Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Wednesday 11/14 A.M. Quickie:
Lloyd Carr, Paul Pierce, CC Sabathia, More!

Today's Names to Know: Lloyd Carr, Les Miles, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Paul Pierce, Stephon Marbury, Kevin Love and More!

Michigan's Lloyd Carr to retire after this season? That's what the excellent Brian Cook at MGoBlog is reporting (let's see how many mainstream sports media outlets give him the credit he deserves for being the first to have it). Let's quickly move into: Who should replace him?

LSU's Les Miles is the obvious front-runner, setting up the incredibly awkward situation of Miles' current team being the front-runner for this season's national championship. Beyond being a distraction, how weird would it be if Miles won the national title, then immediately left his powerhouse to go back to Ann Arbor? A coach leaving a national-title team to go coach another college team.

So maybe Miles will give up his dream job and stay in Baton Rouge. If that's the case, I know Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is being mentioned, but can I nominate Cincinnati's Brian Kelly:

Kelly was successful coaching in Michigan (if not AT Michigan). He is one of the brightest Xs and Os guys in the country – he has managed to install an entertaining and powerful spread offense while still developing a stout defense. And, by all accounts, he's a positive, congenial presence. If Miles passes, Michigan should go for Kelly. (Huge hat-tip to Brian Cook on the Carr scoop. His post yesterday titled "Heat" is a must-read. Can't grab the permalink for some reason.)

MLB Hot Stove: The Yankees are said to be offering Mariano Rivera a 3Y/$45M deal to stay with them, which I'm sure he will accept. Locking up Posada and Rivera is key to keeping a foundation of vets to go with the youth movement. (More Stove, still in New York: Are the Mets going to sign Rockies C Yorvit Torrealba?)

MLB Awards: CC Sabathia edges Josh Beckett for AL Cy Young. It's refreshing to see Boston sports take one on the chin for once, because since, say, Labor Day, that hasn't really happened. I personally would have taken Beckett, but then again, I personally would like to see the postseason count when considering awards.

Today's Award: Manager of the Year. You've got to give it to Clint Hurdle in the NL for the way the Rockies surged at the end of the season. In the AL, eh, the way Joe Torre guided the Yankees from dregs to playoffs was impressive enough, I guess.

NBA: Celtics are 6-0 for first time since the late 80s. No guarantees how they'll do against the best of the West (particularly in a 7-game series), but for now, they are easily the best in the East – and, amazingly, living up to the larger-than-life hype. In the Big Three merry-go-round of performances, Paul Pierce was the star: 31 points (including, at one point late, 13 in mere minutes), 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Heat stink: On the other end of the spectrum, the Heat lost…again. Champs two years ago, Miami is now one of the weakest teams in the league – obviously, that's without Dwayne Wade and with Shaq a shadow of his former dominant self. Pat Riley should have quit while he was ahead.

Where is Stephon Marbury? He walked out on the Knicks. Under any other management, he would be severely punished – perhaps even waived. Under Isiah, it's "I got permission to leave." Really? (Despite his summer freak-out, he's still riding a net-positive wave of pub for his sneakers; why would he mess with that by doing this?) The Knicks lost to the Suns, as you would imagine. The best outcome here is that Marbury never comes back, resurfaces in Italy (as he has said he would) and becomes a Euroleague icon. Isiah could then use Marbury's salary hole to overpay Yorvit Torrealba.

Kevin Durant Watch: Ugh. 10 points on 4/13 FG shooting, with 4 turnovers, yet only 1 rebound and 0 assists. Seattle is 0-8, fairly awful, probably with one eye on the move to Oklahoma City and the other eye on drafting Michael Beasley next June.

College Hoops: Kevin Love, yet another spectacular freshman, had yet another great game: 19 and 9 in a UCLA rout. His fellow frosh, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn, couldn't match his 28-point debut from Monday, but he did coolly nail an NBA 3 in the final seconds to carry the Cuse over pesky St. Joe's. (Meanwhile, Arizona won their season debut without Lute Olsen; still waiting on the reporting of why he is not coaching.)

Good news for Seattle fans: No, the Sonics aren't staying in town (despite rumors yesterday that there was a chance). But in 2009, you WILL be getting an MLS franchise. Can they use the Sonics name? That would be cool (No? Oh. Well, it's not like the Oklahoma City guys want to keep it.)

CFB Coach of the Year Update: All season long, I have been doing a partnership with Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year, maintaining a blog for them tracking the LMCOY race. This week, I praise Sylvester Croom and reveal my latest Top 10 rankings. Check it out, post a comment if you have an opinion and don't forget to vote. I've got to still go with Mangino. The site can be found at coachoftheyear.com.

-- D.S.

84 comments:

Geoff said...

Not sure how I feel about Les Miles as the next Michigan coach. LSU hasn't been particularly impressive to me this year, despite supposedly being the most talented team in the country. So far Miles has showed me that he is pretty ballsy but ballsy doesn't necessarily mean good. Plus being a Michigan man he will probably be expected to come in and keep the status quo and I am not sure that is a good thing.

JCT said...

The reason you won't see mainstream media give MgoBlog credit for breaking that story, is because it was posted on some mainstream sites before his blog.

Matt said...

This is bullshit...

Michigan pulled this crap days before The Big Game by having Bo die and they tried to use this to fire them up, now they float some BS rumor about carr retiring days before the big game to fir up his players

something smells fishy up in ann arbor and it isnt that usual smell....

Matt said...

This is bullshit...

Michigan pulled this crap days before The Big Game by having Bo die and they tried to use this to fire them up, now they float some BS rumor about carr retiring days before the big game to fir up his players

something smells fishy up in ann arbor and it isnt that usual smell....

Ftrain said...

Isiah could then use Marbury's salary hole to overpay Yorvit Torrealba.

Huh? Dan stick to your half-facts and not comedy

@Matt
LOL

Unknown said...

Is Yorvit Torrealba both a catcher for the Rockies AND an NBA player? Impressive!

BLUE said...

I read some breaking news today on a blog that Kobe wants to be traded...I hope they give that blogger credit when they report this story.

fuck that...the "lloyd carr is going to retire" train started after the losses to Oregon and App. State...but I guess since your blog is all about Instant History, that guy was the first one to talk about it yesterday

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

@ GUY

I appreciate the NBA Studs and Duds, would it be possible to put the points after shooting stats or is there a method to your madness....keep up the good work

Unknown said...

michael-

It just stems from reading across box scores. Shooting is first and points are last.

If it is that big a deal, I'll change it.

I think some people just skip to the end to see how many points the guy had though.

Unknown said...

STUDS
1. Paul Pierce - 8/17 FG, 14/14 FT, 11 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 31 PTS
2. Dirk Nowitzki - 7/14 FG, 12 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 3 BLK, 0 TO, 21 PTS
3. Tracy McGrady - 16/28 FG, 3/7 3PT, 4 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 41 PTS
4. Amare Stoudemire - 8/14 FG, 10/14 FT, 12 REB, 4 BLK, 26 PTS
5. Tony Parker - 11/16 FG, 4/4 FT, 4 REB, 9 AST, 26 PTS

DUDS
1. Travis Diener - 1/6 FG, 0/4 3PT, 0/0 FT, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PTS, 17 MIN
2. Kareem Rush - 1/6 FG, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STl, 0 BLK, 3 PF, 2 TO, 5 PTS, 21 MIN
3. Earl Watson - 0/3 FG, 0/1 3PT, 0 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 1 PTS, 18 MIN
4. Ricky Davis - 2/12 FG, 0/1 3PT, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 6 PTS, 30 MIN
5. David Lee - 2/10 FG, 0/1 FT, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PF, 4 PTS, 27 MIN

Matt said...

the AL manager of the year will be going to Eric Wedge of the Indians

Unknown said...

Ohio State fans would love for Les Miles to be the coach of Michigan.

Brian Kelly would jump at the chance to coach Michigan too. Too bad he's a total douchebag. Though, the way the Big East is, he could decide to build Cincy into a power, which is very possible.

critical fanatic said...

Did Kelly really "develop" a stout defense or do you think that was Mark Dantonio's work over the last 3 years. I'm going to go with the latter. Kelly has also faced a much easier schedule. Last year Cincy was ranked as the 24th best defense in the country against the nation's #1 schedule.

All that said, Brian Kelly is a good coach although that seems like a big risk for Michigan to take.

Ryan said...

I read somewhere that one of Lute's sons is sick...why he's isnt there for now....and who is expecting anything from Travis Diener and Earl Watson?...you could just put a dud beside their name with no statline at all and have the same effect lol.

CMFost said...

AL Manager of the Year:
1. Wedge
2. Francona
3. Torre

NL Manager of the Year:
1. Melvin
2. Hurdle -(if included playoffs I would put him first)
3. Manuel

CMFost said...

Red Sox - A's to open the season in Japan. That is not going to help the Red Sox repeat.

marcomarco said...

I certainly don't feel like I've 'taken one on the chin'. We haven't lost a game since Oct. 16th*.

AL MOY = Eric Wedge

Sox A's open in Japan - Will Dice-K get the honorary opening day start over Beckett?

*BC and Bruins don't count.

Unknown said...

Mangino is the obvious choice for coach of the year. The definition of coach of the year is taking a perennial loser like Kansas and putting them in the NC hunt.

I wish he was coaching my Syracuse Orange. Coach Robinson would get worst coach of the year if it wasn't for Weis - the anti-Mangino. He took a perennial winner and turned them into a doormat. Granted they weren't in great shape when he took over but things certainly got a lot worse.

CMFost said...

Dan,

Why does Torre deserve to be manager of the year? What really did he do other then watch his team underperform for the first 1/2 of the year and then when the played crappy teams they got hot.

Unknown said...

I risked buying my NIT semifinals tickets before the four teams clinched. I was hoping to see Syracuse and it was close but at least they won. Interesting matchup against Ohio State. Two young teams who are raw but with lots of talent.

Jingoist said...

I bet if you polled the Baseball Writers after the postseason, it would not matter that Beckett beat Sabathia head-to-head twice in the ALCS. They still would have voted Sabathia.

Why? The BBWA is so stubborn and ignorant they would go to their graves with their selection. Too many old guys with voting principles so out of whack, they'd still probably vote for Ken Caminiti as 1996 NL MVP even if he came out during that season admitting PEDs use and threw empty syringes at the media in the press room after every game.

Natsfan74 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JCT said...

Cycledan,

I think Syracuse will be alright. I watched both games yesterday and was much more impressed by the young talent on their squad. However, that center for OSU is badass.

bkelly126 said...

@ fanatic
has Les Miles "developed" anybody at LSU or has he Cokered his way to being a good coach with Saban's players? he seems too risky, but will probably get it on name alone.

If Mr. Kelly did take the job, I could rub in all my Buckeye friend's faces that I beat them
-b(rian)kelly126

bkelly126 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maher said...

Glad about 9 people beat me to it, I could have sworn I read about Carr retiring on the WWL yesterday, with info about his staff getting new deals that will pay them through 02/2009 even if they aren't coaching at UM at the time...

Steve said...

Kelly might be ok with the X's and O's but he's not the best when it comes to team discipline. Back at CMU they had at least 10 players arrested in recent years if I recall correctly and that whole player shooting someone incident. Being from Michigan I can say that since he left GVSU I have not heard much of a positive rep about him in this regard. Plus, that still seems like it's a rather crazy jump through the ranks, not that it necessarily means anything. Just some food for thought.

marcomarco said...

So, my brother in law got me an Alabama windbreaker last christmas. He graduated there a few years back.

Today, I felt like wearing it. On my commute (1.5 hours, 2 trains, 1 mile walk) in to Boston, no less than Six people had some comment "Go Tide", "Go Bama", etc. In Boston.

Needless to say, i was shocked. I can't name one player on the team (or graduate), explained to the first two ppl that the pullover was a gift. (response: disappointment) So, I just did a fist pump for the last 4.

Mills said...

Miles going to UM would be no different than Brown going to UNC a few years ago. He can't win the big game. He shows more guts than brains. And he feels the need to go to his alma mater, where things all began, to make things right there. Brown turned out to be much better at UNC than at UK. I don't think Miles will have the same success.
----------
I assume when you speak about "Brown" you are talking about Roy Williams leaving Kansas (KU, not UK) for Carolina.

Larry Brown hasn't coached the Jayhawks since the 80's or so.

Wow.

Natsfan74 said...

Crap -- sorry. Yes, Roy Williams. I was typing in a hurry, and screwed up. Just call me Dan...

Jingoist said...

marco,

I wonder how your use of a 'Bama pullover fits into Dan's rules of fandom?

Is it allowed for you to pay homage to a relative's alma mater?

Or does the relationship have to be to a significant other's school? (Oh wait, Dan's wife didn't attend UF, so that can't be right in this situation either.)

Or or or, maybe should you be chastised for wearing the colors of a team to which you have no personal allegiance? Oh nope, that's not right because that rules out Dan and "his" Gators, so I guess it's OK. (I kid, Dan, I kid.)

I am so confused now.

Screw it... just wear the damn thing and have a nice day.

aikehara said...

With all the hype about Durant, I guess it's easy to forget about that team down I-5...the Blazers are on a four game winning streak, having knocked off both the Mavericks and the Pistons. I would think that Dan might have given them a mention, considering he predicted them to make the playoffs. I laugh at all those "expert" analysts who thought Portland would have a 20 win season...people who don't watch the Blazers naturally didn't realize that getting rid of Zach Randolph at any price was a huge positive gain around here.

Natsfan74 said...

Miles going to UM would be no different than Roy Williams going to UNC a few years ago. He can't win the big game. He shows more guts than brains. And he feels the need to go to his alma mater, where things all began, to make things right there. Brown turned out to be much better at UNC than at KU. I don't think Miles will have the same success.

Plus, the hiring would be so praised, that he would really have no grace period. He would be expected to win right away (like he did at LSU), without inheriting the program he did down south. He would be 9-3/ 10-2 next year and already have calls for his head because he would be expected to be an immediate savior.

marcomarco said...

I did (do) feel like a fraud, if that makes it any better. From now on I'll just use it for yardwork.

I guess what struck me were the looks of 'wow, a friend in a foreign land'.

PatriotsNation said...

ESPN reports that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reinstated Dolphins RB Ricky Williams after a suspension of 18 months for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy. Williams filed for reinstatement Oct. 1.

TBBUCSRAYSLIGHT said...

Well the Dolphins could use all the help they can get.

David Kippe said...

Alex Rodriguez may be headed back to the Bronx after all -- but on the Yankees' terms. Despite all of the back-and-forth posturing between the Yankees and A-Rod' camp, the Daily News learned today that the two sides have been discussing a deal for the past few days to keep the two-time MVP in pinstripes, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The biggest catch? The Yankees don't want agent Scott Boras involved in the negotiations. A high-ranking Yankees source told the Daily News that the team is willing to bring Rodriguez back on a below-market contract, one that would make up for the $21 million subsidy from the Rangers that the Yanks lost when A-Rod opted out of the final three years of his contract. In addition, the Yankees don't want to deal with Boras, who has been Rodriguez's agent since the slugger was 16 years old. "We will not negotiate with Scott Boras," a Yankees source said. "He cannot be in the room." -- NY Daily News

hmmmm....

CMFost said...

How bad would it be if Michigan beats OSU and OSU goes from NC Game to no BCS bowl in the span of 2 weeks?

CMFost said...

Sparty there is no chance that a deal for A-Rod get done at below market value and without BorASS. The Celtics have a better chance of going 82-0 than that happening.

Unknown said...

SCOTT BORAS SIGNS WITH YANKEES

http://www.sportspickle.com/features/volume6
/2007-1114-boras.html

David Kippe said...

Cokers teams got worse each year against lesser competition. I have not seen that with Miles and LSU.

Travis said...

Re: Dice K getting Opening day start...

Theres actually a good chance Matsuzaka wont even make the trip to Japan for the series because his wife is expecting a child around that time.

If thats the case Boston may leave Schilling in Oakland not subjecting his old body to the long trip and going with Beckett and Buchholz in the Japan series.

David Kippe said...

i just thought it was an interesting report. A-Rod knows he will not get a better offer from them than what they originally said, and the Yanks seem to be backing down on their stance of no negotiations.

TBBUCSRAYSLIGHT said...

A-Rod will probaly go back to the Yankees but Boras will be involved.

David Kippe said...

it is so funny as to how boras and a-rod screwed up. its great how teams came out and said they weren't going to give him a ridiculous contract, meaning more than what he was already getting. So Jonathon, you still think Boras is swindling everyone with A-Rod?

aikehara said...

Besides the Yankees, which teams have said they wouldn't pay A-Rod's high asking price? Or are accepting the NY rumor as true then? I don't think that that is very likely.

marcomarco said...

If Arod wasn't completely accepted in New York before, he certainly won't be if he returns.

Good luck anywhere you go, douchebag.

CMFost said...

Marco I just hope he does not come to Boston. Yes, He will make the team better but will it help them win another championship when he pulls his normal playoff choke.

Unknown said...

You can get to Sports Guy's to p half Eastern Conference NBA Preview by manipulating the URL...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/
story?page=simmons/071114

David Kippe said...

anthony, many GMs last week remarked and hinted at not going overboard to land players. This led to the whole collusion angle that Boras and Fehr want to play up regarding A-Rod. In fact Theo Epstein was one of the people who were outspoken about it. Teams will not meet his asking price.

marcomarco said...

@ cmfost

Anywhere but here. I'd rather have Bonds in a Sox uni, and that's not saying much.

David Kippe said...

i will sheepishly take him back.then bench him for the playoffs.

Unknown said...

When A-Rod opted out, I knew he was going to take a hit. The truth is that when you take the Yanks and Red Sox out of the picture, nobody including the Dodgers, Angels or Cubs were going to pay much over $20M/yr. Also, the fact that Texas got killed on his last contract doesn't help get him the huge contract.

The only winner if he comes back is Texas for not having to pay the subsidy.

As a Yankee fan, it would be great to see the best regular season player come back. I just hope one of these days he finally goes crazy in the postseason and puts up some insane numbers.

However the true indicator of how the 2008 season goes will be the young pitchers.

David Kippe said...

couldnt' agree with you more cycledan. we need his right handed bat in the lineup. but the pitchers will be the key.

Beetle said...

OMFG,
ESPN.com now has a running log comparing the 07/08 Celts to the 96 Bulls 72 win season.
I am complete and total Boston homer, and even I say that is the single most ridiculous item of sports "journalism" that I've seen in a long time.
Maybe if the Celtics were say...20-3, then something like this would start to be somewhat realistic, but come on ESPN.
I love this C's team, but I would be very surprised to see them hit 60 wins, never mind 70!
Re-God-Damn-Diculous!

CMFost said...

Wow, I was just looking at the Red Sox Schedule for next year and they better hope they are not in a dog fight for a playoff spot comes the last 10 games of the season.

Red Sox last 10 games:
3 @ Toronto
4 VS Cleveland
3 VS NY Yankees

CMFost said...



Wedge, Melvin named AL, NL managers of year

Jen said...

Hot damn, the Tribe can't beat the Sox, but they can win those individual awards!

marcomarco said...

I was looking in the archives for Dan's baseball award predictions and came across this gem:

The Predictions*:
NLDS: Cubs d. D'backs (5); Phils d. Rox (5)
ALDS: Sox d. Angels (5); Indians d. Yanks (5)
LCS: Phils d. Cubs (7); Indians d. Sox (7)
WS: Indians d. Phillies in 7

* - Last year, I believe I was wrong on every single series.


Dan, you can repeat that line next year also.

David Kippe said...

Another indication that the Yankees haven't ruled out Rodriguez: They are talking to free agent Mike Lowell not just about replacing Rodriguez at third base, but also about playing first, major-league sources tell Rosenthal.---foxsports

this is getting better and better

The Mark Show said...

Marco,
Dan doesn't give a shit that he was wrong, just like cumfast doesn't give a shit that he gave up on the Red Sox when they were down 3-1.

Slow day today.

Freeney is officially out for the year. That's pretty rough for the Colts. They're getting hit with injuries like the Pats have in previous years.

David Kippe said...

is it just me, or does it seem that the lisfranic foot injury only happens to defensive ends?

marcomarco said...

Wow, this is fun.

Super-FLOP

marcomarco said...

Here it is:

Today: Awards Picks!

NL MVP: Carlos Beltran
NL Cy: Ben Sheets
NL Rookie: Tim Lincecum
NL Manager: Willie Randolph

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL Cy: Daisuke Matsuzaka
AL Rookie: Alex Gordon
AL Manager: Eric Wedge

* - Why not Matsuzaka for AL ROY? I predict AL award voters age-discriminate against Matsuzaka (particularly factoring in a backlash after they must give him the Cy).


Toss piles of crap on the wall, every once and a while a turd will stick.

David Kippe said...

predictions are crazy. i think the last time i predicted the entire final four was 1996. even picked kentucky over the cuse.

Anonymous said...

"predictions are crazy. i think the last time i predicted the entire final four was 1996. even picked kentucky over the cuse."


bullshit. a hack like you couldn't have predicted the entire final 4.


You don't have to lie to have friends. Just be yourself and lower your standards....a lot. That should do the trick.

CMFost said...

The Predictions*:
NLDS: Cubs d. D'backs (5); Phils d. Rox (5)
ALDS: Sox d. Angels (5); Indians d. Yanks (5)
LCS: Phils d. Cubs (7); Indians d. Sox (7)
WS: Indians d. Phillies in 7

* - Last year, I believe I was wrong on every single series.


He did get 2 series winners right a little better then last year.

CMFost said...

Dan is a solid 1 for 5 when it comes to his award predictions so far.

Jen said...

The Tribe almost defeated the Sox in 7.

Ugh, just like kissin' your sister...good thing I don't have one.

TBBUCSRAYSLIGHT said...

jen we would not mind seeing that.

David Kippe said...

But since then, many agents and executives have come to believe that Boras may have -- for one of the first times in his career -- misread the market. "You look at it, and there simply is not in a position to pay as much as the Yankees can pay," one high-powered agent said Wednesday morning.

Where is Jonathon??? please where is he to eat crow???

David Kippe said...

who is this steve?

Anonymous said...

Sparty - give it a rest, man. There is a big difference between saying that A-Rod's not going to get paid and A-Rod actually not getting paid. When and if A-Rod signs a contract way below what the Yanks were going to pay him, pat yourself on the back.

But how many times before have we heard all sorts of rumblings about how nobody would pay $X for a free agent, and then somebody does? Happens all the time.

David Kippe said...

I am just happy to see the egg that is being thrown on Boars face.

David Kippe said...

btw, quote of the year from Phil Jackson;

The Spurs made 13 3-pointers in their 107-92 victory, and Jackson was asked if too much penetration was leading to open outside shooters.

"We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game, because there's so much penetration and kickouts," Jackson said.

David Kippe said...

and i never said anything about his return to the yanks, never thought he would talk to them again. that is actually shocking to me.

CMFost said...

Jonathan is probably in hiding just waiting to come out and strike when A-Fraud signs.

CMFost said...

Phil Jackson is an idiot.

David Kippe said...

maybe, but that made me spit some coffee out thru my nose.

David Kippe said...

with the WGA strike, wouldn't one agree that we should see hire ratings for sports this year in primetime?

Anonymous said...

Sparty - SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Yanks and A-Rod are talking about a 10 year deal worth $280 million, or perhaps up to $300 million.

David Kippe said...

that is what the yanks were talking about with him for an extension anyway. he will also be giving up 20 mil of that deal to cover the subsidy. my point was that he would not get more on the open market. and that point is being proven

Unknown said...

Hank 1 Boras 0