FIRE HAM NOW!

Meet Stan Wilcox, hardly a household name, but about to go down in the annuls of Florida State University as one of the most notoriously bad Athletic Directors in the school's history. You'd think the guy that showed college football legend Bobby Bowden the door would hold that title, but off the top of my head, I cannot even remember his name.

No, Wilcox may soon hold that title after indubitably bungling the Jameis Winston affair--in case you missed it, that was a PR nightmare for the school run by ES(EC)PN not FSU--and purportedly ready to sign basketball coach Leonard Hamilton to a contract extension. That would be a huge mistake and possibly seal Wilcox's fate as an also-ran.

Hamilton is NOT ACC-caliber coaching material. He's proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was moderately successful at Miami, despite going 73-87 in the ACC (45%). He did take them to the Sweet Sixteen in his final season there before jumping ship and coming to Tallahassee, where he is a smidge better at 48% in conference play. He took FSU to the Sweet Sixteen a few seasons back and has had some signature wins vs. Duke and UNC at home. Save for a couple of great seasons, he perennially underachieves with the talent he's given. This year is a perfect case in point.

He lands All-Americans Bacon and Beasley and starts them as Freshman. They show NBA-caliber talent for the first part of the season, overshadowing XRM, the team leader, in games against the likes of Southeastern Louisiana and Charleston Southern. Nothing against those particular teams, but they aren't Duke or North Carolina, either. An early season loss to Hofstra, in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, should have signaled what was to come--another lackluster performance in the ACC. And when the postseason was on the line, after three seasons of missing the Big Dance, what did Ham's team do? They folded, going on a four-game skid. Tonight they make that five at Cameron Indoor Stadium vs. Duke.

You miss the NCAA Tournament four consecutive years, spending two of those at .500 in conference and slide to the ACC basement and you GET A CONTRACT EXTENSION??? In what world does that balance the scales? Forbes even called Hamilton the 9th most overpaid college hoops coach!

This could stain Wilcox's legacy just as much as the Winston PR nightmare circus--don't even get me started, as it'd take TWO blog posts! Is the man just a frat-house buddy with Hamilton? I don't get it. But the growing chorus from the FSU faithful is #FIREHAMNOW. If Wilcox doesn't get that message loud and clear, it could well become #FIRESTANNOW.

/end rant

Forgive me for detouring from the subject of this blog for a moment. I'm engaging in a very important campaign to help stop women's cancers dead in their tracks. I need your help. Please join the fight to #kickcancersass by visiting my new Facebook page: KICK CANCER'S ASS and sharing it with your friends. Together we can put a stop to the disease effecting so many women in our country. Thank you for your support. Now back to football!

SAD DAY AT FSU...

...but we are #NOLESTRONG

A Needed Dose of Realism

***COMMENTARY***

TALLAHASSEE--Please allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment here. Imagine, if you will, the voice of beloved Seminole radio caller Gene Deckerhoff:

"Jameis Winston is down around the 50, and he ain't moving, William Floyd."

"No he's not, Gene."

"That could spell disaster for this team and this season. The medical training staff are down there attending to a lifeless Jameis who has not moved since going down after a vicious hit from the Miami linebacker. It was incidental, I believe, but head-to-head contact, nonetheless."

In the stunned silence of Doak Campbell stadium, where you could almost hear Jameis Winston's slow breathing, how many shocked Seminoles would be thinking about his off-the-field antics, or what he said while standing on a table in the student union. As the whole of Seminole Nation held their collective breath, they would all be thinking the same thing, "Oh, #$*&@!" (insert your favorite expletive here, but make sure no one tweets about it).

Because at the end of the day, this is the reality for every kid that straps on that yellow and purple helmet meant to represent the Garnet & Gold. These kids, and yes, to me (at age 46) these are just college kids playing a sport that rakes in millions of dollars in television revenues and booster donations every year. An FSU football player dons his gear and takes the field nearly every weekend during the fall semester KNOWING that this could be the last time he ever walks or plays the sport again. Each of them is one vicious hit away from paralysis or worse.

And do you know the thanks they get? A seemingly worthless $240k college degree. I say that because most college football greats have their sights set on an NFL locker room somewhere not some corner office. Now, I could make a statement here about "pay for play" but that's not my point.

We expect these kids to go out and perform for us every day. We expect them to handle a full load of classes, two-a-day practices and maintain a level of excellence on the field that, quite honestly, is overblown to the ridiculous. And in the case of a Jameis Winston, possibly the most famous college athlete in America right now, we expect him to handle the media and the public with grace and acumen. On top of the already insurmountable pressure of college academic and athletic excellence, we pile on the pressure cooker atmosphere of 24/7 cable news and even social media (in the hands of other kids) watching him under a microscope.

I'd dare any 50-year-old professional to excel in that environment, under that much scrutiny and pressure, let alone a 20-year-old amateur athlete!

And let's have a second dose of reality here. The kid cussed on a college campus. Yes it was lude, crude and rude, but have you ever watched an episode of Key & Peele on Comedy Central? There have been way too many Sunday school teachers riding their high horse through the forums on Facebook and other social media for me to count. And as I stated there, this is 2014, not 1950. Lucille Ball-Desi Arnez, sleeping in separate bed, G-rated comedy is a thing of the past. And well it should be. Kids in college are going to say things and do things that seem utterly reprehensible and irresponsible to your grandmother who has gone to every FSU game since before Bobby Bowden was coach. And maybe even to you, whatever age or religious or moral persuasion you happen to be. GET OVER IT!

This was not a punishable offense.

And lest I be remiss, I'll point out that shooting BB guns at others, stealing soft drinks and crab legs and shouting obscenities are all just college high jinks. I grew up on movies like "Grease" and "Animal House" and "Revenge of the Nerds," so this all seems pretty tame to me. And done by any OTHER college kid would've never made national headlines.

Granted, he's the face of the program right now for FSU. I get that. Go back a few paragraphs and read about the ridiculous amount of pressure that he's under. And he's just a kid from a small Southern town. I mean, who ever even heard of Hueytown before he made waves as a high school quarterback. Who's even driven through the one stop-light, Alabama town? Now, he's thrust into the national spotlight, a sophmore in college, expected to behave like Peyton Manning.

Guess what, folks, he ain't Peyton Manning, or even Charlie Ward. He's his own person and I happen to find him particularly funny. Over the top, at times? I think one could argue that. But cut him some slack, for Pete's sake ("I see ya, PT!").

I couldn't sit back any longer while this snowball rolled downhill. It started on social media two days ago and look what it's turned into! Top story on ESPN SportsCenter? As the guys say on Monday Night Countdown, "C'MON MAN!!!" This was a proverbial mole hill that got raked into a mountain overnight by the witch-hunt media on a slow news cycle. And, sadly, much of Seminole Nation jumped right on the "brand Infamous Jameis and kick him off the team" bandwagon. I mean, with fans like that, who needs Florida or Miami? Haters be damned!

We'll wait and see what everyone is saying come playoff time when this has been put to bed and Jameis is throwing bombs to Rashad Greene for six and leading his team to another championship game. I'll be in Dallas watching a great number of you eat crow. I'll have plenty of napkins there for you. Good day, Noles.

#OPILIOSTRONG

In the wake of the latest #JAMEISWINSTON snafu, I've coined a new phrase for the Seminole Football team. Forget "Ignition Tradition" which is just stupid and contradicts itself, we are #OPILIOSTRONG !!!

Blog Relaunch

With the recent championship win by my Noles and a move back to Tallahassee, I thought this the perfect time to relaunch my blog about college and NFL football, namely my two teams in each category, the Seminoles and the Colts.

I have missed blogging here the last couple of seasons, except for occasional posts here and there. Life just got in the way.

Now that things are settling down, I want to post a regular column here and get ramped up for the 2014 season. I saw somewhere a couple of weeks ago that we are 2 Sundays past the 2013 NFL season with just 28 Sundays to go. When put in that perspective, it's not too long a wait. I'll bide my time the next month or so, watching college hoops. It is March Madness, after all, and this Hoosier is a basketball junkie this time of year. But I digress...

It was a stellar year for my Seminoles, reminding the nation once again that the mighty Seminole tribe is not to be forgotten, beaten or taken for granted. And just like our namesake, the Florida State Seminoles were UNCONQUERED in 2013, completing the perfect season, catapulting Jameis Winston to the Heisman Trophy winner's circle and FSU to it's third national title. It was a tri-fecta, much like the one we accomplished in 1999. Did you know that every year the Seminoles have won the National Championship in college football, they've also been led by a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback? First, it was the venerable Charlie Ward, then the veteran Chris Weinke, both leading our teams in a successful bid for the Sears Trophy. All three Heisman winners got to jubilantly hoist that coveted crystal football in the air!

KUDOS to Winston, Benjamin, Jernigan, Joyner and Co. on completing the perfect season, making all of Seminole Nation proud!

COLTS
Will my NFL team be making a run at a Superbowl ring anytime soon? Who knows. Current, pre-NFL Draft thinking has them focusing on receivers and key offensive positions. I'm not so sure that's the best approach to bolstering this roster for future success. If Reggie Wayne returns to a decent receiver corps, we should be solid in that area. Without the Pro-Bowler, we were still an offense to be reckoned with...just ask Seattle or San Francisco! So why are we not focusing instead on our defense. The bend-but-don't break, two deep safety system we've employed since the 1990's isn't going to get us to our goals. As Seattle proved once again, the old adage is most certainly true, "Defense wins championships!" When is the Irsay brain trust going to get it? I've been very happy with the young GM Grigson, but he needs to set Irsay straight and let Luck and Co., as is, handle the advancement of the football. He needs to set his sights on building the best defense in the league and break the pattern of mediocrity Colts fans have become so accustomed to. A stout defense puts the offense in better field position, helps them by scoring points and giving Andrew Luck the ball. The future HOF'er can't score touchdowns from the sidelines. The defense makes certain he stays on the field. It's kind of a no-brainer.

Well, that wraps up this overdue relaunch of my Colt-Nole blog. I'll leave you with this breaking news from legendary cable newsman, Ron Burgundy...

FSU Basketball Powerhouse?

I know this is a football blog, but with the Super Bowl now fading in our rearview mirror and National Signing Day behind us--yes Jimbo Fisher and staff snagged the second-best recruiting class of 2012--indulge me in a little Seminole Basketball.

Since joining the ACC in 1992, I cannot remember a better start in conference play for the Noles. They have now reeled off seven straight wins against the best in the conference--and the country--and now sit atop the ACC with a 7-1 conference record. The team is being led this year by sharpshooter Michael Snaer who is sinking 41-percent of his shots behind the three-point arc. One of his most memorable of the season came against Duke, snapping their 45-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Seminoles have a history the last two decades of giant-killing, usually beating a top-ranked Duke or North Carolina team in Tallahassee. They don't usually do it on the road in the span of ONE WEEK! In a 10-day stretch during the month of January, they beat the Tar Heels, Blue Devils AND the Maryland Terrapins. Still, the coaches weren't impressed enough to give them more than honorable mention. It took another week of ACC dominance for the Noles to break into the Top 25 in both major polls. With a win over ranked Virginia last week, expect them to crack the top 15 today.

In addition to Snaer's sharpshooting prowess, FSU features a stifling defense that has ranked atop the NCAA-Division I the last two years. Leonard Hamilton knows the old football adage that says "defense wins championships," and he's coaching a tenacious squad nicknamed the "Junkyard D." Scrappy doesn't even begin to describe them. With a huge interior, they are a formidable force in the paint and have totally shut down the league's leading big men, knocking one of them out of a game.

Has FSU become a basketball powerhouse? No, we're still a football school to be sure. But a force to be reckoned with in the ACC? I think that goes without saying. And after all, it IS the powerhouse conference. I'm very pleased with Leonard Hamilton, now turning around his third program since becoming a head coach. GO SEMINOLE BASKETBALL!!!

Forget the Colts, let's talk college ball

With the Indianapolis Colts' season in shambles from the get-go, I see no real reason to rehash the opening week debacle at the hands of the Houston Texans. Suffice to say, the Colts made the Texans look like a SuperBowl-caliber team. They are not.

So let's talk college football, shall we?

Thanks for your permission.

While not Florida State football, Mark Richt is a former offensive coordinator under legendary head coach, Bobby Bowden. I never liked his coaching. If my personal blog were a few years older, you would have heard me bitching about his vanilla playcalling and total uninventiveness (is that a word?).

Richt left Florida State after they captured a second national title in 2000. Yes, he was part of the formula, but let's face it, the Noles were LOADED with talent and led by a 27-year-old, Heisman-winning quarterback! Lee Corso could've won with this team.

When Richt left for UGA, I told anyone who would listen that the Bulldogs would NEVER win a national championship. Why was I so sure? Because Mark Richt is the consummate nice guy. A devoted Christian and family man, he doesn't have one shred of the killer instinct as say...a Steve Spurrier (though I loathe the man) or a Jimmy Johnson. Those guys went after the throat of the other team. I know, FSU lost to both of those coaches more times than I care to remember.

Nice guys don't make good head coaches. And don't let Bowden's "aw, shucks...dadgummit" schtick fool you. They guy was a student of General MacArthur. He lived and breathed football strategy, just like the famed general loved war strategy. And underneath his good-ol-boy charm, Bobby had the heart of a lion. He'd call the endzone fade if there were four seconds on the clock and the School of the Blind was down by 40. That's why I love him, DADGUMMIT!

Mark Richt, though tutored by Bowden, is no Bobby. He'll never have a bronze cast statue on any college campus, nor a field named after him. And let's face it...he graduated from "da U." (Sidebar: Why hasn't anyone else called out their dumbass alum for embracing that stupid moniker? Nearly EVERY SCHOOL has "university" in their name!)

So Richt goes 82-22, a winning percentage of better than 78-percent, in his first eight seasons. The first few years he was feasting off someone else's recruiting. And let's face it, Georgia is a football-rich state, third only to Florida and Texas, in my opinion. If you're "the" state school in Georgia and you cannot land blue-chippers from your own backyard, then you have no business coaching at the collegiate level.

Richt follows up his two SEC titles with a couple of subpar seasons, then starts this year with two painful losses, and YES, people are saying he's on the hotseat. On Football Tickets Online's blog, a guy named Patton begs the question, "Can Mark Richt survive this?" I think the answer is obvious.
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Lacking the skills and killer instinct of his contemporaries (I refuse to use "the old bawl coaches'" name again), he cannot survive another subpar season. Not at Georgia. Those bulldogs are rabid.

Maybe he gets picked up again as an offensive coordinator at a bigtime school. Maybe he steps down from coaching altogether. Again, football is not his number one priority. And while I admire his personal character and priorities, I've never respected him as a coach. And I'll say it again, with more emphasis this time, Mark Richt will never lead a team to a national championship!