Duke of Wins - 903

One of the best college basketball coaches in history reached a milestone that may never be surpassed again.
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, once a player at West Point for Bob Knight moved into first place among all time coaches with his 903rd victory over Michigan State.  When you take a look at the realm of college basketball, it is something that may never happen again, something that wont ever happen again.  Once a player for Bob Knight, the former winningest coach of all time breaks his own coaches record.  Who would of ever thought that would happen.

Mike Krzyzewski is arguably the best college basketball coach of all time behind in my mind the great UCLA coach John Wooden.  Four NCAA National Championships, 13 ACC Titles, 12 Regular Season ACC Titles, Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympics leading the Men's team to a title.  Career record 903-284 with a .761 win percentage.  He as inducted into the Basketball HOF in 2001 and the college basketball HOF in 2008.  Sounds like a pretty good resume to me.  I will always remember Coach K for his quiet demeanor on the sidelines and the extraordinary relationship that he held with his players.  Over the years it was rumored Coach K would move to the NBA level to test the waters and see how he would do with a professional team after his great experience with the 08 Olympic team, he never left Duke.  He stayed true to the white and blue and had the Blue Devils Court named after him "Coach K Court".  He kept a winning tradition at Duke and made them one of the most recognized college basketball programs in the country.

When you take a look at this historic night in college basketball, its not just about the wins and losses that Coach K has accumulated throughout his years as a coach.  His relationships with his players, his advocacy throughout the years and the impact he has left on the game is unparalleled.  After the game, and the presentation of the game ball from the NCAA president, Coach K went over to his wife Michelle who after 42 years of marriage has stuck by his side traveling all to watch her husband coach his way into history.

A fan held a sign 903 & Kounting . . .

Now his focus moves to coaching this current Blue Devils team to another National Title.


Congratulations, Coach.  

Piecing it together

NFL Power Rankings Week 11 - Looking Forward to Playoffs

Power Rankings Week 11 

Clay Matthews and the Packers defense was let loose Monday night. 

1. Green Bay Packers - 9-0 

2. San Francisco 49ers 8-1 

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. New England Patriots

5. New Orleans Saints

6. Baltimore Ravens

7. New York Giants 

8. Houston Texans 

9. Chicago Bears

10. Detroit Lions

11. Cincinnati Bengals

12. Dallas Cowboys

13. Atlanta Falcons 

14. Buffalo Bills 

15. Oakland Raiders

16. Philadelphia Eagles

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

18. San Diego Chargers

19. New York Jets

20. Carolina Panthers

21. Seattle Seahawks

22. Denver Broncos

23. Tennessee Titans

24. Kansas City Chiefs 

25. Jacksonville Jaguars 

26. Arizona Cardinals 

27. Miami Dolphins

28. Minnesota Vikings 

29. Cleveland Browns

30. Washington Redskins

31. St. Louis Rams

32. Indianapolis Colts 

Long Live Paterno

Its one of the biggest and fastest downfalls for a sports program in recent memory.  The PSU scandal has left millions

wondering the simple question of Why..?  Why did this have to happen to such a prestigious university like Penn State. 

Let me start with the ever so swift firing of Joe.  The Board of Trustees knew that this was way out of their hands at this point.  There was nothing more to do but to let go of the Paterno and move on.  However, if I was a Board of Trustee I would of voted for a completely formal way of dismissing the 84 year old coach.  

After four million dollars in donations, hundreds of victories, a library named after him and his name which will live with the university for the rest of its entirety, they fired him over the phone.  Thats horrible.  It appeared to me that during the Press Conference that the Board of Trustees held they were completely dumfounded with this situation.  They had no idea what to do or what the correct way to go about it would be.  This was essentially a slap on the face to all of these individuals who had to answer questions who have never spent a moment in the spot light.  Now the entire country was looking down on them for answers to the questions the media presented to them.  

I also get very irritated when you hear individuals, media members and groups of individuals try to piece together parts of this puzzle and give an edge to a particular side.  Bottom line is, what was listed in the Grand Jury report is what was known and determined to this point.  All of these other individuals seemingly read and hear the word "Rape" or "Molestation" in the same sentence as Penn State or Joe Paterno and they are completely thrown in the wrong direction.  I would be willing to bet that 98% of people had ZERO IDEA, who Sandusky was.  I guarantee they had ZERO IDEA he was the defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions.  However, it was some what ironic to hear his name not even 1/4 of the time that Paterno's name was mentioned.  

Its a tainted legacy and something that poor man has to deal with the rest of his life.  He could of been taken off on the shoulders of his largest lineman with a grin on his face with pictures that would live forever in the world of sport. Pictures that would be held in sport almanacs and books for the rest of time.  Instead, he's left with the front page image of him signaling for students to go back to their apartments with his left arm around his wife as she cries by his side.  "Go do some studying, we love you all, thank you"  

Students reply "We love you Joe". 

Sad Days in the Valley...

If your reading this, you are familiar with the events that are taken place at Pennsylvania State University.  Or, you may of heard the constant wave of news being brought in by Sports Center every few hours.  Let me start by saying, until these actions are proven and legitimized, my statements in this blog post are merely speculation however some information has been publicized.

Let me start with Joe Paterno.  For years, I have always been an admirer of his willingness to keep on coaching and how through the years, despite the pressure from media outlets and college football fans around the country he has kept doing what he loved.  Now, he has chalked up the most wins ever by a head coach in Division I football and has lived for PSU.  Joe Paterno would of gone on to live the remainder of his years in the Valley with his loving wife, while watching the Nittany Lions from his living room chair.  Its unbelievable how one sole event can change the entire complexion of a mans legacy.  Paterno's legacy will forever be tarnished by these absolutely horrid acts that went on at State College.  Legally, according to reports that I have read today (which is why this blog was not posted earlier) he followed the exact legal protocol he needed to to make sure he would not be held accountable and he "if you will", moved these issues to his assistants and other members at Penn State.

This is a universities worst nightmare.  Look at Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes, one of the best coaches ever had his legacy tarnished as he walked away from the Ohio State University this past year.  Joe Paterno is a god at Penn State, how could this man ever be convicted of any charges, who would want too for that matter.  I will continue to elaborate in more depth on the issue at Penn State in the days to come after the allegations become more clear in my eyes.  I am not big on media, and America's media outlet has publicized this enough the last few days.

The 84 year old Paterno was quoted saying, say a prayer for the victims.  As hundreds of students gathered outside of his home in the Valley this evening to show their support, here I am too, supporting Joe Pa and I hope this man can walk away from the game just as he would of had these allegations not been brought up.  Personally though, on a college football level, its time for Joe to pack up and enjoy what time he has left with his wife, family and grandchildren.  He deserves that, he does not deserve this.

Breaking down LSU vs Alabama - Game of the Year

Well folks, here it is.  Santa has come fifty some odd days early to deliver college football fans the game of the decade. Its #1 vs #2.  Two of the best defenses in college football.  Lets start with the LSU offense.  Running back Spencer Ware is a downhill runner with a shifty ability to split through the gaps with ease.  Spencer has only 500+ yards and six touchdowns thus far but look for him to be a big factor out of the backfield this week.  Quarterback Jarret Lee is going to be the X factor for this Tiger offense.  If he makes mistakes and throws interceptions, the Crimson Tide will take advantage and if their defense is rested and off the field thats only better for the Tide.  Bama is going to pound the ball with #3 Trent Richardson.

I love Richardson to be the deciding factor for the Tide.  If he runs the ball successfully, look for Coach Saban to try to pick his spots with the Tiger defense.  BUT, as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend",  defensive player of the year in my mind has to go to Tyron Mathieu, an absolute monster.  He is going to probably be matched up against Marquis Maze who leads Alabama in rec. yards with over 450+.  This may cause a problem for Alabama if they cant throw the ball because LSU's front is very very strong against the run.  I'm not totally sold on Sophomore QB AJ McCarron, yes the Tide are undefeated but if you take a look at Mc's numbers, they are nothing that jumps of the page.

Keys to the game for Alabama are, make no mistakes on offense.  Run early and often.  Convert on third downs.  And dont get behind on the score board.

Keys to the game for LSU, Blitz the Sophomore QB.  Be aware of Richardson.  Mix it up on offense.  Use your speed!!

My impact player - #7 Tyron Mathieu - Tyron can pose major problems for defenses and he has all year long.  He will blitz, he will cover, he will do it all.

Overall, I know this is a home game for Alabama but it wont matter.  LSU has and will use silent counts and they are probably practicing them everyday this week.  The defense is just too much for Alabama to handle.  Maze will be shut down by the corner backs from LSU.  The speed is all over the field for the Tigers, (not saying the Tide are slow) but it just is a different type of feel for me.  Look for Les Miles to have a trick or two up his sleeve in this one.

I picked LSU to win the BCS (off the record) earlier in the year.  I'm sticking with my gut.  The Tigers find ways to win, they have had star players out against great teams and still won.  Thats what this team does. Their speed kills and they are going to ware down the Crimson Tide.  Fast one, close one early,  LSU pulls away in the third quarter an wins this game 41-21.   

Heisman Watch Top 3 - Luck In Lead

Andrew Luck's triple over time victory over USC this past weekend was unreal.  It was the best college football game to date this year so far.  Luck, who passed on this past years NFL draft to return to Stanford had one thing on his mind.  A national championship.  The Heisman hopeful has been has over 2,200 yards passing and twenty three touchdowns.  I like him to continue use arial onslaught this week against Oregon State (2-6).  


Trent Richardson ranks #2 on my list and #1 for all running backs.  This could be Trent's statement game against arguably the best defense in the country LSU.  Obviously this game has major BCS implications and every sports fan in America will be tuned in for this game.  Richardson needs eleven yards to go over 1,000 yards so far this season.  He has rushed for seventeen touchdowns and despite being slowed down by Tennessee this past weekend I look for him to get back on track against the Tigers.  If Alabama wins this game, #3 will be the reason.  


This is tough for me at number three, but I have to go with Case Keenum from Houston.  Case threw for nine touchdowns against Rice last week and over 530 yards.  Talk about a statement game for the Senior from Albilene Texas.  Keenum has thrown for over 3,000 yards already this season and 32 touchdowns.  The problem here is that he plays for Houston and when you look at the strength of schedule, it ranks pretty low amongst most FBS schools.  Look for another huge game out of Keenum this week as they take on UAB (1-7).  


PJG