McClellin Looking Good Early

Pretty good effort from Shea in his first NFL action.  The Bears lost 31-3 but this is, of course, pre-season action and several key Bears were held out for this one.  That included Julius Peppers which allowed Bears coaches an opportunity to get Shea extended playing time--and he took advantage with several tackles and a  sack.  He got into the backfield on more than a couple of occasions and also showed off that motor by making plays on ball carriers from across the field.  The Chicago Tribune has its opinion here.

And There's The Hammer.

The NCAA has taken a sledgehammer to the Penn State football program.  Technically, it's not the death penalty.  But it may as well be because I don't see Penn State being competitive for the remainder of this decade, at least.

Ivan Maisel, one of my favorites over at ESPN, has his take here.

Adan Rittenberg, ESPN's Big 10 blogger, discusses the potential lasting effects.

Scorched Earth Approach? Hmmm...

Pete Fiutak of College Football News says blow it all up and start over.

The Penn State/Sandusky Thing Gets Worse and Worse...

Read more about it here, if you dare. I was going to do a podcast about it--I'm not sure can or even want to, at this point.

Some Baseball Talk

In this episode, Eric and I discuss Cubs misery, how the big-money free agents are currently faring with their new teams, and the cultural identity of the Marlins and if it is helping them attract fans.  Enjoy!

The NHL Finals Start Tonight

And we've got Eric on the show to talk about that, the state of NHL hockey in Canada, and other great stuff.  Enjoy!

Kerry Wood To Retire

Thanks for the memories, Kid K....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-kerry-wood-announces-retirement-report-20120518,0,5284008.story

Chris Petersen Ranked #2 CFB Coach In America

As if there was any doubt....

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-05-09/college-football-coach-rankings-nick-saban-chris-petersen-urban-meyer-les-miles

Sad...

The big, horrible news dominating the sports networks is the passing of former NFL linebacker, Junior Seau.  Police are indeed investigating his death as a suicide.  The closest I've come to meeting him was several years ago when he was the guest speaker at a company event.  It wasn't necessarily a memorable presentation (standard motivational spiel) but I could definitely see and hear the dynamic personality for which he was famous.

A Couple Of Nice Links... And One A Little On The Sad Side

Let's get the sad one out of the way.  Here is a link to a article by ESPN's Michael Wilbon talking about the root cause of the injury to Derrick Rose.  At first glance, it just looks like another pity party but it's actually a pretty thoughtful little rant that makes a couple of decent points.  Now on to some happier stuff:

Kellen Moore signs with Detroit as an udrafted free-agent.

Tevis, Baker, Root, and Shoemaker also get their shots.

I still can't get over SIX Boise State players getting drafted.  I definitely can't get over two of them going in the first round.  And I absolutely can't get over the Bears taking Shea McClellin.  Historic, kids... historic.

Derrick Rose Tears ACL--Out For Remainder Of Season

Man!  This kid has been snake-bit all season and it culminates with this.  A torn ACL will not only keep him out for the remainder of the playoffs, he'll likely miss at least half of next season and probably more.

Oh, well... the playoffs march on.  GO BULLS!!!

All Major Boise State Players Drafted Except... You Know Who

S George Iloka to Cincy in the 5th round.
DT Billy Winn to Cleveland in the 6th round.
OT Nate Potter to Arizona in the 7th round.

Kellen Moore will have to make a roster as an undrafted free-agent.  Go get 'em Kellen!

Other undrafted free-agents with a WAY outside shot of making their way on a roster:  WR Tyler Shoemaker, DT Chase Baker, S Cedric Febis, LB Aaron Tevis, and LB Byron Hout.

Tyrone Crawford To Dallas In 3rd Round

So at least when I'm forced to watch a Cowboys game, I'll potentially be able to watch a former Boise State player I actually like.

Boise State/Chicago Bears Fan Perspective On NFL 2012 Draft - First Round

I'll probably post more podcasts as each day of the draft concludes.

Bears Select Shea McClellin With 19th Pick!

First of all, WOOHOO!!!!

Second, I'll have a post (maybe even a podcast) on the NFL draft soon after the first round has concluded.

And finally, THE BEARS GOT MCCLELLIN!!  YYYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!

** UPDATE **  Tampa Bay selects Doug Martin with 31st pick!  AWESOME!!

Hey... It's Just Business.

The big news out of SEC country is the hiring of former Idaho/Utah State/Michigan State/Louisville coach John L. Smith to take over the interim gig at Arkansas.  Smith had been an assistant at Arkansas so, at a basic level, the hire makes some sense.

But here's the thing--he was recently hired to be the head man at his alma mater, Weber State.  He's in that job for about 4.5 months, selling the program to recruits, pontificating how wonderful and exciting it is to be coaching at his old school, before bolting for the Hogs.  Certainly, Boise State fans have particular perspective and opinions of John L. going way back but this takes the cake.  Does no one feel the need to honor commitments anymore? 

Now before anyone and goes and starts calling me a hypocrite by pointing out former Bronco offensive coordinator Brent Pease did a very similar thing to Indiana, understand that I always had some reservations about that move.  I'm not naive to the business side of sports and everyone wanting opportunities to advance their careers.  But I also am not crazy about Boise State associating with those mercenary types... yeah... that's the one that probably makes me naive.

Whatever one's feelings on how Smith handled this--and lest we forget he's doing this on an interim basis, not as a permanent hire which makes it even more weird--I believe the lesson to be learned here is coaches can't have any aspirations of advancement and act on those opportunities without somehow ruffling some feathers.  Is there some protocol to be followed for all this or is it really every coach for himself all the time?  As always, give me your thoughts.

1968 Barracuda Pics and Link

Here are a couple of pics and a link to the story of the 1968 Barracuda owned by the Reverend Doctor (as I like to call him).  In the first pic, you also get a peek at the Mopar 10.

Some Car Talk With A Special Guest!

Dad was in town so what better way to spend the morning than doing some car talk on the Big N' Tall!  In this episode, the Rev. Dr. Jerold A. Garber talks about his nifty little car collection.  Like Mopars?  You'll love this!

Boise State Players At The Combine

In this episode, we take a look at how the Boise State 7 fared at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.

TCU Drug Bust

Holy crap!

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Major-Drug-Bust-Hits-TCU-Campus-139355758.html

We Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief... For Now

Though technically this is still speculation, it is widely understood that one of the few jobs that could really lure Coach Pete away from The Blue is Oregon.  Fortunately, Chip Kelly has decided to stay put though he did give the Tampa Bay gig some serious consideration.  Here is the ESPN coverage....

We'll try and get another podcast up next week so stay tuned!

A Couple of Random Football Posts

A couple of good links courtesy of our friends at OBNUG--they're always on top of this stuff.

The first is a post by Pat Yasinkas at ESPN.com speculating on the possibility of the Saints drafting Kellen Moore (he's been compared to Drew Brees more than once by various media outlets).

The second is a story on the Atlanta Journal Constitution website about a running back recruit, Justin Taylor, who has been committed to the University of Alabama for about a year but has recently been told by Nick Saban that he'll have to wait another year to join the program due to scholarship limits.  There is also some reaction by the young man's HS coach and legal guardian, former NFL fullback Stanley Pritchett.  Coach Saban has been notorious for over-signing during his tenure at Alabama and this article details some of the potential fallout.  This is an issue that, in my opinion is often under-reported so I'm always glad to see when a major media entity chooses to do a story on the subject.

Some NHL Talk--And A Special Guest!

I'm pleased to be joined by my good friend (and co-worker) Eric James, my source for all things NHL (or at least the Central Division).  We're going to try and have Eric on as a regular guest so give us some comments and let us know what topics you'd like us to cover.

TJG

Whatever You Do... Don't Panic!

One of the all-time great animated GIFs....

(Via @bubbaprog at Mocksession)

This Way To Freedom! (For The BCS...)

Interesting... and food for thought. 

Article by ESPN's Adam Rittenberg