Category: External Sports (Page 241 of 821)

      Could Browns have hired Gruden if Holmgren wanted to?

      March 7, 2011 /

      Peter King mentioned a pretty interesting quote by Browns president Mike Holmgren about former head coaches Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden in his latest edition of Monday Morning Quarterback:

      “Everyone is not privy to the information. I talked to [Bill] Cowher and I talked to [Jon] Gruden and they’re friends of mine. Of course Jon worked for me. There were a lot of reasons why that didn’t happen. In Bill’s case he wasn’t ready to come back and he was very honest about it and we had a very candid conversation. In Jon’s case, he said he would come back for me, but I said I needed a little more than that. You shouldn’t just come back for me, you should want to do this … He really enjoys TV and he’s good at it.”

      — Cleveland president Mike Holmgren, to KJR in Seattle via sportsradiointerviews.com, on considering Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher for his vacant head-coaching job before hiring Pat Shurmur.

      Holmgren’s comments about Cowher make you wonder if the former Pittsburgh head coach will ever return to the sidelines. After the 2011 season, it will be five years since Cowher last coached. As King hits on, will Cowher ever have the hunger it takes to return to the sidelines?

      I don’t have the faintness idea what it’s like to lose a beloved spouse (Cowher lost his wife Kaye to skin cancer seven months ago), but I would have to imagine that one never gets over it. Maybe Cowher will never have the desire to coach again. Maybe the timing will never be right. Or maybe he’ll be ready to return as soon as next year. Who knows?

      As far as Gruden is concerned, I think it was smart of Holmgren not to try and convince Gruden to return to the sidelines if he’s not 100% ready. As Holmgren pointed out, Gruden would have returned to the sidelines if asked, but that’s not what Holmgren wants. He wants somebody that will have the passion to take over a young team in much need of leadership and direction from their head coach. If Gruden wasn’t all in, Holmgren wasn’t going to be either.

      External Sports, NFL

      Did Erik Spoelstra go too far with “crying” comments?

      March 7, 2011 /
      Miami Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra argues a call on the sidelines during first quarter against the Chicago Bulls in NBA basketball action in Miami, Florida March 6, 2011. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      After the Heat’s 87-86 loss to the Bulls on Sunday, which marks their fourth straight defeat, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported the following:

      In case you’re thinking that Spoelstra was misquoted, here’s the video of his post game presser.

      On the surface, it appears that Spoelstra revealed that a couple of players were crying to illustrate his point that “it’s not a matter of want,” but there is some speculation that he was trying to call out his team for not being tough enough mentally.

      I doubt he’s that nefarious. I suspect that he was trying to relay that his team is emotionally engaged and went too far with his words. In the video, you can see him pause before he mentioned the crying, almost wondering whether or not he should reveal that little tidbit.

      So did he go too far? I’d say he did. A coach should have the trust of his players and vice versa. The locker room should be like Las Vegas — whatever happens there, stays there. He didn’t name names, but that might just make matters worse as every player on that roster might be guilty.

      Guilty of what? It’s human to cry, right? Well, not so much. I cried once during my college basketball career and that was after my final game as a senior when we (surprisingly) lost a tournament game at home. The weight of the moment — that my days of competitive basketball player were over — reduced me to a blubbering idiot. I stuffed my face in a towel until I could get a hold of my emotions. It was an end of an era, my era, not some regular season loss. The Heat players shouldn’t be crying right now. They should be angry, and they should channel that anger into making sure that this four-game losing streak ends on Tuesday.

      Maybe that was Spoelstra’s point. Or maybe he just lost whatever trust was left in that locker room.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Jorge Santiago: “Of course I can beat Anderson Silva”

      March 7, 2011 /

      Former Sengoku star Jorge Santiago is returning to the UFC and according to HeavyMMA.com, he believes he has everything it takes to take down Anderson Silva.

      Despite experiencing a great deal of success abroad over the last three years, Jorge Santiago is happy to be back in the UFC.

      After departing the organization in 2006 following back-to-back losses, the Brazilian middleweight found his focus and piled up the victories, becoming one of the top 185-pound fighters outside of the sport’s premier organization. He followed up wins over UFC veterans Jeremy Horn and Trevor Prangley by claiming the Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix, becoming the organization’s first and only middleweight champion to date.

      His August bout with Japanese veteran Kazuo Misaki was a fixture on many Fight of the Year lists, but after facing just two opponents over the last two years and seeing the Japanese MMA scene crumbling around him, Santiago was granted his release. He quickly signed with the UFC, and is looking forward to facing Brian Stann in his return to the Octagon at UFC 130 in May.

      “I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity,” Santiago told Heavy.com. “Come back to the United States, fight in the UFC, Brian Stann, an American hero, main card, May 28th. I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity, you know?”

      Read the full article.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Buckeyes avenge loss, blow out Badgers 93-65

      March 6, 2011 /
      Ohio State guard Jon Diebler (33) shoots a 3-pointer over Josh Gasser (21) during the second half of their NCAA basketball game in Columbus, Ohio March 6, 2011. REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      This game was closer than the final score would indicate, but it was never very close…if that makes sense. The Buckeyes built a lead behind some unbelievable three-point shooting — 14-of-15…yes, you read that right — and every time the Badgers were able to cut the lead to 11 or 12 points, Jon Diebler (7-of-8 from 3PT), William Buford (3-for-3) or David Lighty (2-for-2) would hit a three and push the lead back to 14 or 15 points. The Buckeyes’ three-point shooting was so amazing that I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they made a deal with the devil before tip-off.

      Diebler, who hit 10-of-12 three-pointers against Penn State on Tuesday, has now hit 17 of his last 20 threes (85%) over the last two games. That’s just incredible.

      The Buckeyes won the Big Ten regular season title when Purdue lost to Iowa on Saturday and will be the #1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts on Thursday. Wisconsin enters the tourney as the #3 seed.

      College Basketball, External Sports, March Madness

      Miami’s struggles continue

      March 6, 2011 /
      Miami Heat’s LeBron James (L) defends against the Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose during fourth quarter NBA basketball action in Miami, Florida March 6, 2011. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      The Miami Heat are in the midst of an 11-game run against teams with winning records, and so far they’ve dropped the first four. On Sunday, they lost to the Bulls 87-86, even though LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 69 points on 53% shooting from the field.

      Derrick Rose staked his claim to be the league’s MVP (once again) with a 27-point, five-assist performance, leading the Bulls to a 3-0 season sweep against the Heat. Carlos Boozer struggled to 12 points and 10 boards, but Luol Deng had a very nice game with 18 points.

      I think Chicago has established itself as at least the second-best team in the East. The Bulls’ defense is outstanding thanks to the arrival of longtime Celtics’ assistant Tom Thibodeau, and offensively, everything runs through Rose. They look like they know what they’re doing while Miami sometimes look confused and out of sorts.

      The win is big for Chicago because neither team wants to play the Knicks in the first round. New York will likely finish in the #6 spot, which means whoever finishes #3 has to face the dangerous combination of Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups. The Bulls are now two games ahead of the Heat in the loss column and hold the tiebraker, so they’re likely to face the Sixers in the first round, not the Knicks.

      If the Heat have to face the Knicks in the first round and the Bulls in the semis, forget about making the Finals, they may have a tough time even winning a series or two.

      External Sports, NBA

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