Now that I'm a coach, I don't know shit about sports

If you notice I haven't been blogging, it may have to do with the fact that I'm entrenched enough in coaching a high school sport that I barely know what is going on in any other area of the athletic world. And I coach girls tennis. Actually, I love girls tennis. The rallies can be great, the practices can be, at times uplifting, the matches are usually pretty close and the players are all similarly sized headcases as I was in my teens. Here are a few highlights and lowlights of my experience thus far:
1) Winning my first-ever match as a coach
2) Lowlight: going 0-4 after the initial match.
3) Finally getting really nice uniforms ordered and the team outfitted
4) Lowlight: The rejection of almost ever team uniform available, including the Nike border skirt every other team wears.
5)Watching my 3-20 players improve.
6)Lowlight: Having to wait for more improvement.
7)Realizing I have to tell girls NOT to let the ball hit them.
8)Lowlight: Going 0-3 against in-county rivals. We lost to one team 3-2 twice.
9)Lowlight:Actually hearing myself say, "IF you hanf out at that "T," you won't be playing doubles for this team any more, followed by telling a boys player not to say "Good job," when our girls lost a first set tiebreak after being up 3-0.
10:Calling out one of my players for supposedly listing "Mary Jane" as her best friend on Myspace.
11:Lowlight: Trying to get my players to deal with bad calls effectively, except for aforementioned player who is pretty much immune to the guilt one could associate with making bad calls.
12: Lowlight: Possibly setting a World Record for the fastest team loss in the history of the world. 18 minutes is really fast.
13: highlight: Day to day, all is awesome in the coaching world. I've learned tons about the game from coaching, and oh, yeah, I got my groundstrokes back in the process.

Knuck if U Buck, Hoe!

I think Lil Scrappy may be hosting the Alabama high school boys basketball state tourney this year. This brawl is pretty raw, to say the least. Carver-Montgomery and Valley get their weight up to what may involve a double forfeit in the 2nd round of the state basketball tourney. Notice all the red shirts near the end of the brawl. Which team wears red unis? Oh yeah, the one called the bloods. Watch video of previously mentioned brawl here.

This blog is as dead as Georgia Tech's recruiting efforts

While it has been duly noted which teams had amazing signing classes, little attention has been paid to teams who manage to be good despite having very little success signing four and five star athletes, thus giving a modicum of credence to the idea that recruiting rankings are meaningless (note: I do not endorse this idea, whatsoever). Here's a list of sorts, beginning with teams not ranked in the Top 25 of the Rivals Team Recruiting rankings.
1:Utah- Rivals ranked their class 44, and the team manages to almost never lose. Bama's Number One Recruiting class can still get that ass whipped by Kyle Whittingham's lot comprised of two and three star dandys.
2:Georgia Tech: Rivals Ranked the Yellow Jackets a measly 50, one ahead of Duke, but Georgia Tech stunned UGA in Athens en route to a Peach Bowl berth in Paul Johnson's first year. Chan Gailey didn't do much better than Johnson on the recruiting trail during his days at Tech either
3: Oregon: I was surprised at Oregon's ranking of 32. Oregon is always about three qb non-injuries away from a BCS Bowl, it seems.
4:Virginia Tech: Va. TEch comes in at 24, which seems a bit low for the team most likely to win the ACC every year.
5: Oregon State: The team with the 54th best recruiting class is almost guaranteed two wins over USC during the time these mediocre football players spend in Corvallis.
6:BYU: Does having a mostly white signing class receive penalty points by Rivals? It would seem so to justify the Cougars 52nd ranking. This team is guaranteed to be tough over the next fur years and will probably win at least 9 games in each of the upcoming years.
7: Cincinnati: Cincy gets the 60th best ranking by Rivals after playing in the Orange Bowl. This team has steadily improved over the past few seasons and I don't see the Bearcats stepping back this season.
8: Wake at 64 is pretty normal, except that Jim Grobe's teams have performed well for the past few years.
9: Boston College at 70?
10: Boise at 71 really blows my mind. It's obvious that Boise's teams are under-talented, but does it matter with an offensive wizard like Chris Peterson controlling the trickery? This is probably the best example of a really good team with shitty talent.
11: TCU: The Horned Frogs play some damn good defense and will continue to do so, regardless of the 46th Rivals slot.

Is it just me, or does nobody really care about this Super Bowl

In my lifetime, this year's Super Bowl has to be the least hyped ever. Is it that we're in a recession and people are worried about more serious matters? I doubt it when Paul Blart, Mall Cop grossed like a bazillion dollars over its first two weekends at the box office. Is it that we have an awesome President whom we can be excited about? Probably so, though his impending inauguration didn't dampen the attention paid to the BCS Championship game. Could it be that the only team playing in the Super Bowl that 99 percent of Americans were aware existed in literal sense of the word prior to this year's playoffs was the Steelers? Most likely! And, most people I've talked to are pulling for Arizona, just because it would be kinda cool. Which is where I fall. I don't hate the Steelers, but I like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and Dansby and Antrelle Rolle and Edgerrin James, so I guess I would prefer that the Cardinals prevail. However, do I really care? Hell no? Am I getting a vid projector this year? Hell no! Am I gonna eat myself into a wing-filled stupor by halftime? Hell naw! In all actuality, I am far more excited about the prospect of seeing The Wrestler at Beechwood this weekend, because Mickey Rourke fucking rules!

Auburn football savior Clinton Durst is leaving the team because the new staff decided not to offer him a scholarship. Go figure.

Is anyone from the state of Alabama who plays football signing with Auburn this year?
Oh, yeah, this guy is.



Could someone tell Auburn's football program that it isn't on probation?
Well, maybe no one should let this little bit of info leak.

Awesome News For the Tide

Kerry Murphy has been cleared to play for the Tide. Here's the article. Apparently, Murphy, a former five star dt from Hoover, could end up playing offense, though his heart is on the defensive line. Murphy was Saban's first commitment and it's taken him two years to become eligible to play for Bama. Murphy is another gargantuan Saban signee, weighing in at 325 and standing six feet five inches, which is a good deal more awesome than a bag of ginger snaps, if you ask me.

Why don't I care about the NFL playoffs this year?

Maybe I am burned out of the game after a long college season. Perhaps I'm just realizing there is more to life than watching football. But, maybe, just maybe, I don't care about any of the teams playing in the NFL playoffs this season. Yesterday, I watched just 5 minutes of the Game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers, and that was all the football I could take. i know the Ravens beat the Titans, but I just can't get excited over two defensive teams struggling to score and the Titans offensive players just waiting until their number is called and a Ravens defender sends them to the ICU for the next two weeks.

I plan on watching zero football today, as well.

For the record, I'm totally pulling for Arizona to win the Super Bowl. I know it won't happen, but Arizona, despite beating Atlanta, makes me smile when I think about that mediocre team with two awesome receivers, a good Christian qb, and a handful of aggressive defenders being an elite team in the NFL. It's awesome, actually.