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1/5/10
Speaking of the New Year and New Orleans: that was the worst football
game I've ever witnessed and that's all I have to say about the
game. Actually, I have a lot to say about it, but #!@*$&%, I
just don't want to talk about it. The only good news is that I
won't have to hear from, or about, Tim Tebow or Mardy Gilyard
again. The 2010 season started on Monday: GO BEARCATS.
12/21/09
The boys will only be home for a short while. They will leave
late in the afternoon of Christmas Day, in order to check in at 9:00AM
on the 26th and head off to New Orleans. I suppose that's a small
price to pay for the honor of playing in such a prestigious bowl game.
UC has a new Head Football Coach. They hired Butch Jones away
from Central Michigan. Everyone seems happy; except for the
Central Michigan fans. This is the second time we've poached
their Coach. Jones won't coach the boys in the Sugar Bowl.
That job will continue to be handled by Jeff Quinn, who is expected to
be named Head Coach of the University of Buffalo. Congratulations
and best wishes to Coach Quinn.
12/12/09
We attended a wonderful banquet for the football team last
Thursday. It was held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.
The media was out in full force to get any insight as to when Kelly
would announce his plans relative to the Notre Dame job. To his
credit, Kelly made the banquet all about the team and it's
seniors. After the banquet, Kelly met with the team and announced
his decision to accept the head coaching job at ND. No one was
surprised, but the boys were disappointed. Too bad . . . get over
it guys; you've got a big game on January 1st and it's time to get back
to work.
The focus has shifted now to whom Kelly's successor will be. The
onus is on Athletic Director Mike Thomas, University President Gregory
Williams and the University Trustees to find a coach that will assist
them in continuing to develop the University of Cincinnati Bearcat
football program into a perennial top ten contender.
12/09/09
We had one helluva game in Pittsburgh on Saturday. It's a shame
someone had to come away from that with a loss. Pitt is such a
great school and Coach Wannstedt is such a class guy, you had to feel
for those Pitt boys at the end. But, such is life. Now it’s
on to the Sugar Bowl against UC Alumnus Urban Meyer and his Florida
Gators.
GO BEARCATS!!!
Rumors about Kelly are all over the net. He told the boys on
Monday that he would meet with, and listen to, Notre Dame.
CFN.Scout.com says it's a done deal; Kelly will be the new Irish
Coach. I suppose we'll see at the banquet on Thursday. I'll
say it again, if the University is committed to a winning football
program that competes with the BCS elite, losing Kelly would just be a
hiccup.
12/02/09
The boys won on Friday, against a tough Illinois team that is better
than its record indicates. This has set the stage for the
showdown this Friday in Pittsburgh for the Big East Title. While
Pitt's loss to WV won't affect the title race, it just has to be a bit
depressing. Right now the pressure is on UC, but if the Cats jump
on Pitt early that will change. Pitt will be playing catch-up and
worrying about "choking" again this year. However, if Pitt is
behind, don't expect them to fold. I don't believe that will
never happen with a Dave Wannstedt team.
11/14/09
The boys had another close one last night. The West Virginia
Mountaniers certainly did their homework and gave us quite a
game. There was an extremely controversial call on a
touchdown. The on field official had signaled a fumble recovery
by WV when our runner tried to dive over the goal line from the three
yard
line. After a video review, the officials changed the call to a
touchdown, claiming the ball passed the goal line plane prior to the
fumble. Apparently this has caused quite a stir on ESPN; with the
announcers claiming it was a bad call. I haven't been home to
review the game tape, but I have talked to three individuals who saw
it. Two of them say the officials were right in reversing the
original call and awarding UC the TD. My third source is adamant
that it was not a TD. This is going to add fuel to the fire and
embolden the media talking heads, and some college football fans, who
refuse to accept the idea that any school that is not one of the
traditionally elite football programs has a legitimate claim to a major
BCS bowl, much less the National Championship. This is
reminiscent of the Democrats crying foul because Bush won the election
over Gore according to the rules and procedures in place at the time.
Oops!! I just mixed politics and football. Spank my butt and call
me Suzy. My apologies to all and I vow to never do it again.
Again, Travis didn't play until the final onside kick, but signs
indicate his attitude is improving. I just found a YouTube video
of him in a class. He had an opportunity to get a little extra
credit if he wore a costume to one of his classes. A teammate
offered him a Bill Clinton mask and Trav took advantage of it, dressing
up in a suit and wandering around campus on his way to class as Slick
Willie. Apparently his Psychology professor is retiring soon and
there were TV cameras in the class. So the Travman was shocked
when he walked into class and was told he would be on the evening
news. He winged his "my fellow Americans" speech and was shown
dancing in the beginning of the video. You
can catch the YouTube version here.
11/11/09
Well, the Bearcats dodged a bullet with UConn visiting. They won
47-45. I thought that if a team racked up over 700 total on
offense
and scored 47 points, the game was not supposed to be close. I
haven't
seen the recorded game, but I've been told by friends that the
announcers had several kind words to say about Jason. Trav
didn't
play until
the last kickoff. After UConn's last score, it was apparent that
they
would try an onside kick, so Trav was put in up front. He finally
gets
in when it counts and it's on a play where the only notable thing he
could do is screw up. But all went well. From observing his
demeanor
on the sidelines, I think his attitude is changing and that's a good
thing.
11/06/09
UC got past Syracuse and Bubba played after all. I understand
that
one of the OL starters was out with fluid in his lungs and the coaches
didn't want to have 2 back-ups in there. I think that was a
mistake. All of the subs on the O line are very good and merely
lack experience. Jason played, but according to his own
evaluation, it was the worst he's ever played. He described it as
being weak on his right side and basically blocking with just half of
his body. Apparently the muscles aren't weaker, it's just that
the inflamed nerve doesn't transmit the correct signals from the
brain. As I've said before, from my perspective this is scary
stuff. I do think that the team would have been better served
with Jason resting the last 2 weeks and ready to go this week.
Tomorrow the boys face UConn and then finish the schedule off with West
Virginia and Illinios at home and then Pitt at Heinz Field. We
shall see.
Travis is still spinning his wheels and going nowhere and that's all
that I'm gonna say about that.
10/30/09
I'm hanging in Syracuse, waiting for the game tomorrow. UC is
favored by 2 TDs and that's a scary thought. They're not in that
position very often and as we all know, upsets happen every week.
My oldest doesn't see trouble coming; he believes everyone’s head is in
the right place. I hope he's right. He won't play much, if
at all. After suffering stingers in the last 2 games, the coaches
are inclined to keep him on the bench. He shouldn't be
needed. For those of you that have never heard of a "stinger", it
is a condition that results from a hit to the head or shoulder, where
the head or shoulder is in a unique position. The hit pinches a
nerve in the
neck and the pain paralyzes the neck, arm and shoulder on the side that
was hit. From what I'm told it is a common injury and a lot of
power players have to deal with it. However, as a Dad, it scares
the hell out of me. A hit that paralyzes the side of your upper
body; and coaches, trainers and players merely refer to it as "shit
happens." When it happened at South Florida it was at the end of
the game and they just sat him. He had some trouble that weekend,
but seemed to recover. Last week when it happened I was able to
get down by the sideline where the Doc and trainers worked on
him.
I felt like an idiot. One trainer saw me and motioned to the Doc,
who turned toward me and said it would be OK; they would do a MRI to be
certain
it was nothing but a stinger, but he should be fine. Here I am,
a simple old fart worrying about his 21-year-old, 300-pound
man-child/warrior-beast, and there is absolutely nothing I can say or
do. Jason looked at me and I asked, "Are you all right?" His face got
contorted; he tilted his head to the side and sarcastically groaned,
"Nooooooo", like I was a moron for asking such a stupid question.
And my brilliant reply was, "Oops." In the future I think I'll
wait until I'm invited before insert myself into those situations.
My youngest is bummin. He hasn't played much since the first game
and when he has gotten in, he hasn't done well. Now he's
depressed and as a result, is screwing up in practice. You know
the old saying, "you can't go much faster when you're goin down" (I
think that was in an old Rock N Roll tune from the 60's or 70's).
Well,
that sums up the current situation for Trav. However, if he can
get past
this and get his confidence and focus back, he'll do fine; as well as
grow stronger because of it. I'm reminded of another truism
that's appropriate in
this situation: "a little adversity is good for the soul".
10/24/09
The boys are rated 5 in the first BCS poll of the season and the talk
of a shot at the NC game has intensified, both in print and over the
airwaves. Naturally I am one of the biggest fans of the Bearcats,
however, they aren't ready to compete with clubs like Florida, Texas,
Alabama, ect.. I do believe they can play with Ohio State, Boise
State and the like. I know they would play a better game against
Virginia Tech. than they did last January. The football program
at UC has come a long way, but I don't think they're ready for to
challenge the top teams in a given year. The good news is they're
not that far away from that level. It's not inconceivable that
they could be a legitimate contender for the National Championship next
year. In the meantime lets all enjoy this season.
10/13/09
I'm getting ready for the trip south
to watch the UC Bearcats in their biggest challenge to date: Thursday
night's game against South Florida. I believe UC is a slight
favorite, but South Florida is not a team to be taken lightly.
The Bearcats are in a rough spot; they're favored to win the rest of
their games and that means all they can do is screw up. They
don't face anyone that they could upset, they just have to continue
getting prepared and fight off the wolves. But then again. that's
what the good teams do, isn't it?
9/23/09
Whew, glad that the travel to the west coast is over. Between the
time change, redeye flights and delays, my system is screwed.
It'll take another day or two to recover. But its worth it.
This football season is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the boys and its
exciting to experience it with them. FYI, the Bearcats beat
Oregon State and moved up to 14 in most polls. There is even talk
of a potential BCS National Championship bid. I think that's a
tad unrealistic, but UC could go to a BCS bowl again. And if they
run the table and follow that up with a bowl win they may be able to
get another top ten team (besides Oklahoma) on next year's
schedule. If that happens then they control their own future with
regards to a BCS National Championship bid. As exciting as all of
this is, we parents
have a responsibility to keep the kids focused on the primary reason
they're at the University of Cincinnati: E_D_U_C_A_T_I_O_N.
The school, as well as the Athletic
program, is getting a lot of press, both in print and on the web.
College
Football News and ESPN
both carry Bearcat news. If you want to read something a little
more in depth, as well as local, I recommend the Cincinnati
Enquirer. They have a section devoted to UC
sports. Many thanks to Bill Koch for his story, "Kelce
brothers key cogs for Bearcats".
WOW! The Bearcats spanked Rutgers;
and Rutgers was a good team. Jason had a helluva game. The
offense ran a 'sonic' tempo, which meant that they hustled to the line
and the plays were called more rapidly than in the usual no-huddle
scheme. He was gassed the whole game, but still managed to hustle
downfield on most plays, looking for someone else to hit. Travis
was only in for 5 plays. He ran 3 times, gained 18 yards and
scored 2 touchdowns. We should all be that productive in our work.
Big Jason blocking for Lil Trav
9/6/09
Today I'm sitting in a hotel room in
New Jersey, waiting for the big game tomorrow. It's a big game
because I will finally see both boys on the same team in the same
game. The fact that it's going to be televised nationally on ESPN
is a bonus. You know, you spend untold hours supporting your
kids' endeavors, i.e. sports, music or whatever. You pray that
they learn the value of hard work and perseverance, the joys of
comraderie and the satisfaction of accomplishment. You know
they're goin to fail, but also pray that they ultimately learn from
those failures because a litle adversity is good for the soul.
You dream of your kids performing on a national stage and its a bit
heady when it actually happens. At the same time, you pray they
aren't too terribly impressed with themselves. Lots of emotion
and excitement, as well as apprehension.
GO BEARCATS!!!!!
8/26/09
Although I've never been a fan of auto racing, I realize that NASCAR
has a huge following. I try and avoid the argument that the drivers
aren't athletes and that it isn't a real sport. To each their own. But
I had to laugh when I saw a recent commercial featuring a NASCAR driver
with his car emblazoned with the sponsor Extenz. It's not uncommon to
see Viagra or Cialis commercials at halftime of NFL or NBA games, or
between innings of MLB games. Those products are actual pharmaceuticals
with proven results and they address legitimate medical concerns. And
there may have been Extenz commercials during those contests, but there
was never a direct connection to a specific team or the league.
However, to drive a car with an advertisement for "male enhancement"
pills prominently displayed across the car is entirely different . . .
and a joke. Everyone knows these types of products don't work anymore
than weight loss pills that claim to target specific areas of the body.
The only parts of the body that can be targeted for growth are muscles
and you can't take a pill for that either. These male enhancement
products appeal to men with low self-esteem. The only thing enhanced
are the companies bottom lines. I wonder if they are targeting NASCAR
fans. Are NASCAR drivers or the men that follow the sport concerned
with the size of their organs? Are female fans of NASCAR (and their are
millions of hot chicks that follow that sport) focused on finding men
with big guns?
7/26/09
And finally, it looks as though my oldest is truly prepared for the
upcoming season. He's squating over 600 lbs., power cleans over 300 and
last week he did 32 pull-ups. He's 295 lbs. and did 32 pull-ups. The
kid's a beast.
3/16/09
With spring just around the corner, I thought I'd post a story I wrote
last fall about college recruiting visits:
The college visit is a rite of passage and an event to be treasured; a
road trip typically taken by one parent and the child, it is invariably
a warm and exciting experience. Your baby is growing up and will be
leaving home. The ride gives you the chance to discuss career options
and plans, relate experiences from your own youth and just enjoy the
changes that are happening to your kid. My boys played football and
their school choices revolved around playing in college. In both
instances the trips began in earnest in the spring. continued here
11/10/08:
Wow, what a weekend! We enjoyed an exhilarating college football
experience; complete with a rabid home team crowd, an
equally enthusiastic visiting team group of fans and a game that was
won in overtime and left both teams with a share of the conference
lead. Whew!!
But, that’s
the way the season has been, with one notable exception; the drubbing
at Oklahoma. There is no fan base more fanatical than the Sooner crowd;
that stadium is a hotbed of emotion. But, they were also
extremely courteous, although it’s easy to be magnanimous when your
team administers the whooping that Oklahoma put on UC.
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This
whole college football thing started with visiting colleges a few years
ago. I've written a short story about those visits and you can
read it here.
"Most
Pivotal Player on Offense-
I'm not
going to take the easy was out and award this to Tony Pike. We all know
the quarterback in any offense is the most essential player so I guess
I'm really identifying the 2nd most pivotal player. Nevertheless, my
pick is Jason Kelce. I know it is very unconventional to pick an
offensive guard when you have a receiver like Mardy Gilyard and a left
tackle like Jeff Linkenbach, but Kelce is just special. He seems to
bring a toughness to the field and a determination to the huddle, and
his teammates on both sides of the football seem to totally respect
him. I think it's very important this kid stay healthy."
-September 1, 2009
Tim Adams
BearcatLair.com Senior
Writer
Travis
the WildCat??
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