Northeast Sports Discussion

[xzmattzx]

Ugly



The NHL is done when the Leafs, Wings, Canadiens, and Blackhawks get their new jerseys.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

The Marlins have been gutted a few times but definitely not mismanaged. Any of the other 29 teams would love to have their 2 World Series titles.

The Phillies are the definition of mismanagement.

it amazes me that a team such as the marlins, who has won 2 championships since being in the MLB, could even consider talks about relocating. i don't get it.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

The Phillies are the definition of mismanagement.

15 consecutive losing seasons is the definition of mismanagement.

[Sabretooth]

Ehh, so Pennsylvania hasn't figured out baseball. At least the hockey and football teams are usually competitive!

[Evergrey]

The Buffalo Bulls are playing a suprisingly tight game against the lackluster Nittany Lions.

[Sabretooth]

Some guy on the radio made a bold prediction that while they'll get demolished, they will outscore Notre Dame vs. PSU.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

15 consecutive losing seasons is the definition of mismanagement.

The Pirates are just a small-market team with much smaller revenue than big teams like the Red Sox and Yankees. Losing season can be expected with small payrolls.

The Phillies, on the other hand, should've won the wild card both last year and the year before. They didn't, and won't win this year, the manager is clueless when it comes to using pitchers, ownership is like a crackhouse landlord, their farm system is so depleted that there is no one to bring up for emergency help, the team is cash-strapped and stuck in hideous player contracts from the Ed Wade era, and will be stuck signing scrub players because Howard & Hamels will get big paychecks in the next few years and ownership would rather sign scrubs and hope that they have a career year instead of going past their self-imposed $90 million payroll limit to get better players.

The Phillies have had talent fall into their lap (Hamels, Howard, Utley, Victorino, etc) and have a few other players that have been around or brought in with trades (Rollins, Rowand) and still are on the outside looking in for the playoffs yet again. The Phillies have the talent, especially in their lineup, to cruise to division titles, but a terrible bullpen put together by Pat Gillick, combined with Charlie Manuel, who loves to overuse the bullpen and go for inane pitching matchups and other strange quirks, costs the Phils several games a year.

That is mismanagement.

[Sabretooth]

I dunno, the Bisons always sucked when they were the Pirates' AAA affiliate, especially in the later years. Then they aligned with the Indians (1995 I think), and it was like night and day. The quality of the on-field personnel was probably the biggest difference (as would be expected given the results), but there was more to it than that.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

The Pirates are just a small-market team with much smaller revenue than big teams like the Red Sox and Yankees. Losing season can be expected with small payrolls.

The Phillies, on the other hand, should've won the wild card both last year and the year before. They didn't, and won't win this year, the manager is clueless when it comes to using pitchers, ownership is like a crackhouse landlord, their farm system is so depleted that there is no one to bring up for emergency help, the team is cash-strapped and stuck in hideous player contracts from the Ed Wade era, and will be stuck signing scrub players because Howard & Hamels will get big paychecks in the next few years and ownership would rather sign scrubs and hope that they have a career year instead of going past their self-imposed $90 million payroll limit to get better players.

The Phillies have had talent fall into their lap (Hamels, Howard, Utley, Victorino, etc) and have a few other players that have been around or brought in with trades (Rollins, Rowand) and still are on the outside looking in for the playoffs yet again. The Phillies have the talent, especially in their lineup, to cruise to division titles, but a terrible bullpen put together by Pat Gillick, combined with Charlie Manuel, who loves to overuse the bullpen and go for inane pitching matchups and other strange quirks, costs the Phils several games a year.

That is mismanagement.

Being a small market doesn't automatically result in failure. Smaller markets like Cincinnati and Milwaukee have payrolls twice that of the Pirates... Cincinnati has been almost as bad as the Pirates over the past 15 years... but Milwaukee is beginning to see signs of competance and may earn a playoff berth this year. Building the best stadium in MLB a few years ago and hosting the All-Star game should have provided momentum for the Pirates to be competative... much like neighboring small-market Cleveland has been since the construction of Jacobs Field. Being a small-market makes it more difficult to compete with the New Yorks and Bostons of the world... but it doesn't explain how a team can approach breaking Philadelphia's all-time record of 16 consecutive losing seasons. This franchise has had penny-pinching inept ownership and weak talent evaluation. The Pirates are the 8th most profitable franchise in MLB... not because they generate huge revenues... but because they refuse to spend anything close to peer teams like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Minnesota, etc.

[Sabretooth]

Excellent examples of both extremes in market size and how to put together a team would be Oakland and Kansas City. I'm sure Oakland isn't exactly a "small market" (though SF is already spoken for so maybe in a sense it is), but they've never had a large payroll yet they're consistently very competitive. The Royals on the other hand have to be one of the worst.

[Evergrey]

In the battle of my two favorite NFL teams, the Bills are getting destroyed (I'm not really a fan of the Bills... but I always root for them to win... except when playing the Steelers)

[Sabretooth]

I spent the late morning/early afternoon at the Sabres' open skate/scrimmage. Much better than football. Gold beat blue, 8-5.

Just like the regular season, too - the reffing was pretty bad.

[Evergrey]

I don't think Losman is the answer... last week he had a hilarious 95 or so passing... today he had about 95 yards until he tacked on another 60 yards during the desperation of garbage time late in the 4th quarter... his yardage totals are really pathetic

[Evergrey]

[Sabretooth]

I don't know what to think. He seems to have the complete package, but it never seems to come out. Then again, the play calling has usually been way too conservative.

[Evergrey]

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/164631.html

Jerry Sullivan: Another clunker starts Losman’s clock ticking

COMMENTARY
By Jerry Sullivan
Updated: 09/17/07 8:04 AM

PITTSBURGH — Look on the bright side. Between now and Sunday, the NFL might impose further discipline on Bill Belichick for signstealing and make the Patriots play defense against the Bills with one hand tied behind their backs.

Of course, even that might not be enough for the passing attack and quarterback J.P. Losman, who has started the season with two straight horrible games and resurrected serious questions about his long-term viability as the franchise QB.

Losman was bad again in the Bills’ unsightly 26-3 loss to the Steelers. He was unsure and inaccurate. Many of his throws sailed, forcing his receivers to leave their feet. Losman was 15 of 25 for 154 yards, but 59 of those yards came on the final, garbage-time drive.

It was sadly reminiscent of Losman’s ill-fated road debut two years ago. When the Bills fell behind, 19-3, did anyone out there holler, “That was the final score at Tampa Bay in Week Two of ’05!”

This doesn’t feel like progress. And as hard as it is to believe, Losman’s performance in the postgame interview room was even worse. To summarize, he questioned the play-calling and refused to take any personal responsibility for the two losses. Losman actually said he’s not disappointed with his throwing so far.

“No, I’m not,” said Losman, who has thrown for 251 yards and zero TDs this season. “I think we are throwing the ball effectively, when we get those plays called. Certain things are hindering us, like penalties and some protection issues. But we’ll get those corrected. We understand we are 0-2 at this point. We understand the offense has gotten off to a slow start. We also understand we’ve played two great defenses so far.”

Losman reached into the goody grab bag of excuses and pulled out: Penalties. Pass protection. Great defenses. Oh, and coaching. By “those plays,” he was referring to aggressive pass plays down the field. He feels Steve Fairchild, his offensive coordinator, has been too conservative. Losman, borrowing a page from the Eric Moulds/Andre Reed handbook, pointed the finger directly at the play-calling.

“Everybody, speaking from the offense, we’re ready to open it up,” Losman said. “We’re ready to just let it go, let it hang. We don’t want to sit back on our heels. I know the coaches don’t and the players don’t. Let’s see if we can get that done this week.”

He does have a point. The play-calling hasn’t been very inspiring. Fairchild didn’t test Denver’s two-deep zone down the middle in the opener. He hasn’t gotten the tight ends or Marshawn Lynch very involved in the passing game. He should design more plays to roll Losman out and allow him to be a playmaker.

But it would help if Losman took his share of the blame. He’s supposed to be the leader. Maybe he was speaking for the rest of the offense. But he has to be careful. He’s not Jim Kelly. He doesn’t have that kind of stature yet. When he throws the coordinator under the bus, it looks like he’s ducking blame.

It’s not “we” sailing throws. Just once, Losman should come out and say, “It’s on me, guys. I stunk today. I need to be better.”

He does need to be better — a lot better — if he expects the Bills to pony up a staggering contract extension after the season. He’s not off to an encouraging start. The Bills pumped $75 million into the offensive line and drafted a running back. They have a right to expect more from the QB.

“We have to be able to attack,” Losman said. “We can’t sit back. We can’t run, run, pass, every time.” For the record, the Bills called run-run-pass on exactly one series of downs Sunday.

Losman talks about letting it hang out. He makes it sound easy. This isn’t 1970, when teams threw the long bomb on a regular basis. Losman hit enough long throws to Lee Evans last year to puff up his rating. He needs to take the next step, to master the short and intermediate throws that separate the gunslingers from the elite QBs.

Maybe it’s time to turn Losman loose and let him sink or swim. But I don’t think the coaches trust him enough. He’s not making enough accurate throws and quick decisions to win them over fully. Losman still has time, but his time is growing short. He can’t afford many more games like this if he expects a massive contract extension.

Coach Dick Jauron said he still believes in Losman. But his faith is being tested. Jauron said they “clearly” have a top running back in Marshawn Lynch. He said it “clearly” wasn’t a matter of pass protection. Well, if it’s not the running back or the O line, who is it?

Losman came on strong last year, but he seems to be regressing. In the aftermath of the Kevin Everett injury, he had a chance to assert himself as a clutch player and emotional leader. He failed miserably. We could be one week from a full-blown crisis.

If Losman and the offense fall flat again in New England, the cries for Trent Edwards will intensify. The Bills drafted Edwards for a reason. They’re high on the new guy. If the offense continues to sputter, they’ll throw Edwards in there for a spark.

Jauron was asked how many of these clunkers it would take.

“I’m certainly not going to put a number on it at this point,” he said.

The coach didn’t rule it out, either. Sometime soon, Losman needs to give his coaches a sign. The way things are going, the Pats will steal it.

jsullivan@buffnews.com

[Evergrey]

Buffalo News did a nice piece on Joe Paterno

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/co...ry/163245.html

JUST A REGULAR JOE

Paterno a study in humility

By Bucky Gleason
Updated: 09/15/07 7:25 AM



STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The distance between Joe Paterno’s two favorite places is exactly 1.4 miles. One is his modest home, the last house on the left of a quiet, tree-lined dead end street in a middle-class neighborhood. The other is Beaver Stadium, Penn State football’s gorgeous 107,000-seat mansion around the corner.

In truth, they might as well be on opposite sides of the universe. Paterno has walked the route to campus thousands of times, carrying with him his grandfatherly persona that the townsfolk find so charmingly ordinary and the principles that Penn State football fans find so utterly admirable about their head coach.

They are distinctly different worlds indeed, this tiny borough in central Pennsylvania and the supersized campus around which it revolves. Paterno has gracefully made the transition from one to the other for four decades. His status as a football coach cannot be understated, but his larger-than-life reputation comes with a humble personality unaccompanied by the elitist attitude so prevalent in big-time sports. That’s just Joe.

Hang around State College long enough, and the refrain becomes more common than Paterno himself. It’s what people say when they see him wave like the elderly man next door. In every way outside football, that’s what he is. For years, the 80- year-old Paterno has strolled the streets of State College offering warm greetings to students and neighbors.

“I used to talk to him all the time. It was never about football, always about politics,” said Chuck Grimm, a retired banker who first met Paterno in the 1960s in a local barber shop. “Just a plain, nice, ordinary guy. He’s just Joe. You would never know he was famous. He could live anywhere, but he lives here because he likes it here.” Paterno could be the only major Division I coach intertwined so tightly within the fabric of his community. He has lived in the same ranch-style home with his wife, Sue, since he became Penn State’s head coach in 1966. It sits adjacent to picturesque Sunset Park, where their five children played when they were kids and where their grandchildren play today.

Norman Rockwell could have set up camp across the street from Paterno and made a darned good living. It seems everybody in State College has met him at least once. Good luck finding anyone within the region who dislikes him. Lifesized cardboard cutouts bearing Paterno’s picture are littered throughout Happy Valley.

But he’s so comfortable being an Average Joe that he keeps his number listed in the telephone book. Students walk past his home every day on their way to campus. His own players, most of whom are 60 years his junior, and his assistant coaches call him “Coach Paterno” when they refer to him in public, but in private he prefers just “Joe.”

“There aren’t a whole lot of people who do that, who live that lifestyle,” said Buffalo Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny, who played for Paterno before graduating last year. “With the position he’s in, everybody knows him. He’s a legend. He’s able to keep that very down-to-earth, very grounded personality. It’s why he’s so great.

“Let’s face it, he’s a big part of the reason Penn State is what Penn State is. He’s just an unbelievable guy. It’s just great that he’s able to keep that attitude.”

The best ever?

Many would argue Paterno, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, is the greatest coach ever in Division I. He has 365 career victories over 42 seasons, the most wins and the longest tenure at the same school in history. He’s been named Coach of the Year five times.

His teams have gone undefeated five times (1968, ’69, ’73, ’86, ’94) and won two national championships (’82, ’86). Thirty- two times his teams have finished in the Top 25, and they have played in 33 bowl games. He has sent more than 300 players to the NFL, including 31 first-round picks.

Among the greats were Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Matt Millen, Shane Conlan, LaVar Arrington and Larry Johnson. John Cappelletti won the Heisman Trophy under Paterno in 1973. Eight others have finished in the top five.

The story of Cappelletti’s run for the Heisman while his young brother battled leukemia was turned into the movie, “Something for Joey.” Paterno was known for his hard-nosed approach in the early 1970s, but he had a soft spot for Joey until the boy died.

“Right from the beginning, he sensed there was a situation there with Joey,” Cappelletti said by phone from Laguna Niguel, Calif. “He was very good, very generous in allowing him to come into the locker room. People weren’t just able to do that kind of stuff. There was special treatment there.”

Paterno still has the same unmistakable presence with his Coke-bottle glasses, white socks and black hair that only recently showed noticeable gray. He has been in State College for 58 years but hasn’t lost his Brooklyn accent or sharp wit any more than he’s lost his enthusiasm, which was obvious this week as he prepared for today’s game against the University at Buffalo.

A perennial presence

Paterno’s contract runs through next season, but nobody would be surprised if he signed an extension. He seems intent on leaving the game horizontally.

“What would I do this Saturday if I wasn’t coaching a football game? I don’t know,” Paterno said this week. “I really enjoy being in this stadium on Saturdays. It’s fun to be part of it. At my age, to be able to do it, it’s great.”

Since he took over for Rip Engle, the man who hired Paterno as an assistant in 1950 and recommended him as head coach in 1966, there have been 798 coaching changes in Division I football. You wonder how JoePa can keep plugging along all these years until you hear him speak and see him interact with his players.

Paul Bryant, the late Alabama football coach, delegated so many of his duties to his assistant coaches toward the end of his career that people perceived him as little more than a figurehead. That’s hardly the case with Paterno, who can still be found tugging players’ jerseys and guiding them into proper position in practice.

“He’s a wonderful person and a great coach, but when you get him on the field, at least when he coached us, he was a madman,” said Conlan, the linebacker and Frewsburg native who played on the ’86 national champions. “He coaches every position, always running around. It’s exactly what you need. I can only speak to when he coached us, but if you didn’t do it his way, boy, he would let you know about it.”

Apparently, not much has changed.

An educator first

The Nittany Lions for generations have worn the same white helmets and plain blue jerseys, without players’ names on the backs. It’s a reflection of their simple, classy leader and a sign certain values remain intact. Paterno views himself as an educator first, a football coach second. His priciest possession is a BMW, which he cares little about.

“Everything that I heard from outside the university was, ‘He’s going to retire soon. He needs to retire. He’s too old,’ ” kicker Kevin Kelly said. “When you come up here and see the guy, it’s unreal to watch him every day. It’s the way he acts with the players, the way he is, he’s an icon. He hasn’t lost a step over the past 20 years.”

Other coaches have conformed to ever-evolving players as the years turned into generations, and the generations turned into generation gaps. At Penn State, players conform to Paterno. Rarely will you see a player showboating at Penn State. Academics take priority over athletics in what he calls “The Grand Experiment.”

“That’s his idea of bringing in young men from all over the country, bonding them together as a team and having us play against the best teams in the nation and still be great academic students who get degrees,” said Posluszny, a twotime All-American in football and the 2006 Academic All- American of the Year. “He wants us to have a foundation for the rest of our lives.”

“Joe really felt like we could do both, and a lot of times we did,” Cappelletti said. “We competed at the highest level. Sometimes, when somebody sets the bar, you have no choice but to reach that level. Joe set the tone.”

Just a few years ago, people were calling for Paterno to change his ways or step down. Four times in five years, the Nittany Lions had losing records. There was talk within the administration during the 2005 season, with Penn State struggling to a 4-7 season, that he should retire. He refused. A year later, Penn State finished 11-1 and knocked on the door of a national championship.

Now, the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions are back again, opening the season with a 59-0 win over Florida International and last week’s 31-10 win over Notre Dame. Paterno was cautiously optimistic last week, suggesting his team was miles away from reaching its potential. But he also couldn’t disguise hints this week that he enjoyed the resurgence and was still bothered by his critics from a few years ago.

“A couple of guys that wanted me to retire were the first guys in the locker room after the game Saturday with big smiles on their faces,” he said.

That’s just Joe, too.

Financial generosity

For all he has done for Penn State, coaching might be the least of his contributions.

Eighty percent of his players graduate, compared to the national average of 55 percent. The Paternos have given more than $4 million to the university, including a $3.5 million gift in 1998. He’s involved with charities throughout the region. His wife, Sue, who graduated from Penn State in 1962, sits on the board of the Special Olympics.

“He and his wife, Sue, do a lot of things that people don’t see on an everyday basis,” Athletics Director Tim Curley said.

Fran Ganter, as an assistant about 25 years ago, had a $10,000 annual salary and a pregnant wife when he approached Paterno about a raise. In return, he received an interrogation about whether he was working for the right reasons and a lecture about priorities. Ganter left the office in a panic.

The next day, Paterno doubled his income.

Four years ago, Ganter’s wife died of a massive heart attack, leaving his four sons without their mother. At the time, Ganter worked long hours as an assistant head coach. Paterno made sure the kids had dinner every night with the football team and helped create a position for Ganter to stay with the program. He’s now in his fourth season as associate AD for football administration.

“It was just the way he handles things,” said Ganter, who played for Paterno from 1968-71. “He says things that stick with you. Even to this day, there are things he does that amaze me. His humility and his thoughtfulness and his I’m-aregular- guy attitude is genuine. That is the way he is. He really doesn’t want to be treated any differently than anybody else. It’s just how Joe is.”

bgleason@buffnews.com

[TalB]

Despite the Phillies sweeping the Mets, they still have the their division title and the best record in the National League.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Buffalo News did a nice piece on Joe Paterno

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/co...ry/163245.html

JUST A REGULAR JOE

Paterno a study in humility

The Nittany Lions didn't win the national title in 1994 because Joe refused to rub it in on weak teams like Indiana and Illinois. Paterno would put in backup players so that they could get playing time, and the score would be a closer than the game would indicate. It's a shame that Penn State didn't get a share of the title because Paterno wanted to be nice to the opponents, instead of Tom Osborne, who ran up the score as much as possible with Nebraska.

My dad graduated from Penn State and I grew up watching the team, and for several years I had a great hatred for Nebraska because of that shafting in 1994. Only when I started school at Delaware, and my allegiances switched to the school that I was actually going to, did I become even a little tolerant of the Cornhuskers.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by TalB

Despite the Phillies sweeping the Mets, they still have the their division title and the best record in the National League.

Yeah, the Phils aren't going to catch the Mets. I don't see them winning the Wild Card either. See post #147 for my explanation.

Typical Phillies. They can sweep the Mets, the best team in the NL, but struggle against teams like the Marlins, Pirates, and Nationals. And, typical of the Phillies, they have a great series once people stop believing. Now that people think that something might happen with this team, they'll go on a 2-5 streak or something similar.