Tree of Life

11 Dec

The Heisman Race by Michael Grau

published in category: College Sports on Friday, December 11th, 2015 – 9:43 am

“The Heisman memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.” –from the Heisman Trust mission statement.

Keenan Reynolds will not win the Heisman Trophy. That much is certain. The finalists for the annual award are Alabama’s Derrick Henry, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. Saturday night, at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York, one of those three young men will take home the most coveted individual award in all of college athletics. That’s okay, though, because Reynolds, the record-breaking senior quarterback of the United States Naval Academy, will be busy that day. As he has since his freshman year, Keenan Reynolds will line up under center for Navy, spearheading head coach Ken Niumatalolo’s potent triple option offense, trying to get one last win against Navy’s forever brother/rival, the United States Military Academy.

I love that the Army-Navy game has its own date on the college football calendar, after all the conference championship games. I like watching a game and cheering for every single player on the field, as I know they’ll finish their college careers and go straight into the business of keeping all of us safe as officers in the United States military for (at least) the next five years. It is pageantry devoid of cynicism. It’s the best possible combination of football and patriotism, and Keenan Reynolds will start the biggest game on both teams’ schedules for the fourth year in a row. That, in and of itself, is an amazing stat. Freshman year at the service academies is always the toughest for any student. They’re getting used to being a full-time student AND an active duty member of the US military. Freshmen aren’t really expected to have it all together enough to get playing time during plebe year. But to play quarterback? In this system that puts the entire offense into the hands (and eyes, and mind) of the quarterback? That’s almost unthinkable. Not only did Keenan Reynolds start the final eight games of his freshman year, he helped lead Navy to a comeback win over Army. On Saturday, he has the opportunity to become the first quarterback to record four consecutive wins in the history of the Army-Navy game.

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I am not going to make the argument that Keenan Reynolds should win the Heisman Trophy. I believe that what Keenan Reynolds accomplished over his collegiate career deserves something more than the Heisman Trophy. Let’s start with some of his career numbers. The most impressive, of course, is his NCAA record 83 career rushing touchdowns (and counting). No one in the history of major college football has run for more touchdowns than Keenan Reynolds. He’s scored three or more touchdowns in 15 games over the course of his college career, also a record. His 30 career wins are the most in Navy history, with a chance to win two more. He isn’t asked to pass the ball very often, but when he does, he’s proven more than capable. Reynolds has thrown 29 touchdown passes in his Navy career, the most in the academy’s history. Most people would suspect Roger Staubach held that record. Somehow, the previous record holder is someone even MORE impressive: Reynolds broke the record of Bill Byrne. Byrne’s current title? Commander of US Naval Forces in Korea. Prior to that, Byrne served as Commandant of Midshipmen. Reynolds has phenomenal numbers across the board. Maybe most impressively, Navy is 9-2 this year, and currently ranked 21st in the country. If they beat Army, and then beat Pitt in the Military Bowl, Navy will finish as a ranked team for the first time since 2004 (and only the second time since 1963).

I don’t think Keenan Reynolds should win the Heisman. I think he should be the first recipient of a new honor: call it the Keenan Reynolds Service Award. This newly-created award would go to a senior that truly represents the ideals of excellence and integrity that the Heisman Trust purports to recognize (remember, Jameis Winston and Johnny Football won that trophy), while also factoring in on-field performance, leadership, and service to a program. Out of this year’s Heisman finalists, none are seniors. McCaffrey and Watson are sophomores, Henry is a junior. Troy Smith, in 2006, is the only senior to win the Heisman since 2003. Shouldn’t there be an award that recognizes guys who have put in the time and the energy over the course of four years, making a lasting impact on the program and the greater community? This new award wouldn’t necessarily be given out every year, only when there is a senior worthy of the honor.

I know Pitt fans are a little disappointed that their team is heading to the Military Bowl. I understand their reasons, but I hope they appreciate their opponent. Not only is Annapolis a gorgeous town and a great place to visit, but anyone that attends that game will be witness to the final game of a singularly impressive college career, one that should be recognized, and celebrated. Keenan Reynolds won’t play in the NFL. He’ll be doing work of significantly greater importance than that. But he’s a heck of a football player, and his collegiate career is one that should be recognized, and his name should be associated with the very best leaders that college football has ever produced.

Posted in College Sports

 

10 Dec

Pitt extends Pat Narduzzi’s contract

published in category: College Sports on Thursday, December 10th, 2015 – 2:38 pm


Posted in College Sports

 

10 Dec

Pirates trade Walker

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, December 10th, 2015 – 11:30 am

Pirates trade Neil Walker to the Mets for Jonathon Niese. How do you feel about this offseason strategy for the Bucs? Pens win behind two goals for Beau Bennett.

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From Pirates PR- The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired left-handed pitcher Jonathon Niese from the New York Mets in exchange for infielder Neil Walker. The announcement was made by Pirates Executive Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington.

Niese went 9-10 with a 4.13 ERA (176.2ip/81er) and 113 strikeouts in 33 appearances (29 starts) with the Mets last season. The 29-year-old Niese was originally selected by New York in the seventh round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft and has compiled a 61-61 record, three complete games, two shutouts, a 3.91 ERA (1068.1ip/464er) and 826 strikeouts in 182 games (177 starts) since breaking into the big leagues in 2008.

“This is a true baseball trade in the sense that it helps fill an immediate need at the Major League level for each club,” said Huntington. “We have liked Jonathon for some time now. He is an established veteran left handed starter who will fill an immediate role in our rotation, with the potential for two additional years under contract.”

Since the beginning of the 2012 campaign, Niese has produced a total of 76 quality starts, which is tied for the seventh-most among all National League pitchers. Niese has also allowed three earned runs or less in 46 starts since the beginning of 2014, which is tied for the 12th-most in the National League in that time.

In 2012 Niese recorded career highs in wins (13), strikeouts (155) and innings pitched (190.1). He also went a club-record 17 straight starts from June 3 to September 7, 2012, where he pitched 6.0 or more innings and walked two or fewer batters (the previous record was 12 by Pedro Martinez in 2005).

“We greatly appreciate Neil and all he has done for our club, both on the field and in our community,” said Pirates President Frank Coonelly. He has always represented his hometown team with a great sense of pride and passion. For that we thank him and wish him and his family nothing but success as he continues his career in New York.”

Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

10 Dec

Steelers vs. Bengals

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, December 10th, 2015 – 10:15 am

Listen to the guys that cover the team every day-Steelers beat Writers Mark Kaboly and Chris Adamski in-studio and Ralph Paulk from Cincy with Bengals. How will new secondary with Boykin match up against Bengals?

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Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his Week 13 performance, it was announced today.

Brown totaled 74 punt return yards, including a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 45-10 victory against Indianapolis. It marked his fourth career punt return for a touchdown, tying the Steelers’ all-time record. Brown also recorded two receiving touchdowns on offense to become the first player in Steelers’ history to record a punt return for a touchdown and two receiving touchdowns in the same game.

Also in the contest, Brown became one of three Steelers to record 1,500 career punt return yards. He is the first player in team history and 10th player in NFL history to tally 6,000 receiving yards and 1,500 punt return yards in his career.

This marks the third time he has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, after earning the honor in Week 17 in 2014 and Week 12 in 2011.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

08 Dec

How to fix WWE on TV

published in category: Wrestling Reality on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 – 3:43 pm


Posted in Wrestling Reality

 

08 Dec

UFC coming to Pittsburgh

published in category: Wrestling Reality on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 – 3:39 pm

The UFC is coming to Pittsburgh, who will be the main event? What local fighters will be part of the show? Plus big UFC weekend coming up.

Posted in Wrestling Reality

 

08 Dec

Can Steelers offense outscore everyone? by Jed Robins

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 – 12:52 pm

The Steelers offense was clicking on all cylinders on Sunday night as the Steelers demolished the Colts on National TV. Ben Roethlisberger threw for over 350 yards and he had plenty of weapons to use as Brown, Bryant, and Williams all made significant contributions to the team. The defense even looked decent only gave up 10 points and had two interceptions. Are the Steelers a playoff team? National sportswriters everywhere say look out for Pittsburgh if they make the playoffs. This team has potential and the defense has been better than advertised, though the defense has plenty of holes.
Looking at the matchup prior to the Sunday night clash of the Colts and Steelers it looked on paper to be a decent matchup. The Colts were atop their division and the Steelers are in the thick of the wild card race in the AFC. The AFC South is not a great division, it is being overshowed by how bad the NFC East is currently. The Colts are on their backup quarterback a 40 year old veteran in Matt Hasselbeck and though he has been able to hold down the fort this isn’t the Colts of even last year. If the Colts make the playoffs it by virtue of being the best team in the weakest AFC division. The Colts usually run away with this division and this year they have fallen back to the pack.

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The offense has put up 30 or more points the last 4 weeks. The next two weeks for Pittsburgh will go a long way to determining if they make the playoffs. They face two 10- 2 teams in the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos. The offense is a very good offense even with the loss of Le’veon Bell it hasn’t missed much of a beat. It’s not as good as the “Greatest Show on Turf” and the 1999-2001 St. Louis Rams, but it is a very good offense when Roethlisberger is healthy. Injuries have played a huge part in the Steelers 7-5 season. The offense is much different and more efficient with Roethlisberger throwing the ball. In the last three weeks he has thrown on average about 400 yards per game.
Next week the Steelers travel to Cincinnati. This is going to be a huge test for the Steelers. They do need to win this game more than Cincinnati needs it. It will be nearly impossible for the Steelers to catch the Bengals. The Steelers do not want to lose ground in the AFC wild card race. Cincinnati’s defense slowed down the Steelers earlier this year. Roethlisberger did play, he had just come back from missing four games. It will be interesting to see what the Steelers can do next week. They can prove to the league that they are a playoff team or that they are mediocre. Even if the offense continues to put up big numbers is that going to be enough? They put up big numbers in Seattle and came away with a loss. Teams like the Bengals can get into shootouts and still win too.
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The biggest question is the same from the preseason. Can the Steelers defense make the stops? A question old Steelers fans are not used to hearing. This is a team usually built for defense has made the change to a top notch offensive team. This team that is built on offense will still miss the playoffs if the defense doesn’t make improvements. It was a big win vs the Colts for the Steelers but there is still a lot of room for improvement if they are going to be the dangerous team the national media is talking about.

Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

08 Dec

College Football Playoff Script Stays True to Verse, By Josh Taylor

published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 – 12:16 am

It might not be the exact way Jeff Long and the College Football Playoff committee drew it up, but it’s close:

(1) Clemson (13-0)
(2) Alabama (12-1)
(3) Michigan State (12-1)
(4) Oklahoma (11-1)

The national championship playoff field consists of four conference champions, three of them with only one loss. But the way the rankings played out over the final six weeks of the season went exactly the way they were supposed to: by using the end of the regular season as the quarterfinal round and then letting the best four teams emerge. For the second straight year of the playoff’s existence, I truly believe the committee got it right.

By the way, let me point this out now once and for all: Ohio State had their chance to be considered one of the four best teams in the country, but it’s hard to be when you can’t win your own division, can’t win your own conference and lose to one of the teams that ends up being in that group of four. Based on a weak strength of schedule the Buckeyes’ previously undefeated record was the one leg they had to stand on before Michigan State kicked it out. After all, losing head-to-head is the quickest way to be counted out in the standings. Speaking of unnecessary complaining…

– Stop the Bowl Belly-Aching

This is the time where I remind college football fans that contrary to popular belief, teams and conferences have absolutely no say who plays in a particular bowl game. Much like Ollivander explains to Harry Potter that “the wand chooses the wizard,” the bowl chooses the teams that play. So while on the surface it may seem disheartening that Pitt was chosen to face Navy in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28 in Annapolis as opposed to the Belk Bowl or the Pinstripe Bowl, this is an opportunity where both Pitt and the Military Bowl can benefit.

Bowl game committees take quite a few criteria into account. One of them is whether or not they can get fans from both teams to fill the stadium. Having one of the teams playing in their home stadium is half the battle. Having the other team’s fan base only 269 miles and a four-hour, 17-minute drive away isn’t too terrible, either (especially when that fan base has developed a bad reputation of not showing well at bowl games, but I digress).

Being matched up in a bowl game at a site within driving distance should be considered the ideal match-up for any program, and that’s the scenario Pitt currently faces. They have a chance to prove they can move the attendance needle, and it looks like they’ve gotten off to a great start, according to Pat Narduzzi’s Twitter page. Marking off half of your ticket allotment in one day is a good first step.

Pitt also has a chance to finally be taken seriously as a program in terms of the product on the field. If you’re looking for a different reason to understand why the Panthers weren’t chosen for a higher-tier bowl, look no further than the season finale loss to Miami at Heinz Field. It’s hard to be taken seriously when you lose a game at home the day after a major holiday against a team who fired their coach a month before.

Redemption now comes in the form of facing a nine-win team on their home field with a previously-considered Heisman candidate at quarterback (more on him later). A win in this game would give Pitt a nine-win season of their own and it would change the perception from the outside, both on and off the field.

During my days of working in marketing, there was a buzz word that we used often: “juice.” It was an acronym, meaning “Join Us In Creating Excitement.” Pat Narduzzi might not have squeezed out all of the juice yet in his program so far (although, God bless him, he really has tried), but a Pitt team that has improved under his first year of stewardship with the proper fan support makes them a viable option down the road.

A golden opportunity has been presented to the Panthers to beat a quality opponent at a bowl game within driving distance of their campus where their fans can support them without excuse. A win in this game might not surprise me much, but it would definitely catch the attention of those who make the decisions for next year’s bowl season. Now, back to that quarterback they’re going to face…

– Heisman Hijinks (Or Hijacked?)

Forget about which of the three Heisman Trophy finalists should win the award. That’s not how this year’s vote should be remembered. It should be remembered as the year they took a vote away from a dynamic player, then gave it back to him and then said player was still robbed of a trip to New York.

The fact that Keenan Reynolds is not a finalist is a sin and a shame, even worse than the Nissan/ESPN “fan vote” debacle. If the Heisman Trust is not going to honor the criteria of recognizing the “outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence and integrity” like it says in its Mission Statement, then change the Mission Statement. Who better to exemplify the pursuit of excellence and integrity than an outstanding player excelling at one of the nation’s military academies?

That said, my vote goes to Christian McCaffrey from Stanford. It’s hard for me to argue against a player who broke the FBS record for total yards in a season (3,496) with 1,000-plus rush yards, 500-plus receiving yards and 1,000-plus kick return yards for a Power Five conference champion team… oh yeah, and he averaged 8.5 yards each time he touched the ball.

McCaffrey recorded 150 total yards or more in 11 of 13 games this season (never had less than 100 in any game), 200 or more in nine of them, and 300 or more five times, including 432 against Southern Cal in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Better yet, when’s the last time you heard about a player who had 200-plus rushing yards and a touchdown, 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown catch, 100-plus kick return yards AND threw a touchdown pass? He did it all in that same game.

For the love of Toby Gerhart, somebody do the right thing and give the trophy to the most dynamic player in the country. He’s earned it.

Posted in Sports Talk Radio

 



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