The best start in school history since joining Division I had Sam Houston State basketball fans feeling good about the start of Southland Conference play and the potential of another trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Bob Marlin. Following a 2-2 start against SLC foes, the unbridled optimism has been replaced by many with tempered concerns.
The difference between perfection and impending panic is slim. SHSU's three losses are by a total of seven points and two overtime periods on the road. Assuming Saturday's defensive performance at Lamar was an exception to the rule, the Kats have proven to be an excellent defensive team. As long as that trend continues, the Kats can expect to win more than their share of conference games (and fans can continue to keep the Maalox in hand).
To say that Thursday night's showdown with rival Stephen F. Austin — which has its own legitimate conference title aspirations — is a "must-win" game is probably too dramatic. While a victory at home would pull the Kats into a tie with SFA at 3-2 in SLC action, there is still way too much basketball left to be played for Thursday's outcome to define the season.
But this much we do know. Sam Houston State is a different team than the one that started the season 10-0. The loss of James Barrett's presence in the post is huge; bigger than most people realized. The Kats don't miss Barrett's eight points and four rebounds per game as much as they miss his attitude. The Brooklyn native was New York tough. Much like former Bearkats Jay Oliphant and Wilder Auguste, Barrett was an undersized post player who excelled at doing the dirty work. Without him, center John Gardiner is the only established force on the inside. Lamar exploited that weakness over the weekend, and once Gardiner was in foul trouble, the Kats didn't have enough to answer with.
The good news is that a struggling offense may be rounding into form. Lost in the disappointment of the overtime defeat in Beaumont is the fact SHSU has shot 46 percent, 55 percent and 51 percent from the field in the last three halves of basketball, dating back to the final 20 minutes of a 64-49 win at McNeese State on Jan. 17.
The one glaring concern is senior Ryan Bright's pair of five-point games in conference play. It's almost impossible to criticize a guy who's averaging a double-double for the season (10.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game), and with everything else he brings to the table, Bright's inexplicable career-long struggle from the free throw line can be forgiven.
The SFA game isn't a must-win contest, but it is a major statement game — for the Bearkats and Bright. It's time for Bright to take his game to the next level and keep it there for the next eight weeks. And it's a reasonable request because his career body of work is evidence that he's capable of more.
As a team, the 2007-08 Bearkats have an identity on defense. They're quick, they pressure the perimeter, they scrape and claw for everything they get on the inside and crash the boards hard, beating opponents by an average of 7.4 rebounds per game.
The offense is still undefined. If the Kats can find the scoring to supplement its defense, this could become the special season everyone was hoping for. Bright has shown before that he can be an offensive force, and this team needs him now more than ever.
Thursday night would be the perfect setting — at home, in front of rowdy crowd against SFA in an "important" game — for Bright to put his stamp on this his senior season.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Who is to blame for the steroid era? Everyone in baseball
Finally, someone besides the players is taking some heat for the steroid era in baseball. During Tuesday’s Congressional hearing, San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan and general manager Brian Sabean were hammered for either allowing or not knowing what was obvious — that for years Barry Bonds was using steroids and his personal trainer, Brian Anderson, was bringing the illegal drugs into their clubhouse.
So far, the post-Mitchell Report era of baseball has been nothing short of a witch-hunt against the players, and it’s not fair.
ESPN analyst Steve Phillips said he didn’t think Magowan or Sabean should be punished for what they did or didn’t do during that time. That’s right, the man who was general manager of the New York Mets during the heart of the steroid era — the same New York Mets whose clubhouse assistant, Kirk Radomski, is one of the star witnesses in the Mitchell Report and self-admitted drug kingpin of MLB — doesn’t think the executives should be punished.
Shocking.
Although I don’t agree with his reasoning, I completely agree with Phillips’ conclusion. Punishing individuals for their role in the steroid scandal is wrong.
The Mitchell Report named almost 100 current and former players using only two sources. Can we honestly believe it did anything more than scrape the surface? Ken Caminiti once estimated more than half of all pro baseball players were juicing. At the time, players and journalists scoffed. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, which means hundreds who are just as guilty will never be tarred and feathered the way Roger Clemens and Bonds are now.
The truth is, everyone in baseball is guilty for the steroid era.
Players did it to make more money.
Owners ignored it to make more money.
General managers ignored it because winning games and selling tickets helped them keep their jobs.
Players who didn’t do it are guilty for looking the other way and claiming ignorance.
The media is guilty of not looking further into the dark corners of baseball.
And the fans don’t have much to complain about either. With rumors swirling for more than a decade, millions flocked to the ballpark to watch home runs sail out of the park at a record pace.
Apparently, ignorance truly is bliss.
So far, the post-Mitchell Report era of baseball has been nothing short of a witch-hunt against the players, and it’s not fair.
ESPN analyst Steve Phillips said he didn’t think Magowan or Sabean should be punished for what they did or didn’t do during that time. That’s right, the man who was general manager of the New York Mets during the heart of the steroid era — the same New York Mets whose clubhouse assistant, Kirk Radomski, is one of the star witnesses in the Mitchell Report and self-admitted drug kingpin of MLB — doesn’t think the executives should be punished.
Shocking.
Although I don’t agree with his reasoning, I completely agree with Phillips’ conclusion. Punishing individuals for their role in the steroid scandal is wrong.
The Mitchell Report named almost 100 current and former players using only two sources. Can we honestly believe it did anything more than scrape the surface? Ken Caminiti once estimated more than half of all pro baseball players were juicing. At the time, players and journalists scoffed. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, which means hundreds who are just as guilty will never be tarred and feathered the way Roger Clemens and Bonds are now.
The truth is, everyone in baseball is guilty for the steroid era.
Players did it to make more money.
Owners ignored it to make more money.
General managers ignored it because winning games and selling tickets helped them keep their jobs.
Players who didn’t do it are guilty for looking the other way and claiming ignorance.
The media is guilty of not looking further into the dark corners of baseball.
And the fans don’t have much to complain about either. With rumors swirling for more than a decade, millions flocked to the ballpark to watch home runs sail out of the park at a record pace.
Apparently, ignorance truly is bliss.
Al Sharpton: fighting racial injustice where it really matters — the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is in Palm Spring, Calif., this week for the Bob Hope Celebrity Classic. The Golf Channel’s lead commentator, Kelly Tilghman, is not. Professional golf and Palm Springs rarely make waves on the civil rights radar, but thanks to the good Rev. All Sharpton, these strangers have crossed paths.
Two weeks ago as the PGA Tour was opening it’s season in Hawaii, Tilghman, during a joking exchange with co-host Nick Faldo about how the next generation of tour pros could catch up with Tiger Woods, said the younger players on the PGA Tour should lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley.
Considering the fact Woods is one of the only African-American men on the PGA Tour, and considering the disgraceful and embarrassing history between lynching and black men in American history, Tilghman’s words were poorly chosen. And she knew it.
Tilghman apologized on the air. She called Woods to personally say she was sorry. When reporters contacted the Woods’ camp for a comment, Tiger’s people said it was a non-issue. Golf Channel executives agreed, saying there would be no action taken.
Until Sharpton stepped up to the tee box and unleashed this drive: "If I got on this show and said I wanted to put some Jewish-American in a gas chamber, I don't care what context I said it in, the entire Jewish community would have the right to say I should be put off this show or my radio show if I said it there," Sharpton told CNN. "Or if I said I wanted to see a woman raped. This is an insult to all blacks. Lynching is not murder in general; it is not assault in general. It is a specific racial term."
Sharpton then compared Tilghamn’s remarks to those made by radio show host Don Imus last year about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.
It seems now would be an appropriate time to yell, “Fore!” as Sharpton’s shot sailed wildy off course.
Sharpton comparing Tilghman to Imus is ironic, seeing how Sharpton himself has become little more than the shock-jock of the civil right’s movement, launching outrageous sound bites that draw more attention to him than the issues. Most people with common sense have stopped listening to anything Rev. Al has to say, which sadly undermines his efforts to help everyday people who have suffered true injustice and need a strong voice.
Too bad Sharpton has decided to waste his power and influence on something as trivial as the misplaced words of a professional golf commentator. Tiger's a big boy, Al. He can take care of himself.
The real cowards here are the Golf Channel executives who caved under Sharpton’s pressure and suspended Tilghman. Thankfully they weren’t stupid enough to follow Sharpton’s advice and fire her, but that’s hardly an endorsement of their competence or leadership.
Two weeks ago as the PGA Tour was opening it’s season in Hawaii, Tilghman, during a joking exchange with co-host Nick Faldo about how the next generation of tour pros could catch up with Tiger Woods, said the younger players on the PGA Tour should lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley.
Considering the fact Woods is one of the only African-American men on the PGA Tour, and considering the disgraceful and embarrassing history between lynching and black men in American history, Tilghman’s words were poorly chosen. And she knew it.
Tilghman apologized on the air. She called Woods to personally say she was sorry. When reporters contacted the Woods’ camp for a comment, Tiger’s people said it was a non-issue. Golf Channel executives agreed, saying there would be no action taken.
Until Sharpton stepped up to the tee box and unleashed this drive: "If I got on this show and said I wanted to put some Jewish-American in a gas chamber, I don't care what context I said it in, the entire Jewish community would have the right to say I should be put off this show or my radio show if I said it there," Sharpton told CNN. "Or if I said I wanted to see a woman raped. This is an insult to all blacks. Lynching is not murder in general; it is not assault in general. It is a specific racial term."
Sharpton then compared Tilghamn’s remarks to those made by radio show host Don Imus last year about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.
It seems now would be an appropriate time to yell, “Fore!” as Sharpton’s shot sailed wildy off course.
Sharpton comparing Tilghman to Imus is ironic, seeing how Sharpton himself has become little more than the shock-jock of the civil right’s movement, launching outrageous sound bites that draw more attention to him than the issues. Most people with common sense have stopped listening to anything Rev. Al has to say, which sadly undermines his efforts to help everyday people who have suffered true injustice and need a strong voice.
Too bad Sharpton has decided to waste his power and influence on something as trivial as the misplaced words of a professional golf commentator. Tiger's a big boy, Al. He can take care of himself.
The real cowards here are the Golf Channel executives who caved under Sharpton’s pressure and suspended Tilghman. Thankfully they weren’t stupid enough to follow Sharpton’s advice and fire her, but that’s hardly an endorsement of their competence or leadership.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
BCS a bust once again
The college football season is over, and folks down in Baton Rouge are likely still celebrating more than a day after embarrassing Ohio State. After watching Les Miles take the most talented team in the country and do everything in his power to prevent the Tigers from winning a national championship during the regular season, The Hat looked like a coach anyone would be proud to have on their sideline Monday night.
The 2007 college football season was the most unpredictable anyone can remember, and it’s only fitting that the Bowl Championship Series had possibly its worst showing since it first marred the college football landscape in 1998. The Rose Bowl stunk. Sugar Bowl was rotten. Fiesta Bowl was a bust. Orange Bowl was watchable, even though Kansas — despite winning — didn’t deserve to be there.
The “championship” game only proved what most of us already knew:
• Ohio State is overrated. The Buckeyes were rewarded by the BCS for playing in a weak Big 10 Conference and for rolling through an even softer non-conference schedule.
• The SEC is better than the Big 10. OSU faced real adversity twice this season — against Illinois and LSU — and both times the Buckeyes crumbled. LSU was pushed to its limit almost every week during SEC action. The Tigers need late-game heroics to beat Florida, Auburn and Alabama. Twice they were taken to triple overtime. Do you really think a 10-0 first quarter deficit Monday night had the Tigers worried?
• The BCS doesn’t work, and FBC conferences need a playoff system. University of Georgia president Michael Adams, at the risk of looking like a sore loser, came out Monday advocating an eight-team playoff. His is only the first domino, and many more will need to fall before something changes.
• I don’t care if Roger Clemens used steroids, and, frankly, I don’t care if he’s lying about it now. Professional baseball over the past 20 years will forever be known as the Steroid Era. Everyone who played, whether they used performance-enhancing drugs or not, will have that shadow cast over their legacy. What bothers me is the old-school baseball writers who are now playing judge, jury and executioner with players’ legacies without looking in the mirror. If they had been doing their job as journalists and reporters, steroid use in baseball would have been exposed years ago. With the unique clubhouse access available to them, baseball’s writers either knew about it and said nothing, or were grossly negligent if they were unaware. At the very least, they heard the rumors and are just as guilty as the team executives that turned a blind eye.
• Speaking of bitter old men, I never have, and probably never will, understand baseball Hall of Fame voters. What did Goose Gossage do during the past 12 months to make him HOF worthy? After eight years of not having what it takes, suddenly Goose is good enough?
• Big-time Division I football is the only sport where it’s acceptable for people to argue: “they’re not even the best team in the conference, so they don’t deserve to play for the national title? Why not? Basketball allows every single conference champion, as well as with more than 30 others teams who didn’t finish first in their league, play for the championship. Along the way, March Madness has become the greatest sporting event in America. The College World Series, along with its regional and super regional rounds, provides a similar format that is just as exciting for college baseball followers.
Missouri, West Virginia, USC and Georgia all have better football teams than Ohio State this season, as did Kansas, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Throw in LSU, and that sounds like a pretty great — and simple — playoff.
The 2007 college football season was the most unpredictable anyone can remember, and it’s only fitting that the Bowl Championship Series had possibly its worst showing since it first marred the college football landscape in 1998. The Rose Bowl stunk. Sugar Bowl was rotten. Fiesta Bowl was a bust. Orange Bowl was watchable, even though Kansas — despite winning — didn’t deserve to be there.
The “championship” game only proved what most of us already knew:
• Ohio State is overrated. The Buckeyes were rewarded by the BCS for playing in a weak Big 10 Conference and for rolling through an even softer non-conference schedule.
• The SEC is better than the Big 10. OSU faced real adversity twice this season — against Illinois and LSU — and both times the Buckeyes crumbled. LSU was pushed to its limit almost every week during SEC action. The Tigers need late-game heroics to beat Florida, Auburn and Alabama. Twice they were taken to triple overtime. Do you really think a 10-0 first quarter deficit Monday night had the Tigers worried?
• The BCS doesn’t work, and FBC conferences need a playoff system. University of Georgia president Michael Adams, at the risk of looking like a sore loser, came out Monday advocating an eight-team playoff. His is only the first domino, and many more will need to fall before something changes.
• I don’t care if Roger Clemens used steroids, and, frankly, I don’t care if he’s lying about it now. Professional baseball over the past 20 years will forever be known as the Steroid Era. Everyone who played, whether they used performance-enhancing drugs or not, will have that shadow cast over their legacy. What bothers me is the old-school baseball writers who are now playing judge, jury and executioner with players’ legacies without looking in the mirror. If they had been doing their job as journalists and reporters, steroid use in baseball would have been exposed years ago. With the unique clubhouse access available to them, baseball’s writers either knew about it and said nothing, or were grossly negligent if they were unaware. At the very least, they heard the rumors and are just as guilty as the team executives that turned a blind eye.
• Speaking of bitter old men, I never have, and probably never will, understand baseball Hall of Fame voters. What did Goose Gossage do during the past 12 months to make him HOF worthy? After eight years of not having what it takes, suddenly Goose is good enough?
• Big-time Division I football is the only sport where it’s acceptable for people to argue: “they’re not even the best team in the conference, so they don’t deserve to play for the national title? Why not? Basketball allows every single conference champion, as well as with more than 30 others teams who didn’t finish first in their league, play for the championship. Along the way, March Madness has become the greatest sporting event in America. The College World Series, along with its regional and super regional rounds, provides a similar format that is just as exciting for college baseball followers.
Missouri, West Virginia, USC and Georgia all have better football teams than Ohio State this season, as did Kansas, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Throw in LSU, and that sounds like a pretty great — and simple — playoff.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Welcome
For anyone who eventually stumbles across this, welcome! Chances are if you have found this, you already know me, but on the off chance you don't, glad to meet ya.
Here's a quick rundown about me and my writing. I love sports and I love writing. I received a journalism degree from Sam Houston State University and started my professional career combining my two favorite things as a sports writer. I'm no longer in journalism (a blessing from God), but I do miss sports writing, especially column writing. I plan to use this forum as an outlet for my love of sports writing.
You probabaly (hopefully) won't find this space filled with daily diary entries or smarmy, smart ass comments that so many other online writers thrive on. My goal is to write newspaper style sports columns — or at least my version of one — because it's something I love to do, and right now this is my only outlet.
Often the topic will be SHSU athletics, which I enjoy keeping up with as a graduate and a former beat writer. I live in Alabama now, so AU (Auburn) and UA (Alabama) will probably get some run (to all my friends back in Texas... if you think UT and A&M fans can be annoying, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to listen to Crimson Tide and Tiger fans 365 days a year). The wide world of sports in general is fair game as well.
Take care — BL
Here's a quick rundown about me and my writing. I love sports and I love writing. I received a journalism degree from Sam Houston State University and started my professional career combining my two favorite things as a sports writer. I'm no longer in journalism (a blessing from God), but I do miss sports writing, especially column writing. I plan to use this forum as an outlet for my love of sports writing.
You probabaly (hopefully) won't find this space filled with daily diary entries or smarmy, smart ass comments that so many other online writers thrive on. My goal is to write newspaper style sports columns — or at least my version of one — because it's something I love to do, and right now this is my only outlet.
Often the topic will be SHSU athletics, which I enjoy keeping up with as a graduate and a former beat writer. I live in Alabama now, so AU (Auburn) and UA (Alabama) will probably get some run (to all my friends back in Texas... if you think UT and A&M fans can be annoying, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to listen to Crimson Tide and Tiger fans 365 days a year). The wide world of sports in general is fair game as well.
Take care — BL
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