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Of all the coaches who stepped down from their posts over the past 72 hours or so, Houston Nutt commanded the biggest spotlight with his refusal to return to the Arkansas Razorbacks. It’s worth looking back on a 10-year career that will be discussed for some time to come.

It wasn’t, isn’t, and probably never will be easy to agree when assessing the quality of Houston Nutt’s decade in Fayetteville as the Boss Hog. The man who once quarterbacked for Frank Broyles–just before the legend stepped away from the sideline and joined Keith Jackson in the broadcast booth–fashioned a body of work that fragmented a fan base and perplexed every passionate Pig partisan at some point in time. Detractors and supporters alike were never too comfortable over the past ten years, because Houston–while not a tough Nutt to crack–was certainly a tough Nutt to get a handle on.

It will always remain difficult to Hog-tie this particular coach’s legacy and put it in its proper perspective, because there are aspects of college football that coaches simply can’t control. This is the inconvenient yet undeniable truth that ravenous fans are never able to appreciate. In fact, the fragile and frail nature of this sport–while increasing over time as the pressures on young men mount–is being less and less understood by the people who so desperately want to taste gridiron glory at the most elevated levels of collegiate competition.

Houston Nutt’s career at Arkansas, if you want to soberly and cerebrally dissect it from a football-only standpoint, should probably be defined–for better or worse–by quarterback Matt Jones. That simple statement should tell you all you need to know about the Houston Nutt era in Arkansas, because Jones’ own career was as complex and confusing as the reign of the man who coached him for four seasons.

In Jones, Nutt encountered the kind of player that classically illustrates the potential and peril of a college football head coaching job. Young men are wondrously talented, sometimes spectacularly so, but since coaches are not gods or messiahs in 99.9 percent of all situations (it’s the one truth fans simply have to realize if this punishing industry is to regain precious yet currently absent vestiges of humanity and decency), their players will inevitably make mistakes. In some cases, those mistakes continue no matter how hard a coach might try to rein in a bucking bronco of a boy whose flair is equal parts fearsome football force and failure-facilitating flaw. Matt Jones was that kind of player for Houston Nutt: the young quarterback’s improvisational ability was both his great stength and his biggest downfall. Accordingly, Nutt was never out of a game when down, but never safe in games he led. His hold on the hearts of Hogs was totally tethered to the trapeze artist wearing jersey No. 9. Some days, Jones pulled off the act, and sometimes, the awesome athlete with the balky brain would fall to the ground hard. It was always entertaining, but it ruined the cardiovascular health of a state that loves its barbecue to be accompanied by wins on Saturdays in Autumn. Matt Jones would send you into flights of extreme ecstasy in one second, and then leave you foaming at the mouth and fuming in frustration just a few moments later. He was that kind of quarterback, a walking embodiment of a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality on a football field. Jones was simultaneously the best player Nutt ever could have hoped to recruit at quarterback, and the worst player Nutt ever could have hoped to coach at that very same position. The uneven existence produced by the Jones-Nutt partnership is what must make it so difficult for Razorback rooters to accurately assess the career of their now-departed coach, who quickly landed in Oxford as the ruling Rebel at Ole Miss.

The larger reason why Arkansas never won the SEC (despite coming awfully close a number of times, which is pretty darn good when you consider the presence of LSU, Auburn and Alabama in the SEC West) was that the Hogs never found a legendary quarterback. Jones could have been that guy, but the trademark inconsistency of Nutt’s potential-filled pupil prevented Arkansas from entering the promised land. Clint Stoerner–had it not been for one fumble in Knoxville in November of 1998–could have led the Razorbacks to Hog Heaven, but his generally impressive career–the best of any signal caller in the Nutt era–fell just short of attaining total greatness. Robert Johnson and Casey Dick, in recent years, simply weren’t gifted enough to complement the power running game of Darren McFadden, which had already been enhanced by the change-of-pace potency of Felix Jones. (Put a Stoerner or a Matt Jones on the past few Razorback teams, and an SEC title surely would came arrived. Alas, life doesn’t work out that conveniently.) And then, of course, Mitch Mustain–in a soap opera that the striking Hollywood writers could have made into a new prime-time program–eluded Nutt after one very stormy and tumultuous year. Partly through his own mistakes and partly because 20-year-old males are difficult to teach, Houston Nutt never found the breakthrough player at quarterback who, combined with the consistently outstanding offensive lines he produced, would have turned Arkansas from a very solid SEC program into something really special. The quarterback position gave Arkansas fans a taste of what could be, but it never quite delivered the goods. In many ways, his struggles with his quarterbacks led many Arkansas fans and national observers to overlook and underappreciate the phenomenal job Nutt did as a developer of offensive lines and running attacks. What the Denver Broncos have done with their offensive lines over the years in the NFL, the Arkansas Razorbacks have done with their Hog-mollies in the college game. But since the Golden Boy never quite emerged under center, Arkansas–so good in its best moments–found some way to get dumped at the altar in a high-stakes showdown.

Houston Nutt should ultimately be remembered at Arkansas as a coach who–while very inconsistent and often baffling (think of him as Les Miles Lite) as a late-game manager and strategist–was a superb technician who had his teams ready to play coming out of the tunnel. Nutt was one of those coaches who would bring a great game plan to the ballpark and motivate his teams extremely well, only to then falter and fumble once the script got knocked off course. His Arkansas teams were amped-up and excited to play football, but those same passionate players became all too susceptible to negative swings in fortune and momentum. This past year’s game against Kentucky–in which a single play, a 66-yard fumble return by the Wildcats, totally turned around a game the Hogs had been dominating–was a particularly illustrative case in point. Nutt didn’t coach poorly in that game, but the fact remains that his teams–like most others in college football–lacked that extra measure of iron determination needed to overcome adversity and turn an 8-4 season into a 10-2 campaign.

When all is said and done, however, the verdict on Nutt’s reign with the Razorbacks should be very favorable, and one hopes that history will be accordingly wise in its assessment of this proud, flesh-and-blood Arkansas man who spilled his guts for the school and state he loved. Arkansas is not LSU or Bama or Auburn; the fans in Hog country–as is the case with dozens of other fan bases across America–need to realize their place in the college football pecking order… not out of a misguided sense that they should accept mediocrity (that would be a profound misreading of such a statement), but because coaches should not be punished for producing a body of work that, when measured by larger historical standards, maintains or even slightly increases the stature of a program. Perhaps someone else will deliver Arkansas its first-ever SEC title; but on a larger level, Houston Nutt took what Danny Ford gave him in 1997 and made it unquestionably better over the next ten seasons. Yes, it’s understandable to see why Nutt might have failed in an immediate sense, but from a more distant and far-reaching perspective, there’s absolutely no doubt that Houston D. Nutt improved he program he inherited a decade ago.

If you want to blame Nutt for giving Arkansas a vision of the promised land but then not getting there in the end, go ahead. Just realize, however, that as long as college football is played, there will be Matt Joneses who will break your heart just as surely as they will fill your veins with excitement. There’s a reason why this sport isn’t played by professionals; if we allow the mistakes of young people to define coaches who generally improve the programs they lead, we’re expecting too much of the sideline sultans in this sport. Such is the cancer that’s eating at the coaching fraternity from the inflamed fan bases who grow increasingly unreasonable and impatient as the years go by; such was the heat applied to a hyper Hog who hightalied it out of town and drove to the Grove in Oxford.

Houston Nutt was a flawed coach–there’s ample evidence to support such a claim. But when the scales even out and the long run of history is calmly considered, there’s no way you can say that this resolute Razorback failed in his ten-year career in Fayetteville.

Source: Houston, We Had Problems… But Not Too Many

No matter what happens, all I can say is THANK YOU OREGON for giving Moos the boot and promoting some prominent “yahoo” booster to be your A.D. With quotes like this, how can we not feel fortunate that Moos is acting as the headhunter in all this?? From Blanchette’s column today:

By Monday evening, Moos had been in contact with nearly a dozen potential candidates.

“I honestly feel this is a prime opportunity to seize the moment and get a jump on the Huskies,” Moos said. “Both programs are down. At Oregon, when we went after the Huskies, they were winning and it was a major challenge. This is maybe a time to step in with the right person who has charisma and energy, both for recruiting and to help get the stadium finished.”

This is, Moos insisted, Sterk’s process and decision.

“But I’ve had first-hand experience – from Jim Sweeney to Jackie Sherrill to Warren Powers to Jim Walden to Mike Price,” said Moos, who after his playing days, rose to become assistant athletic director at WSU. “I think I’ve got a pretty good feel for those who might want to be one-year wonders or someone who has an interest in the place, can adapt to it or has been there before and won’t look down his nose at Pullman or eastern Washington. Because he’s got to make a good, solid sell to recruits and fans.”

We are, officially, not screwing around here. I trust Sterk and Floyd, rightly so, as the hirings of the Bennett’s plus June Daugherty have been strong. And it’s hard to really call Doba Sterk’s hire, really. The program needed a “Steward” at the point that Price quit on us, and at the time it was the perfect marriage that just didn’t work out long-term. Short term, perfect, long term, not so good. But to have Moos come out and say that not only is he going to filter through the coach-speak bullsh*t on who will want be here long-term, but to come out and say “we’re trying to seize the opportunity to jump on a down Washington program”?? WOW! That’s music to our ears, wouldn’t you say? Why not come out and say something like that? Let’s get after this thing and make a hire that will get the buzz overflowing again.

There’s tons of links today, including lists of candidates, etc. For that stuff, go to Vince’s latest blog entry. As far as what we’re up to? Hey, we’re full of speculation too and we’re hearing crazy rumors just like anyone else. But for now, we’ll let the dust settle a little bit and we’ll see who emerges, and then we’ll post more thoughts on what could be considered the true candidates. Let’s also not forget one other big thing. There’s some really, really prime-time jobs out there right now - Michigan, Nebraska, Arkansas among others - and there’s likely more to come, including right here in the Pac-10 if UCLA pulls the plug on Dorrell, or if villagers burn down Montlake in protest to another last-place finish at UW. So while we’ve got wild lists and ideas, so do a lot of other schools, with quite frankly, better jobs available. But hey, again, Moos is showing some onions already in this, so HOORAY for Bill Moos and thank you Oregon!

Source: Hooray for Bill Moos!

What: Bucknell (1-4) at Binghamton (0-4)
Where: Events Center, Vestal, N.Y.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, 7 p.m.
Radio: WVBU 90.5 FM and SportsJuice.com
Game Notes

With a Victory Over Binghamton, Bucknell Would…
► Defeat Binghamton for the second consecutive year
► Avoid its first 1-5 start since 2004-05
► Avoid its first 0-4 road start since 2004-05
► Snap a three-game losing streak in New York State
► End a six-game losing streak in games played away from Sojka Pavilion

About the Game
After high expectations in the preseason both Bucknell and Binghamton have started their 2007-08 campaigns slowly. The Bison enter Wednesday’s contest with a 1-4 record after being picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Bearcats, who at 0-4 are still in search of their first win this season, were predicted to finish third in the nine-team America East Conference. Additionally, both squads also had two players named to the preseason all-league teams in their respective conferences. Hope Foster and Amanda Brown were named Preseason All-Patriot League for Bucknell, while Laura Sario and Laine Kurpniece picked up preseason accolades from the America East. Binghamton has been outscored by more than eight points per game, while Bucknell has been beaten by an average of nearly six points per game.

Bucknell-Binghamton Series
The all-time series between Bucknell and Binghamton is tied at 2-2. The Bison won a tight overtime affair at Sojka Pavilion last year. The two teams met twice within the 2001 calendar year with Binghamton winning both meetings. The only other time the two teams have played was in 1973-74, the first year of the Bucknell program.

Last Meeting - Dec. 19, 2006
► Bucknell 73, Binghamton 64 (OT) (Sojka Pavilion)
A driving Amanda Brown found Lindsey Hollobaugh for an open layup with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give Bucknell a 65-64 victory over Binghamton. Brown scored a game-high 19 points off the bench and Bucknell led by as many as 11 points in the first half (27-16). Binghamton’s Erica Carter swished in a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game to overtime tied at 56-all.

Bucknell vs. America East
Bucknell owns a 13-10 record all-time against teams from the America East Conference. Albany is the most common opponent with the Bison owning a 4-2 all-time record against the Great Danes. Hartford, which Bucknell played in the WNIT last March, is the most recent America East team the Bison have faced.

Leading Rebounder
Hope Foster has led Bucknell in rebounding in each of the last four games. It marks the longest streak of at least tying for the team lead in boards by a Bison player since Foster opened last year pacing the squad in 12 consecutive games. Overall, Foster leads Bucknell in rebounding, pulling down 7.0 per game. That figure ranks tied for third in the Patriot League. On a career level, Foster now ranks sixth in Bison history with 709 boards.

Days of the Week
Bucknell will be playing on Wednesday for the first time this season when it faces Binghamton. Interestingly, the first six games of the season for the Bison are on different days of the week. The only day Bucknell will have not had a game once the Binghamton game gets underway will be Thursday.

Damon’s Bison Athlete of the Week
For the first time this season, a Bucknell women’s basketball player picked up a weekly award when senior co-captain Kristina Collymore was named the Damon’s Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday. She received the award following her near triple-double in last week’s win over Howard. Collymore has scored 23 points in the last two games, the highest total in back-to-back games in her career.

Strong Debut for Higham
Freshman Cosima Higham made her season debut on Sunday at Cornell. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and was 4 of 6 from the floor in 10 minutes of playing time. Bucknell outscored Cornell 24-15 while Higham was in the game.

Improved Wright
In her first year at Bucknell, Andrea Wright averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game last season. The Bowie, Md., native played more than 20 minutes just three times and averaged 9.4 minutes per game. Already this year, Wright has played more than 20 minutes on four occasions and has earned two starts. After a career-high 14 points at Cornell, she is averaging 6.4 points.

81 Points for Starters…
Bucknell’s starting unit accounted for 81 of its 89 points against Howard, marking the most points for a Bison starting five since 2002. In a 100-91 victory over Canisius, Bucknell starters totaled 91 points, with Molly Creamer leading the way with 31. Kate Franks added 28, while Desire Almind netted 22.

…Followed by 20 Points for Starters
One game after receiving 81 points from its starters, Bucknell’s starting unit totaled just 20 points against Cornell. It was the fewest points Bison starters tallied in a game since they scored just 15 in a 62-43 loss to Yale on Dec. 7, 1997.

Two Straight Reach 40%
After holding nine consecutive regular-season opponents to less than 40% shooting from the field, Bucknell’s last two opponents have made at least 40% of their field goals. Howard connected on exactly 40%, while Cornell made 48.1%, the best for a Bison foe since Buffalo made 52.8% of its field goals last December.

High Scorers
Four members of the current Bison squad have already eclipsed 500 points in their careers, headlined by Hope Foster and her 952 career points. She ranks 18th on the Bison career scoring list. Kesha Champion, Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober also have more than 500 career points, joining an exclusive club that has just 40 members.

 Current Bison with 500 Career Points and Rank on Bucknell Career Scoring List 17. Chiara Sockel 961 18. Hope Foster 952 25. Shannon McGowan 744 26. Kesha Champion 711 27. Amanda Brown 706 32. Bobbi Castens 578 33. Casey Hollister 571 34. Brooke Tomovich 570 35. Lauren Schober 567

Closing in on 1,000
While senior Hope Foster is best known for her defensive prowess, she is quickly closing in on 1,000 career points. In fact, she is just 48 points shy of becoming the 16th person in the exclusive club at Bucknell. Additionally, Foster is already among the top-10 rebounders in school history and recently eclipsed the 700 mark and currently stands sixth in Bison history with 709.

Good Shooting From the Line
Bucknell is shooting 72 of 92 (78.3%) from the free throw line this season. The 2002-03 squad shot 77.1% over the entire season and holds the Bison record. Opponents are making just 65.5 percent of their free throws and have not shot better than 70.0 percent since 2003-04.

Up Next
Bucknell wraps up its three-game road trip to New York with a 2 p.m. game at Marist on Saturday. The Bison lost 57-38 to the Red Foxes at Sojka Pavilion last December. Overall, Bucknell is just 2-5 against Marist and have lost two straight in the series.

Source: Bucknell Women’s Basketball Back in Action Wednesday at Binghamton

2010 Mascots

SURREY, B.C. - Organizers of the 2010 Winter Games have turned to British Columbia’s myths and legends for a trio of mascots.

Quatchi is a young sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs, while Miga is a snowboarding sea-bear - part killer whale and part kermode bear.

And Sumi is a spirit animal that flies with the wings of a native thunderbird.

There’s even a sidekick: Mukmuk, a small friendly Vancouver Island Marmot.

The mascots were revealed in front of hundreds of delighted schoolchildren in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.

Olympic organizers looked at hundreds of artists’ submissions before choosing the right mascot designers.

Source: 2010 organizers unveil trio of mascots

It was the kind of gaffe that makes the boredom of a Fifa weekend worthwhile. As Sepp Blatter unveiled the new poster design for the 2010 World Cup on Friday, the 71-year-old Fifa president went off-script in a way that made even the automaton Swiss bureaucrats who run his organisation exchange glances of complete horror.

The poster features the profile of an African face that looks up towards a football, on the northern part of an outline of the African continent. “You will recognise this face,” prattled Blatter, “he did not play at the last World Cup but he is a very famous African footballer who plays in Barcelona.” Blatter thought it was Samuel Eto’o, except he was wrong. Eto’o is Cameroonian, and the designers of the poster did not base the face on any one player – let alone a player from outside the host nation of South Africa.

For an organisation that prides itself on its vice-like grip on the world’s greatest sporting event, it was a rare slip: Planet Fifa has descended on the east coast city of Durban to stage the usual jamboree. On Friday night it took over the beach for a party for delegates and media that cost R3m (£200,000); last night was the glitzy preliminary draw at the city’s exhibition centre. The speeches have been tedious; the meetings endless and the Fifa blazers have buzzed around doing their best to look busy.

Yet for all this, the uncomfortable preoccupation of anyone who wishes to look beyond the Fifa bubble is how the World Cup will affect life for the majority of South Africa’s 43 million population, of whom more than 5 million live with HIV/Aids. On Friday night more than 1,000 police were drafted in effectively to shut down the beachfront area – to ensure none of the Fifa delegates fell victim to the crime culture in a nation which averages 50 murders a day. On Saturday, the Soweto derby between the country’s two biggest teams – the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – was transplanted to Durban for the benefit of Fifa.

Generally, the locals have watched at a distance with interest, but how much will they be involved in three years’ time? Blatter talks a good game about the unifying power of football, but there is no doubt that the priority will be to put on a show for the world that vindicates the decision to give the tournament to Africa for the first time. To judge by the amount of security planned for 2010 – 31,000 police dedicated to the event – Fifa is still a little scared about what Africa may hold in store.

The country does have a serious crime problem which, in Johannesburg especially, has shown no signs of getting better. The organisers are nervous about it and in 2010 whole areas of cities will be shut down in order to protect fans, delegates and media. In private, South Africans can be pragmatic. It is a sad truth that, historically, apartheid gave their security forces a certain expertise in keeping one group of people away from another. It is an expertise that they may call upon in 2010.

By far the most interesting aspect of their preparations are the “category four” tickets. They are low-price tickets for 15 to 20 per cent of every game which will be available only to South African residents and will cost between R20 and R150 [£1.30 and £10]. It is a laudable idea, but one fraught with problems. There is no plan yet as to how they will be sold to South Africans, many of whom have no access to the internet. There is also the prospect of touting, which will be a huge temptation for low-income workers. Privately, the 2010 committee admits that if just 10 per cent of crowds are local people the system will be judged a success.

Fifa is also “raising” £5m to build 20 football centres across Africa to open before the World Cup, which is a joke when you consider that the organisation spent £120m on its- lavish new headquarters outside Zurich. More interesting is the decision to build dedicated training grounds, where national teams will be based during 2010, in townships. The 2010 consignment of English WAGs could find themselves based near their loved ones in Soweto; or the Mamelodi or Atteridgeville townships in Pretoria.

It is a brilliant idea and one that, should England qualify, the Football Association could lead the way on. The 2010 committee is worried that the big nations will base themselves in the luxury hotels instead of the townships. What a message it would send if, instead of a five-star country residence, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard were based in Soweto, with training sessions open to a South African public that loves Premier League football.

The FA delegation arrived on Friday without a name recognisable outside Soho Square – and it showed. At Saturday’s Sowetan derby in Durban, the dignitaries met the players before the game. Germany sent Franz Beckenbauer (Der Kaiser meets the Kaizer Chiefs). From France there was Michel Platini and Christian Karembeu. And from England? Er, Sir Dave Richards – some bloke who used to run a middling engineering company in Sheffield, now the Premier League chairman.

It was frankly embarrassing and showed more than ever how England and the FA are crying out for a famous ex-player as a figurehead; a role that – despite his faults – David Beckham will be perfect for one day.

For the 2010 organisers there are problems behind the scenes, most specifically with the building schedule of two new World Cup stadiums. The Cape Town and Port Elizabeth projects are, according to who you listen to, behind schedule. It led to a rather unseemly announcement from Blatter, who said that he promised the construction workers on World Cup projects a “bonus” if they stopped strike action.

The actual logistics of the tournament will have to wait, but we know that games will kick-off at 1pm, 4pm and 8pm – just one hour ahead of London – and there is a proposal to allow teams to play all their group games in one city. The message is that South Africa will get there, come what may, although there is evidently still a lot to come.

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Source: Blatter’s dream of a cup to nourish South Africa still far from realisation

ST KILDA full-forward Fraser Gehrig says his passion for another season in the AFL is “very strong” and admits his decision to retire earlier this year was hasty.

Gehrig, 31, was drafted by the Saints last Saturday after he contacted the club last week from Switzerland to tell officials he had unfinished business and wanted another season.

The dual Coleman medallist announced his retirement less than three months ago after playing 140 of his 255 games with the Saints and topping their goal kicking for five seasons.

But he admitted making a hasty decision to bow out because he had struggled with illness through 2007 and wanted to travel.

”I really enjoyed last (season) with a new coach (Ross Lyon) and the playing group,” Gehrig said.

”Form-wise and body-wise I finished the year really well, it wasn’t one of those issues that it probably tends to be when you’re over 30.

”For me, the issue was that I wanted to travel, I wanted to have an extended break overseas, which I probably thought would be a lot longer than what I (had).

”I was a little bit sick during the year, towards the end of the year, when I told Ross I actually wasn’t going to play again.

”Maybe I did that a little bit too harshly, based on how I was feeling at the time.

”It wasn’t through motivation that I retired. Things have changed and I am ready to go again.”

Gehrig, who arrived home last Sunday and was back at Moorabbin the following day, said he had not missed much of St Kilda’s off-season and felt fit.

AAP

Source: Fit Gehrig ‘ready to go again’

By: kristine

Sports are supposed to be good for children, combining play and fun with exercise. But child athletes may not be having fun anymore. Some are being trained to excel at a particular sport, often to compete at Olympic level. Others are pushed to excel at sports to gain a scholarship, fame and fortune as a professional athlete. To constantly be ready to compete at a high level can raise stress levels in these young athletes, and the stress parents, coaches and peers put on them may be too much.

Stress is an inevitable consequence of everyday life. As children are subjected to increasing amounts of stress, they experience more and more of its effects on their bodies, making them aware of the great rate of wear and tear they subject themselves to. Originally coined by Hans Selye in 1936, the term stress was defined by him as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.” This means that we are all subjected to stress, but its effects on our bodies differ greatly from person to person, largely dependent on the gravity of and how we handle the stressful situation. It manifests itself in any number of physical or psychological symptoms that are often ignored by the child, parent or coach until it seriously affects their health. Children are especially vulnerable to stress because they lack the words to express their feelings adequately.

But how much is too much? There are a few symptoms that parents, teachers and coaches should look out for, such as:

l Inability to go to sleep the night before a game, or having incessant nightmares about games that were lost.
l The child begins to dislike or avoid the sport he/she previously was enthusiastic about, but only when there is an actual game he/she has to participate in.
l The child cries after making a mistake during the game, however minor it was. He/she may also attribute the loss to an imagined mistake.
l The child excels during practice, but chokes during actual matches.
l The child is easily tired, distracted and irritable during matches.
l His/her schoolwork is beginning to suffer because of fatigue or awkward schedules.
Those who specialize in just one sport may be denied the benefits of varied activity while facing additional physical, physiologic, and psychological demands from intense training and competition. Adverse consequences from intense training and competition have been reported, raising concerns about the sensibility and safety of high-level athletics for any young person. Children can be vulnerable to physical conditions like cardiac problems, growth retardation, muscle, and/or skeletal injuries. They can also suffer from performance anxiety and other psychological issues, some due to the pressure of competition and others because of the retardation of their psychosocial development.
To help prevent performance anxiety in children, they must be encouraged to participate in sports at a level consistent with their abilities and interests. Pushing children beyond these limits is discouraged because it can be traumatizing for them. Being physically and verbally abusive with them will only make them hate their parents and coaches. Teach children some relaxation techniques that they can use before, during and after a game such as deep breathing. Doing this in the comfort of your home will help them associate it with relaxation.
Parents, teachers, coaches and doctors must remain in agreement as to how much training the child can handle. It would also be beneficial if the child is encouraged to pursue other activities apart from sports. Your young player will start to build and experience confidence as they relax under pressure. They will be more focused for each play in the game, improve their skill level and most importantly, they will enjoy the game more. Performance anxiety is not just for adults, and we must make sure that these child athletes remain happy, healthy children.

Article Source: http://www.articleyard.com

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Source: When Your Child’s Star Dims

The Colorado basketball team (3-2) begins a 90-mile tour of the Front Range Tuesday. The Buffs will travel to Denver to play the University of Denver (2-2) Tuesday evening (7 p.m. tip), then head to Colorado Springs and take on host Air Force (5-2) Thursday (7 p.m.). Inside, notes in advance of the road trip.

Filed under Colorado

Source: I-25 Road Trip On Tap

Duke’s biggest win this season was against a previously undefeated, ranked team from Wisconsin.

Now, the surging seventh-ranked Blue Devils (6-0) look to knock off a similar foe from the Badger state when No. 20 Wisconsin visits Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday in the first-ever meeting between the programs as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

After beating then-No.

Filed under Duke

Source: Wisconsin-Duke Preview

Mike Sherman? While he could turn out to be great for Texas A&M, did the program have to hire him so quickly? Breaking down the coaching vacancies, next year’s Heisman race, the two stars left out of the Doak Walker Award voting, and more in the latest Cavalcade of Whimsy.

Fiu’s Cavalcade of Whimsy

a.k.a. Frank Costanza’s Festivus Airing of the Grievances
 
By Pete Fiutak   
What’s your beef? … E-mail with your thoughts  
Past Whimsies 2006 Season | Preseason Part One, Part Two | Week 1
Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11, Part 1 | Week 11, Part 2 | Week 12

If this column sucks, it’s not my fault … like Alabama football after losing to UL Monroe, and like America after the 9/11 and Pearl Harbor attacks, the “catastrophic event” of a column had to rebound. As you’ll see, like the Tide against Auburn, it didn’t.

“Oh, I see. This is all part of the theme, right? Sure. And you’re just stage actors pretending to be filthy drunkards. Bravo. Bravo, everyone. Long live the theater.” … (to the 2007 college football season so far). Clap, clap, clap (make the clap faster) clap, clap, clap, clap (get out of chair while wildly applauding) clap, clap, clap, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP (whistling and hooting in appreciation) CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

If you haven’t had fun this season, and if you haven’t woken up every Saturday morning excited about the Christmas present of games about to be unwrapped, then I, and a vat of Paxil, can’t help you.

The equivalent of camping outside a Best Buy on Thanksgiving night to be the first in the store Friday morning to buy a Walkman … It’s not that Texas A&M hired Mike Sherman, he might turn out to be solid, but it’s that it had to happen RIGHT NOW. At the very least, couldn’t there have been more of a search? It didn’t need to be done as Dennis Franchione was turning in his key to the executive bathroom. Confused Aggie fans are right in wanting to see just who might have been available after the bowls are over.

“I’m so scared! Oh no, the Germans are coming after me. They’re so big and strong! Oh, protect me from the Germans! The Germans.” … There’s no truth to the rumor that Bob Stoops and Mack Brown spent Monday afternoon frantically padding their résumé on Monster.com after their deepest, darkest fears have come true: The Shermanator is in College Station.

“A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix.  It happens when they change something.” … Isn’t it great? We finally get to end the speculation and see Oklahoma actually have to play Missouri … uh, oh yeah. Well, the debates can finally stop as Virginia Tech and Boston College will settle it on the field after … what? Oh, that’s right. At least the Conference USA title game should be interesting to see what Kevin Smith and the UCF offense can do against Tulsa and it’s porous … really? 44-23 Knights? So what, exactly, is the reason behind playing these three conference championship games if these they already played each other?

Will Coach Michigan For Food … So, Michigan fans, you still want Les Miles? He has one of the three most talented teams in America, along with USC and Oklahoma, and couldn’t get the job done at home against a mediocre Arkansas team. Michigan doesn’t know anything about having loaded teams that can’t come through in crunch time, does it? (cough, cough) Bill Frieder (cough, cough).

Now that Mike Sherman is off the board … I’ve got the ideal Michigan head coach: Dennis Franchione. Oh sure, he might not do much in conference play and might lead the program to a consistent fourth place finish in the league very year, but at least the guy knows how to win a rivalry game.

But I’m still most afraid of the Viva Viagra guys  … The ads from a four-day college football weekend pop quiz
1)  Who’s creepier, Burt Reynolds, fresh from his stint at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, in the Dell ad, or the little girl obsessed with the mirrors that supposedly make a TV better?
2) What brand of TV has those mirrors, and do you remotely care enough to make you want to buy that TV.
3) Beyonce in the DirecTV “Upgrade” ad or the woman at the end of the electric razor ad with the guy with a medicine cabinet full of his own heads? Discuss.

What’s 4,000 yards between friends? … I just filled out my ballot for the Doak Walker Award voting Darren McFadden 1, Ray Rice 2, Mike Hart 3. Those were my only three choices. I guarantee you will never again see a year when two, 2,000-yard backs couldn’t even make the Doak Walker list of finalists. I’m not saying UCF’s Kevin Smith and Tulane’s Matt Forte are the most talented backs in America, but Smith might end his 2007 season with 2,500 rushing yards and Forte finished up with 2,127 yards and 23 touchdowns. Even if they were on the ballot I’d still vote McFadden first, but Forte has rushed for 402 more yards than the Arkansas star with eight more touchdowns, and Smith has run for 439 more yards and ten more scores. I don’t care if you’re playing in the Sun Belt, if you’re putting up the numbers these two did, more credit is deserved.

"The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut. Discuss."… 1) Now that Fresno State is 44th in the latest BCS rankings and Florida State is 45th, who’s the real FSU? 2) If it’s the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas, then why are they called MU and KU respectively?

“So, that’s it then, hmm? Just like a young man coming in for a quickie. I feel so unsatisfied.” … If it’s Missouri and West Virginia for the national title, fine. I don’t need one of the preseason big names like Ohio State, USC or LSU to be in it. Not this season. However, if ever there was a year in need of a playoff, this is it.

On the morning of January 8th, are you going to be completely sold on your national champion? We can still have all the drama we’ve had all season long if a playoff is almost only limited to conference champions. Put in the six BCS champions, the highest ranked independent or non-BCS champion, and leave one at-large slot open for the highest ranked team left on the board. I firmly believe that you shouldn’t play for the national title if you can’t win your conference, but I’ll concede just a little to the hottest-team theorists out there.

Think about how great this would be:
- Missouri/Oklahoma winner vs. Hawaii
- West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech/Boston College winner
- Ohio State vs. LSU/Tennessee winner
- USC vs. Georgia

The regular season would still mean absolutely everything, and there’d be no room for any whining or complaining because every BCS team will have had a shot, you’re giving one little guy a chance, and you’re acknowledging one other team that was fantastic at the end of the year because it jelled or got healthy.

But don’t be banking on ol’ No. 5 to be “bringing the wood” for anyone but the Miami Dolphins … Not to get ahead of ourselves, but the 2008 Heisman race should be out of this world. Assume the front-runners will be: Florida QB Tim Tebow, Missouri QB Chase Daniel, Ohio State RB Chris Wells, West Virginia QB Pat White, Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, Texas QB Colt McCoy, Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, Boise State RB Ian Johnson, Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill, Kansas QB Todd Reesing, and USC QB Mitch Mustain or Mark Sanchez. Now imagine what the race will be like if Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton, Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, Jamaal Charles, Felix Jones, Ray Rice and/or Kevin Smith don’t bolt early for the big league.

Chris Myers will be following Colt Brennan at the end to see if he proposes to some cheerleader … There’s no argument when it comes to Hawaii and the BCS. Remember, we’re not talking about the national title or a playoff here; we’re talking about a glorified exhibition game. If Hawaii goes 12-0, then it should absolutely without question have one of the BCS spots (which it’ll automatically get by finishing in the top 12).

Of course, it helps when you play almost no one outside of your own conference … You want to know why alumni, fans and administrations have no more patience and want to crank things up to 11 at the soonest possible moment? Missouri and Kansas. Those two took a few years to get to a national title level, but they did it. If they could ascend to the heights they did this season, then you can understand why Nebraska and Texas A&M was so itchy to try to capture the same sort of magic.

Maybe the wealthy alumni of the rest of the SEC can pool their money to buyout Meyer’s contract … Notice all those Florida seniors kissing their parents on Senior Day? No? That’s because there weren’t that many. There won’t be the mass exit of underclassmen to the NFL like there was last year, so hopefully you enjoyed this 9-3 Gator season because it’s not happening again for a while. Of course, fans in Athens are saying the same thing about their Dawgs, too.

Would Missouri be Hillary or Rudy? … Be honest. You’re fine with the presidential candidates, but if it weren’t for the rules and restrictions, you’d rather see Bill Clinton vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the big prize. You’re fine with the likelihood of West Virginia and Missouri, but if it weren’t for the rules and restrictions, you’d rather see LSU play USC for the big prize.

“That’s great to give something back like that. I’d love to find time to do volunteer work. Just the other day I saw this golden retriever that– He had like a gimp, and he couldn’t really– It made me feel terrible. I wish there was something I could do.” … The NCAA needs to put in a rule against going for two when a team is embarrassingly behind. Texas Southern, down 59-6, trying for a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter against Houston made me feel all sad inside.

This is the worst-looking game I ever saw. You watch a game like this, I’ll be you get a free bowl of soup. … If Oregon vs. UCLA wasn’t the worst college football game played in the last decade, I want to see what was. I sat through Gigli from start to finish just to see how bad a movie could be. If you didn’t see the Ducks and Bruins, you have to try to find a copy of the game somewhere just so you can say you saw it. In the 16-0 UCLA win, the two teams combined for 22 first downs, 368 yards of total offense, 22 punts and six turnovers. Oregon was five of 22 on third down conversions, while UCLA was two of 17. The signature of this tour-de-force was the passing from both sides with Oregon completing 11 of 39 passes for 105 yards and three interceptions, and UCLA completing four of 17 passes for 64 yards and two interceptions. Trust me, the game was even worse than the stats.

The C.O.W. airing of the grievances followed by the feats of strength
More coaching openings will pop up over the next several days, Colorado State is a sure-thing, but for right now, here are the 12 key openings and the overviews of their situations.

12. SMU
Prestige Factor: Stepping-stone job
Ideal Candidate Would Have … success at the D-I level as a top-notch offensive coordinator or with an exciting offense that could work anywhere. Previous success at some level in Texas is a must.
They Should Think About … Rice head coach David Bailiff
The Skinny: The program has never been able to overcome the 1987 death penalty brought on by the sins of the heyday, but the team is in good enough shape for someone to step in right away and succeed in Conference USA play. Former head man Phil Bennett didn’t have much success, but this was supposed to be a big year with the building blocks he put in place.

11. Northern Illinois
Prestige Factor: A destination for an older head coach, a stepping-stone for a younger one
Ideal Candidate Would Have … a media-savvy older coach with name recognition and good energy. Being able to own the greater Chicago area is a must.
They Should Think About … Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo
The Skinny: The stability of Joe Novak for 12 seasons turned the program into a bit of a MAC power that couldn’t get over the hump. The potential is there to make this the MAC’s premier program by getting the huge Chicago alumni base fired up and generating a buzz with a coach who’s not afraid to work the media 24/7. While the Huskies will likely go young, they should take a cue from the immediate success Ohio had with Frank Solich and get a bit of a proven commodity. Injuries killed the team this season; the team can win it all next year.

10. Southern Miss   
Prestige Factor: Decent. The chance is there for a young head coach to up his stock in a hurry.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … fresh ideas. After 14 extremely successful seasons under Jeff Bower, the tradition of great defense isn’t going anywhere. Someone who can upgrade the offensive profile would be nice.
They Should Think About … Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn
The Skinny: With a reputation for wanting to play anyone, anywhere and any time, USM wasn’t afraid to take on the big boys under Bower, and that’s a tradition that must continue. It’s not like the program went into the tank under Bower; it’s still more than good enough to win the Conference USA title right now. However, for all the success, a little bit of new blood won’t be a bad thing.

9. Duke
Prestige Factor: None. It’s considered one of the toughest jobs in America.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … a quirk. Duke will never be able to get the talents to win the ACC title on skill, but an offensive wizard who can run the spread to near-perfection would throw a scare into the rest of the league. Remember, the program was good back when Steve Spurrier’s offense was rolling.
They Should Think About … Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore
The Skinny: If Wake Forest can win an ACC title and if Northwestern can be a consistent competitor in the Big Ten, then Duke can follow the same blueprint. This isn’t an ideal job for a young coach looking to make some noise right away, but getting an established D-IAA star or a decent coordinator (think Al Golden moving from Virginia to Temple) could change things around in a year or two.

8. Baylor
Prestige Factor: None. A coach can make a big name for himself with the slightest bit of success.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … in-roads in Texas. Baylor is a different type of Big 12 school because of its private status. The coach has to come up with a big-time offensive idea, like Guy Morriss tried to do with the Texas Tech passing attack, only with more success.
They Should Think About … North Texas head coach Todd Dodge
The Skinny: As far as the tough job openings go, this is far more difficult than Duke because the rest of the South is so nasty. Oklahoma and Texas will be in the national title discussion every year, Oklahoma State/T. Boone U. is improving, and Texas Tech and Texas A&M will always be bowl bound. Forget about the defense. Some alumni might like the idea of Mike Singletary, but the Bears need an effective offense that can outbomb teams on the right day. Trying to get in defensive struggles against Oklahoma and Texas won’t work. Houston’s Art Briles will likely get the gig.

7. Washington State
Prestige Factor: Medium to low. Only Stanford is a tougher Pac 10 situation.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … the offensive wizard tag. You have to be able to put up consistent points on the board in the Pac 10, and Wazzu has been successful when it’s been able to crank up the offense on everyone. Defense, schmefense; this is the Pac 10.
They Should Think About … Boise State head coach Chris Petersen
The Skinny: The early talk is about Mike Price coming back to his old stomping grounds, but take a look at how his UTEP teams went into the tank in crunch time during his reign. The program doesn’t have the fan base or the overall cache of the other Pac 10 teams, but the right coach can win there right away. Bill Doba wasn’t bad, but he managed to be on the wrong side of seemingly every close game.

6. Ole Miss
Prestige Factor: Not as much as Ole Miss thinks it has.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … the ability to win right now. Forget about any sort of a five-year building plan. As the administration has shown with David Cutcliffe and Ed Orgeron, win now or die.
They Should Think About … Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Rick Neuheisel
The Skinny: Orgeron actually had the right idea and the right plan in place building from the lines out. Despite going winless in SEC play, there were enough close losses and enough competitive performances to hope for a relatively quick turnaround. Getting to a bowl in the next two years is a must, as is beating Mississippi State.

5. Georgia Tech
Prestige Factor: Better than you might think. It’s a solid job that opening that’ll attract its share of big names. In a big city with an administration that wants to crank things up to another level right now, Tech should be able to have its pick of several big-time names.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … the media savvy to win over Atlanta. Georgia is the top dog in the state, even in Atlanta, so it’ll require a charismatic head man who can sell the program as more than just a second-fiddle.
They Should Think About … UCF head coach George O’Leary
The Skinny: No, Tech isn’t going to go rehire O’Leary. Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp are the likely front-runners, but don’t rule out a shocker of a name being thrown into the mix before all is said and done. Going the pro route actually worked a bit with Gailey, and Tech might at least consider throwing a feeler phone call to Oakland Raider head man Lane Kiffin or Atlanta head coach Bobby Petrino.

4. Texas A&M
Prestige Factor: Not remotely close to as high as Aggie fans think it is.
Ideal Candidate Would Have Had … more of a “wow’ factor. Mike Sherman has a nice résumé and should certainly be able to step in and get the Aggies to bowl games every year, but he’s not going to force Oklahoma or Texas to close up shop.
They Should’ve Thought About … North Carolina head coach Butch Davis
The Skinny: Sherman certainly knows the program and is part of the Aggie family, but is he really the guy to take the program to that next level it’s been dying to get to for several years? As disappointing and embarrassing as the Dennis Franchione era became, he beat Texas over the last two years. Sherman can be great right away, but he has to come up with wins over the Longhorns right away.

3. Arkansas
Prestige Factor: Relatively high. Depending on who you believe, this is a powder keg of a program ready to blow up, or Houston Nutt basically maxed it out in a nasty SEC West. The next head coach will be walking into an extremely interesting situation.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … a mega-name. In a conference full of heavyweight head men, the Hogs need someone who won’t blink at the idea of game-planning against Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.
They Should Think About … North Carolina head coach Butch Davis
The Skinny: Watch out for this to be Alabama-lite. Arkansas will make a run after several monster names, including a few from the NFL, only to be rebuffed like Bama was last year, although on a much less public scale, before getting a high-powered coordinator like Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher.

2. Nebraska 
Prestige Factor: Obviously great, but this isn’t a job for a big-name coach who’ll want to make the program his. The bigger problem will be the unattainable expectations. Husker fans want to be in the national title hunt every year, but the mid-1990s are long gone and in the new Big 12 world, programs like Missouri and Kansas have become powers.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … the ability to function in Tom Osborne’s shadow. Nebraska wants a head coach with Husker ties, but it can’t be at the expense of getting the top candidate possible.
They Should Think About … Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez
The Skinny: It might not have worked, but former athletic director Steve Pederson was right the program needed a fresh coat of paint … to a point. The offense actually worked under Callahan, but the defense went bye-bye, and at a place like Nebraska, that’s inexcusable. It’ll either be LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini or Buffalo head man, and former Husker great, Turner Gill, but Pelini might want to hang around Baton Rouge to see if he could potentially step into a much, much better situation if Les Miles bolts for Ann Arbor.

1. Michigan
Prestige Factor: The leader and the best. Along with Notre Dame football and North Carolina basketball, it’s the premier job in college sports.
Ideal Candidate Would Have … the ability to not be starry-eyed when it comes to the Michigan tradition. Urban Meyer was able to blow off the Steve Spurrier factor and make Florida his from the start. Michigan’s new head man can’t get bogged down by trying to play to the crowd. Basically, the program needs a stone-cone killer, a rainmaker who can step in and make everyone do a collective “yeeeeesh.”
They Should Think About … Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops
The Skinny: Michigan can get almost any college coach it wants outside of Meyer, Nick Saban, Charlie Weis, Jim Tressel and Pete Carroll. The job is that big. I’m not joking when it comes to pursuing Stoops, a former Iowa player who would fit perfectly into the Big Ten, while scaring the bejeebers out of Ohio State. Oklahoma is big; Michigan is bigger. Les Miles is the name at the top of everyone’s list, but don’t be shocked if Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is in the running late in the game.

Nuggets for the upcoming week, now made with white meat, at participating restaurants …
- The college version of overtime is head-and-shoulders better than the NFL version, but it needs to be tweaked. The drives should start on the 35 instead of the 25 and teams should have to go for two after touchdowns from the start instead of after the second overtime.
- Note to the Rose Bowl: you don’t have to take a Big Ten team if it’s not the champion. The Big Ten – Pac 10 thing only really matters if you get the best teams from each league. If you lose Ohio State to the BCS Championship, take Georgia.
- I’m checking on this, but couldn’t Kansas have gone for an onside kick after the safety late in the Missouri loss?
- The most interesting game you didn’t pay attention to last weekend was Tulsa’s win over Rice. Owl QB Chase Clement accounted for 601 yards of total offense as Rice hung 700 on the Golden Hurricane. With Tulsa’s porous defense, the Conference USA title game will be a shootout.
- Tim Tebow is the obvious First Team All-SEC quarterback, but a little love has to go to Tennessee’s Erik Ainge. He put up a whale of a year with a slew of no-name receivers compared to last year’s group.

C.O.W. shameless gimmick item … The weekly five Overrated/Underrated aspects of the world
1) Overrated: Chick-fil-A anti-beef ads  … Underrated: Fast Food Nation
2) Overrated: Fat Joe Montana in the NFL Network ads  … Underrated: Fat Jim Kelly in the ESPN ads
3) Overrated: Playing your stars on special teams … Underrated: Oklahoma RB DeMarco Murray
4) Overrated: Several top job openings … Underrated: Checking out the contract situation after beating Alabama for a sixth time in a row
5) Overrated: Virginia Tech at No. 6… Underrated: LSU at No. 7 despite beating the Hokies 48-7.

My Heisman ballot this week will be … I’m holding the ballot in my hand. "I hearby designate Tim Tebow, Florida, As my First Choice to receive the Heisman Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding college football player in the United State for 2007. To the best of my knowledge, he conforms to the rules governing this vote."

My Second Choice is: Chase Daniel, Missouri
My Third Choice is: Pat White, West Virginia

If White or Daniel lose this weekend, I’ll put Darren McFadden in the slot.

“You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools/But that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t wanna live forever” … The three lines this week that appear to be a tad off. (1-2 again. I’m really not this bad if you look at my overall picks for the site, but if actually care about this segment, all you’re worried about is consistency one way or the other, and that’s me  … 12-24-1 overall.) … 1) Washington +28.5 over Hawaii, 2) Florida Atlantic +15.5 over Troy, 3) Army +14 over Navy

Sorry this column sucked, but it wasn’t my fault … I had everything right there for the taking needing just a home win over an average team and a win in a championship game to be in the championship, and then Darren McFadden had other ideas.

Source: Cavalcade of Whimsy - The Coaching Situations