks the top prospects in the greater Kentucky area. That's pretty cool - except that it goes down to the class of 2013. The site is ranking 4'7" sixth graders?! Dear Lord. We can now explain what is wrong with amateur athletics (and, more specifically, amateur athletes!).

Seeing this did bring to mind one of my favorite Sports Illustrated issues from my childhood. In the 1986-1987 College Basketball Preview issue, SI ranked the top players in the nation from 6th grade up to 12th grade. I was an 8th grader at the time and remember being irritated that I had not made the list (or even been considered). Given that I'm the same height now as I was then and was probably a better player then - they were correct in not considering me. Here's how the rest of those guys ended up:

12th Grade - Marcus Liberty - Liberty went on to play at the University of Illinois and was a key player on their 1988-1989 Final Four Team. He left Illinois after his junior year and spent 4 years in the NBA - primarily with the Denver Nuggets. By the time he was 25 years old, he was out of the NBA - relegated to playing in exotic locales like Turkey and Sweden. Today, he's 38 years old and plays for the Chicago Rockstars of the ABA (think MINOR league basketball).

11th Grade - Alonzo Mourning - Mourning has had a long, successful career in the NBA. After being named an All-American at Georgetown, Mourning was the 2nd overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He has since played for the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets. He is a seven time NBA All-Star, two time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was a key player on Miami's 2006 NBA Championship team. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Mourning - he's done it all with one kidney since having a kidney transplant in 2003.

10th Grade - Kenny Anderson - Anderson was a three time Parade All-American, McDonald's All American, and Gatorade National Player of the year during his senior year in high school. He went on to Georgia Tech, perhaps the nation's greatest academic and athletic institution (seriously), and entered the NBA after his sophomore season. He was the second overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets and went on to play 14 years in the NBA, last seen with the LA Clippers in 2005. Today Kenny Anderson is the head coach of the CBA's Atlanta Krunk (seriously).

9th Grade - Damon Bailey - Damon Bailey was a four-time all-state basketball player in basketball-crazy Indiana. He led his high school to a state championship during his senior year in front of 41,000 fans in the Hoosier Dome! Bailey played four years at Indiana for coach Bobby Knight and was third team All-American and first team all-Big Ten during his senior year. He played one year in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers and then went on to play several more years in the old CBA (think AAA baseball). He retired as a player and went on to coach his high school, Bedford North Lawrence, before resigning earlier this year. Today he's in the industrial supply business.

8th Grade - Barnabas James - the guy who beat me out for this honor was last heard from in 1991. That year he was recruited by Coach Tim Floyd (now at Southern California) to play at the University of New Orleans but failed to qualify academically. He was last seen playing for Delgado Community College.

7th Grade - Brian Crow - I could not find much about this guy at all. He was from Orem, Utah and the rumors I heard were that he went on to become a successful decathalete later in his high school years.

6th Grade - Michael Irvin - Chicago area player that went on to become "an average high school player" for Christ the King in Chicago.

So...if you remember that issue of Sports Illustrated, now you know what happened to those guys. If you don't remember it, you can at least see the folly of ranking players in the 6th grade!

Imitation - The Sincerest Form of Flattery?

I was riding to work the other day and a billboard caught my eye (yes, I ride the bus). It was advertising the 2007-2008 Charlotte Bobcats - trying to drum up interest in single game tickets. Those of you familiar with Charlotte know that this was, once, big basketball country. When the old Hornets entered the league in 1988, they led the league in attendance. Tickets were the hottest thing in town! The Bobcats - not so much. I follow them because I'm a big sports fan but there's very little interest in town. Maybe it's because they're bad, maybe it's because they have really ugly bright orange uniforms, maybe it's because the name stinks (Bobcats - named after owner Bob Johnson - I'm glad his name isn't Steve or Gary or something).

Anyway - they have a new logo on the billboard and I can't help but think that it's stolen directly from another team in the NBA. It's an improvement over last year's logo (redesigning logos in the team's 4th year?!) - but still a blatant rip off.

This new logo is a really lame rip-off if you ask me. You be the judge.

Baylor Football - A Sad State of Affairs

Most of you know that I'm from a family full of Baylor Bears - my mom & dad, my wife, my sister, my brother, one of my aunts, and one of my uncles all went to Baylor (as did Willie Nelson incidentally). You may also know that Baylor is terrible at football. That wasn't always the case. Believe it or not, I was in attendance when Baylor pummelled Clemson in the 1979 Peach Bowl and was also at the 1981 Cotton Bowl when Baylor got smacked 30-2 by Alabama (but hey - there were in the Cotton Bowl!). After another losing year, they fired their coach recently and were, by most accounts, ready to bring back Mike Singletary, one of their all-time greats, to serve as the new head coach. Strangely, however, he recently removed his name from consideration. Rumor has it, however, that Baylor AD Ian McCaw might've removed Singletary because he wasn't willing to just be a yes-man and fund raiser. That's pretty pathetic. If the guy in the video below isn't the right guy for a school like Baylor, I'm not sure there's much hope for a return to glory on the gridiron.