Tag Archives: USC

Predictions for the Year 2010: The Scotch Version

Alrighty, I’m about halfway through my scotch and water, I blasted out another Crib Sheet, and I’m jacked up for some football tomorrow night.  It’s prediction time!  The offseason sucked.  Period.  Being in Big 12 land was not easy on this college football lovin’ Yeti and especially not easy on Kansas City.  We weathered the storm and now we are here ready for some pigskin play.  What will we see in this year’s volume of football?  Let’s take a look in our crystal ball shaped glass full of scotch and water.

  • Mike Leach will lose his CBS announcing job for making Gus Johnson stand in the bathroom with no light.
  • Mark Ingram will not be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, thanks to the fresh knee injury.
  • The Oregon Ducks will win the Pac 10, both for best dressed and actual gold.
  • Colorado loses a bunch of games and Dan Hawkins stays on because the school is too broke to fire him out of his contract.
  • Caoch Brian Kelly will talk NBC into going into commerical breaks for opposing teams’ offensive drives only.  Oh and the Fighting Irish will make a bowl.
  • Missouri will win the North, only because Nebraska’s ego and farewell tour will fall flat.
  • Daniel Thomas will be a Heisman finalist, thanks to a solid offensive line and the fact that he will get his yards with the whole defense keying on him.  Thanks, Carson Coffman.
  • Boise State will go undefeated and not make the dance.  People are saying its the weak schedule, but it will be because of an undefeated team in the Big 10 and one other conference.  Look for Orrin Hatch to have an aneurism over this one.
  • This will be Lee  Corso’s last season for ESPN College GameDay.  It’s been a hell of a ride, Lee, just please don’t put on the Grim Reaper’s head when it’s your time to go.
  • This will be the fastest season ever for the Kansas Jayhawks.  By fast, we mean the fans will be ready for basketball season about 2 games in.  Turner Gill’s rebuilding starts this year, he’s got at least 3 before some magic happens.
  • Iowa State will be in the bottom of the league again, but they will get an upset some big team because of a massive rain storm.  Hey their practice field flooded over the summer, they should be ready.
  • Texas just missed the mark in the Big 12 South.  Not because of the competition, but for the cliffhanger they want to leave for next season’s Longhorns Network debut.  Stay Tuned!  Same horn time!  Same horn channel!
  • Big Game Bob goes to a BCS game but will not be game as the Sooners bob and weave from some other big team beaming game time bashings.  Probably against Virginia Tech and Frank BEAMER.
  • The Big East has a seasson.  No one really cares.
  • RichRod makes a valiant effort and gets the Wolverines into a bowl game.  It will be the weakest one from the Big 10 and it will be enough to get him fired.  He will then go on and make real estate deals with everyone in the Ann Arbor region.
  • USC doesn’t get close to a Pac 10 championship and Lane Kiffin leaves after just one season.  The Kiffin world tour moves on!
  • Florida misses Tim Tebow and will miss being in the running for the SEC.  Urban Meyer gets sick and dies from the piss poor play on the field.
  • Kansas City sports bars will stay the same this year.  No one will get 3D TVs because the mixture of 3D and beer will make everyone puke.  Some new bars will crop up and the KCCGD crew will eventually puke in those anyway.
  • We’re going back to our 2008 prediction about Joe Paterno dieing on the field.  Now that Bobby Bowden is out, this one should get much easier.  Or will he be in the booth this year?
  • Okay, we called the BCS National Championship game two years ago with Florida and Oklahoma,  we were halfway right with Texas last year in the big game.  What will happen this year?  Well, the trend says we will get it all wrong so there’s nothing to lose.  I’m thinking the offseason hype for the Big 10 will lead a team to a title contention.  Since the only team that’s worth a damn up there is Ohio State, then that’s our pick.  Chances are the SEC will be mega tough again this year and barring any late push by an Oregon or a Big 12 team, we are going the easy route and picking SEC.  Whose turn is it?  Let’s go LSU.  Why not. Can you say 2007 rematch?

Crib Sheet: College Football Prime Time

Finally the wait is over.   Tomorrow night we kick off another great year of college football!  It’s been what seems likes ages since the end of last season and now we have another year of the most pristine competition we’ll ever see on the field.  Sure the offseason provided plenty of drama, with coaching changes and conference expansion, but we’re done with the talking and we’re ready to strap it on.  The helmet that is.  So here’s the last Crib Sheet before the new season:

Crib Sheet: Hot and Heavy

The beating heat of the summer is getting to us.  We’re producing an inordinate amount of swass underneath while compiling this week’s very beefy Crib Sheet.  We’re going for some lemonade and to air our sweat regions.  Here’s the Crib Sheet:

Crib Sheet: Media Blitz

We’ve been sacked from the Big 12 Media Days on this week’s Crib Sheet.  We’ll go over the last media day next, as we have a major pile of news dump on you.  Here we go:

Crib Sheet: The Heat Is On

The heat is on.  It’s on the street.  Oh Glenn Fry, you save us from the sultry steam of summer with your cool saxaphone riff and Eddie Murphy praising rock music.  Yes, the heat is mos def on as we hit our first hot spot of the summer.  It’s just in time, too, as the rain left us watching the Beverly Hills Cop series 10 times over, including the terrible 3rd part.  Cabin fever, indeed. So we’re hitting the pool this week and dreaming of the new college football season while laying in our floaties sipping some cold beverages.  Hit up the Crib Sheet then do the same.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5363743

Mascot Monday: Cardinal and Tree

Okay so we were a couple of days late, but when you combine moving the KCCGD headquarters, ‘Merica’s birthday, and yours truly’s birthday, time gets tight.  So here we are sitting in the middle of the week after a long haul and holidays pumping out yet another mascot to review for Mascot (mostly) Monday.  This week we hit up Phil Steele’s number 34 ranked preseason team in Stanford with its official and unofficial mascots.  The path to having  a color be a mascot had some controversial bumps, while the path for the tree just seemed plain goofy.  That said, we’re glad we’re back at the keyboard to bring you another mascot to munch on.

Continue reading Mascot Monday: Cardinal and Tree

Crib Sheet: More Than Black Snakes and Pop Snaps

Summer’s in full swing and we are heading straight into one of the most celebrated holidays of the year:  Independence Day!  It’s been quiet for the last couple of weeks so we are anxious to roll out some explosives and blow some stuff up.  If anything, it will help put a sparkly glow on the news we have for you this week.  It seems the aftermath of expansion is an unending line of duds on wet bottle rockets.  So fire up the grill and we’ll fire up the display of news to blast in front of your patriotic eyes.  On to the Crib Sheet:

  • So we knew that Texas A&M received an invite from the SEC, but now it turns out that Oklahoma also got one.  The SEC was real quiet in all of the expansion frenzy and it seems they prefer to strike like a ninja instead of a minutemen.  At least we know their strategy the next time this happens.
  • Chip Brown has been the Woodward and Bernstein in the expansion saga, and Sports Illustrated gives him his due.  Brown went from sports writer at the Dallas paper to professional blogger and he’s well on his way to becoming the premiere one, next to us of course.
  • The Kansas Jayhawks hired an auditor to help police the ticketing scandal that came out in the last couple of months.  They could hook up with StubHub, as they are becoming the front door internet-wise for school specific ticket sales.  Ain’t technology grand?
  • The NCAA proposed to delay scholarships for athletes to July 1 before their senior year.  This may help cut down on recruiting kids before they even hit high school.  We’re sure Lane Kiffin is already finding away around this.   He’s going to need it with the lockdown USC has for the next couple of years.
  • Missouri might come out with their own TV network, not just Texas.  This is one advantage the Big 12 (10) has over most other conferences.  They have the freedom to create their own networks, not only for smaller sports but for arts, education, and other items.  Think public access but on a larger scale.  We’re going to see this trend quicker in the next couple of years and conference with television networks.
  • We here at the KCCGD loves the Twitter (follow us @kccgd).  We especially love how coaches are coming up with creative ways to recruit using the technology.  Look at Jim Harbaugh.  He could be quoting Greek mythology but he’s really talking about a recruit.  Great stuff indeed.
  • The Colorado Buffaloes are following Nebraska’s lead and are looking for a way to get out of the Big 12 (10) a year early.  Will they eat the cost more or send in the sharks to find a way around the massive exit fees?  No matter how it turns out, it should mean more cash for the remaining members of the conference.
  • New Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tubberville thinks the Big 12 (10) won’t last much longer with the new deal.  He goes back to the original argument about the uneven revenue sharing.  Seeing as he came from the SEC, it makes sense that he prefers the older model.  If he makes the Red Raiders a bigger winner than what it was before, he may change his tune though.

Crib Sheet: Turning Our Attention to the Field

It’s almost July and it’s time to start getting serious about football.  For the last couple of months we’ve been going back and forth on conference expansion and raiding.  Now that it’s all over (hopefully), we can start getting juiced up for the major competition on the field.  The Crib Sheet has its cleats on so you should too.  Here we go:

  • The major sanctions against USC hit former running back and current New Orleans Saint Reggie Bush.  Bush was reportedly in on the scandal part but now he vows to help with the appeal for USC to the NCAA.  Maybe his Heisman Trophy is in trouble?
  • It looks like Pac 10 went from the Pac 11, with the addition of Colorado, to the Pac 12 with the addition of Utah.  Mormons invade the conference as the Mountain West Conference powerhouse moves in on the big boys.  Will the Pac 12 have a title game now?  Does it seem weird that both the Big 10 and Pac 10 will have title games and now the Big 12 will not?  Meanwhile the Mountain West will stay at 9.
  • The Big East Commissioner sent 20 roses (10 white and 10 red) with ‘Unity’ written on the card to the Big 12 (10) offices.  It seems the Big East and the ACC should be thankful that the Big 12 didn’t blow up and ruined college football.
  • The Big 12 (10) may not be enough for Jerry Jones.  He wants them to go after Notre Dame and Arkansas.  Okay Jerry, calm down a sec and let’s get the current group figure  out first.  By the way, Arkansas shot down any expansion talk.
  • Apparently Big Game Bob still wants to roll with the west coast even after all of this expansion dancing.  Maybe it’s the fire of competition in his belly.  Maybe it’s what coaches are supposed to say.
  • Andy Staples talked about the BCS and how it’s super solid for now, even though people are still complaining.  One side you have the director, Bill Hancock, and on the other you have Texas Rep. Joe Barton and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch.  Yeah, so Utah goes to the Pac 10 and Hatch still wants to take down the BCS.  If Utah ends up undefeated again, will he be so loud?
  • Mizzou Chancellor Brady Deaton is your new chairman of the Big 12 Board of Directors.  This might be part of the maneuvering to keep Mizzou in the Big 12 (10).  It also seems kind of flimsy.
  • Bill Snyder 2.0 weighs in on the expansion movements and laments the fact that a Big 12 (10) may not have a title game.  His solution?  Two 5 team divisions and a title game.  It makes sense for a small school like K-State to go for that but we don’t think this will happen just yet.  It could bring in more money, however.
  • Colorado is in some financial hot water right now and leaving the Big 12 (10) will put them in a deeper hole.  Will they ever crawl out of it?  First they need to win and second they need to ride out the changes over the next couple of years.  With Dan Hawkins as the coach, the Buffalo fans out there might have to wait a good 10 years before that program makes money and wins championships.

Crib Sheet: Meet The New Boss, The Same As The Old Boss

Texas saved the Big 12, or what we are going to call it: the Big 12 (10).  The Pac 10 wouldn’t let Texas have its own network so the Longhorns opted to stay.  When the Big 12 (10) first started years ago, it was because of TV and money.  They led the way into the new television era and now they are doing it again.  In the future, you will see each school have its own television network and it will start with Texas and the Big 12 (10).  Okay, maybe Notre Dame.  At any rate, Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M are getting more money to stay now.  Apparently, it’s status quo time as no real commitment will be required and they are basing staying together by some magic coalition of insiders and outsiders.  It’s a 10 team league with no potential for a championship game and more round robin type play on the field.  Most importantly, Kansas City has some life in its sports scene now.  So let’s all take a breath and check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • The Oregon Ducks dismissed quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for drug possession and other citations.  It looks as though this is no LeGarrette Blount situation.  Masoli is out for good for the Quack Attack.
  • The NCAA dropped the hammer down on USC and instituted a 2 year postseason ban and some lost scholarships due to recruiting violations.  No wonder Pete Carroll bolted after last season.
  • Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins is cleared for any wrongdoing in the blackmail of equipment case.  His job is safe for now, but he still needs to clear the hurdle on ticket scandal.
  • Missouri got the could shoulder big time and the local indie newspaper The Pitch talks about how hard they go the shaft.  Poor Tigers.  They’ve been talking smack the loudest in all of this and now they’ve been reduced to abandonment.  At least they are used to it.
  • Chip Brown, the guy who broke most of the actual news in this expansion talk, confirmed that last Friday was the day that Nebraska went official and joined the Big 10.  It’s still early to tell, but this guy has been the one who has called it so far so we’ll trust him when he says something else is up.
  • Boise State will now be in the Mountain West Conference.  They were tired of dominating the WAC for so long and decided to up the competition by playing TCU and Utah every year.  Will this be enough to put the Mountain West on the BCS map?  Well, considering the Big 12 (10) is still around, they will have a much harder time getting there.
  • Here’s the preliminary Big 12 (10) television schedule.  Interesting match ups include the UCLA at K-State, Florida State at Oklahoma, and the losers leave game with Colorado and Nebraska taking each other on.
  • So the Pac 10 lost out on some Big 12 powerhouses and we’ve learned that commissioner Larry Scott flew to Texas and Oklahoma, but was also scheduled to make it to Kansas City.  Was Kansas a backup plan?  We don’ t have to worry about it for now.
  • Stanley Ikenberry, interim president for Illinois, says that 12 is a good number for the Big 10.  After all that’s happened so far, we think that he means that it’s good but it could get better.  Don’t be surprised if the Big 10 starts going on the hunt again, maybe even real soon.
  • Dan Beebe  in his working with keeping the Big 12 (10) alive, knocked his hometown conference’s fan allegiance.  He says that they are about as fair weather as Missouri fans when it comes to athletic competitions.  Man he pulled out all the punches for this one.
  • Speaking of Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon ran his mouth off again dissing outgoing schools Colorado and Nebraska.  This guy pretty much shut out the Tigers from going to the Big 10 and now his state’s school needs to rebuild some bridges burned.  That means he needs to get out of this and let the school handle it, please.
  • The Oklahoma Sooners are interested in a television network, too.  You know, instead of conference wide networks, it makes sense to do school specific.  It’s the next natural progression and would benefit each school in showing other athletic events and possibly cultural and governmental ones too.

Magnifying the Expansion Part 6: Fanning the Flames

Okay, we talked about the Big 10 expansion with all of the good bits on the business side of things, but what about us?  What about the fans?  How will the average stool jockey be affected if and when the Big 10 decides to expand out beyond its current bounds?  From the Trojan sporting LA type to the gator chomping tanned Floridian, the effect could be small.  Or it could be big.  The closer the proximity to the Big 10, the more the fans will experience change, especially right here in Kansas City.  Let’s see what can happen as we narrow the focus down to right here at the KCCGD headquarters.

Continue reading Magnifying the Expansion Part 6: Fanning the Flames

Crib Sheet: Digging In The Dirt

Here we go with another week of the Crib Sheet.  Signing Day is gone so we are looking toward spring practice as the next big event.  Spring practice.  In spring.  We got a long way to go to get there.   So the news will trickle out until then.   Never fear, however, we’ll dig up any dirt with our ninja shovel and flick the dust specs of college football news in your face.   Bring some goggles, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • You know how they call Kansas State’s stadium the Bill Snyder Family Stadium?  Ever wonder why?  Welp, signing day gave us another reason why when Bill Snyder 2.0’s grandson Tate Snyder accepted a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.  Tate’s dad, Sean, was a punter for Bill Snyder early in his first run and is now an associate in the athletic department.  The little apple does not fall far from this tree.
  • So signing day is over but we have many more to come.  The 2015 class, for example has its first commitment in the form of 13 year old quarterback David Sills as he verbally committed to USC last week.  Huh?  That’s a little young.  His personal coach worked with current USC field general Matt Barkley.  How much are this kid’s parents paying this guy?  Seems like alot of hype for such a young’un.
  • The Texas college stars beat the national squad of stars last Saturday to prove once again that best college football players come from Texas.  For this game.  Yeah it’s the Big 12 area, but why did the SEC win the national title again?  Welp, maybe just the scrubs play this game.  They gotta show off in front of NFL scouts somewhere.
  • The Super Bowl commercial featuring Tim Tebow was rather lame.  Now finally our long national political nightmare is over.  This guy will carry hype wherever he goes.
  • Darrell Scott has come crawling back to the Colorado program.  Okay well, maybe not crawling.  If he sits out this year, Hawkins might be fired by then and he could compete for the job with a new coach.  We guess UCLA wasn’t all that it’s hyped up to be.
  • It looks like the students at Missouri are looking for a live Tiger mascot.  We’d like to think our profile of Truman spurned this movement, but it’s probably more of matching the live mascots that already dot the Big 12 plain.   Yeah, we’re talking Bevo, Ralphie, Boomer, Sooner, and the rest of the gang.  Hopefully, they will pull this one off.  Those live mascots are treated like kings.

Crib Sheet: The Calm After the Storm

Another week of the Crib Sheet and we are finally starting to see things calm down around the college football landscape.  There’s still some action here and there but we envision the news will be trickling out here in there for the offseason.  There’s still some loose ends that need to be tied up and we will stay there to make sure the granny knot is tight.    So keep in step with this week’s Crib Sheet:

Crib Sheet: Coaching Carousel

Coaches come and coaches go, but we can’t believe how things are getting turned around in the very start of this off season.   Coaches leaving.  Coaches coming.  Some with long tenures, some with short.  The heads at the KCCGD headquarters are still a little scrambled.  Fortunately, we have this week’s Crib Sheet to help sort things out.  We’re sure you are about as confused as we are so let’s get right to it:

  • Missouri apologized for its band playing over the Navy’s fight song during their bowl game earlier.  It was the only thing they had over Navy in that game.  Navy’s still tooting their horn over the thumping they gave the Tigers.
  • South Florida fired Jim Leavitt after allegations of Leavitt beating up some kids.  The hammer is falling fast on tough coaches and it looks as though it will continue.  It almost seems like that’s enough for colleges to get out from under big contracts.  Either that or in this time and age you tell you assistant coach to rough up a kind instead of yourself.  So, Jim, take a deep breath and come back home to K-State.  Or hire a lawyer.
  • Meanwhile, on the fired coaches trip, Mike Leach accuses Texas Tech of slander and libel due to the fallout from his firing as head coach.  Leach’s camp states that the allegations from his treatment of Adam James hurts Leach’s reputation and his ability to get another job.  This legal battle will play out for a long time.  As you guessed it, Texas Tech asked the court to throw the case out.
  • In the meantime, Texas Tech already hired Tommy Tubberville as their new head coach.  He’s been trolling around for a new job since he got canned from Auburn.  He was displaying interest in Kansas when that job opened up.  Looks like Tech found a good replacement.
  • While we are in Texas, the Longhorns trainer officially told the press that there was no way Colt McCoy could continue to play in the BCS National Championship.  A pinched nerve and a dead arm is a serious thing.  Apparently, Colt tossed the ball to his high school coach dad and could only muster 7 yards in the locker room.  This will seal the deal on the mystery of Colt and what could of happened.
  • Nick Montana, son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana, returns to Notre Dame this year after a year away at community college.  It wasn’t because of grades, it was because he was not physically in shape for college ball.  We don’t think he’ll be a starter quick but it’s nice to see that a former Domer’s kid can make the same team.
  • Pete Carroll is your new NFL Seattle Seahawks head coach.  He talked about the process earlier this week.  The rumor mill was all over the place since Friday and Monday confirmed it.  There’s going to be a huge hole at USC and we’re still not sure who can fill it next.  Tune in next week.
  • When rumors of a coach leaving a school pops up, you tend to see other schools scramble to keep their coach.  Such is the case with Oregon State and Mike Riley.  He’s been really good with the Beavers and even the faintest rumor of a USC job got him a 3 year extension.
  • So who did USC get?  Well, Lane Kiffin, of course!  Rumors were flying all over about new candidates, but the former NFL Oakland Raiders head coach and now former Tennessee Volunteers head coach will take over.  Kiffin was an alumni for USC and a former Offensive Coordinator under Pete Carroll.  The time was really short for Kiffin’s tenures at both the pros and the college ranks.  We’re thinking that this is a ‘coming home’ type situation and that he’ll be there at least 3 years.  Hopefully.
  • So who’s number one for Tennessee now?  (Getting kind of ridiculous, isn’t it?)  Welp, Texas Defensive Coordinator and head coach heir Will Muschamp.  He was on the list last year when the Vols needed a coach so this will be the same kind of dance again.  Wethinks that Will’s getting another massive pay raise.
  • Colt McCoy’s moving on with life after a BCS Championship injury.  He proposed to his girlfriend at the Longhorns’ Memorial stadium.  It’s not as sweet as the Boise State guy doing it during the game, but it’s still a very sweet play on McCoy.

BCS National Championship Game: Snowed In

We were gonna head out tonight to watch some National Championship flow but then all of the sudden the coldest and snowiest weather in Kansas City that I have ever seen just dumped all over us.  So, in the spirit of the first couple of National Championship games, we will be live blogging tweeting the game that pits Texas against Alabama.  Follow me on twitter @kccgd and be sure to see me when you search for #bcs.  As for who I think will win, I’m sticking with the Big 12 and going Texas.  I’m thinking they make it close and pull out another win similar to the time they won it against USC.  Watch and follow tonight!

Bowl Pick It Standings: The Holiday is Over

The holidays are over and we have just 4 games left to go on the Bowl Pick It and Stick It.  We here at the KCCGD all feel about 10 pounds heavier after chugging through the holiday foods and drinks.  So while we go map out a plan to lose the flab, check out the latest updates.  Please note:  there are some games left off from the results that we are saving for the last update.  The final numbers will be a little off.  That said, here’s the update:

Continue reading Bowl Pick It Standings: The Holiday is Over