Tuesday, September 13, 2005
From the Desk of JC...
Every now and then, the spirit moves me to clean my rather cluttered office desk. Armed with Wisk and a wastebasket, I take no prisoners (or paperclips). I wade through the mountains of DVCPRO video tapes that double as paperweights, while a HazMet team handles the coffee mugs.
Well, consider this posting a little like cleaning day. It's a cleansing of the sportsmind, rather the sportsdesk. I'll rant and I'll rave... and it will be a little random. But I've got to do something with all this stuff.
OHIO STATE: #2 Texas 25 #4 Ohio State 22. The big game lived up to they hype. The big game coach, did not. I'll be the first to admit, with Mack Brown (notorious gameday guesser) on the other sideline, I did not expect Jim Tressel to be out-coached. He had built a solid reputation as a strategist--folks from Miami to Michigan will attest to that. But he took an eraser to it with his silly shuffle of quarterbacks. The problem is, neither Justin Zwick nor Troy Smith is a game-breaker. But once Smith showed he could move the ball, he needed to stay under center. He could start this week against San Diego State, but it's one game too late.
NOTRE DAME: Charlie Weis is the first Notre Dame head coach to win his first two road games since Knute Rockne in 1918. In South Bend, the phrase "From Rookie to Rockne," was overheard, after toppling Michigan on Saturday. Easy on the superlatives, Irish Nation. If anything, both Pitt and Michigan were highly overrated in the polls. Yes, it is clear Notre Dame hired the right man. But if you're ready to cannonize Charlie into coaching sainthood, that Golden Dome may be fitting you just a little too tight.
BROWNS: Are the Bengals that good, or the Browns that bad? Cincinnati's Carson Palmer sliced up Cleveland's secondary like it was practice. I think the kid's star will finally shine this year, but that bright? Not until he hosts the Browns in December.
INDIANS: The Tribe's schedule sandwiches Kansas City and Tampa Bay in between three game sets with Chicago. Anybody else think winning the A.L. Central is no pipe dream? Of course, the White Sox get to play Minnesota. As we saw this weekend, these days you spell Twins, "Q-U-I-T-T-E-R-S."
CAVALIERS: Finally, the Cavs have a point guard. Damon Jones can shoot the three, and he protects the basketball. But in talking with him, the most intriguing detail I found was that LeBron James shadowed him at a rookie camp a few years back. The two already know each other well. If last season taught us anything, it is that chemistry is critical (see: McInnis, Jeff).
Whew! There you have it, a clean sportsmind to head into this weekend. Now, if only I could find my desk.
Comments? Concerns? Questions? Quarterbacks? My inbox is always open at chandler@newsnet5.com.
Well, consider this posting a little like cleaning day. It's a cleansing of the sportsmind, rather the sportsdesk. I'll rant and I'll rave... and it will be a little random. But I've got to do something with all this stuff.
OHIO STATE: #2 Texas 25 #4 Ohio State 22. The big game lived up to they hype. The big game coach, did not. I'll be the first to admit, with Mack Brown (notorious gameday guesser) on the other sideline, I did not expect Jim Tressel to be out-coached. He had built a solid reputation as a strategist--folks from Miami to Michigan will attest to that. But he took an eraser to it with his silly shuffle of quarterbacks. The problem is, neither Justin Zwick nor Troy Smith is a game-breaker. But once Smith showed he could move the ball, he needed to stay under center. He could start this week against San Diego State, but it's one game too late.
NOTRE DAME: Charlie Weis is the first Notre Dame head coach to win his first two road games since Knute Rockne in 1918. In South Bend, the phrase "From Rookie to Rockne," was overheard, after toppling Michigan on Saturday. Easy on the superlatives, Irish Nation. If anything, both Pitt and Michigan were highly overrated in the polls. Yes, it is clear Notre Dame hired the right man. But if you're ready to cannonize Charlie into coaching sainthood, that Golden Dome may be fitting you just a little too tight.
BROWNS: Are the Bengals that good, or the Browns that bad? Cincinnati's Carson Palmer sliced up Cleveland's secondary like it was practice. I think the kid's star will finally shine this year, but that bright? Not until he hosts the Browns in December.
INDIANS: The Tribe's schedule sandwiches Kansas City and Tampa Bay in between three game sets with Chicago. Anybody else think winning the A.L. Central is no pipe dream? Of course, the White Sox get to play Minnesota. As we saw this weekend, these days you spell Twins, "Q-U-I-T-T-E-R-S."
CAVALIERS: Finally, the Cavs have a point guard. Damon Jones can shoot the three, and he protects the basketball. But in talking with him, the most intriguing detail I found was that LeBron James shadowed him at a rookie camp a few years back. The two already know each other well. If last season taught us anything, it is that chemistry is critical (see: McInnis, Jeff).
Whew! There you have it, a clean sportsmind to head into this weekend. Now, if only I could find my desk.
Comments? Concerns? Questions? Quarterbacks? My inbox is always open at chandler@newsnet5.com.
Posted at 12:39 PM
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