First, a shout out to the Park View Little League All-Stars, a job well done, and its been a pleasure to write about you. Thanks for a fun couple of weeks, and for reminding us that we don't need the overpriced and inconvenient major leagues to find good and exciting baseball.
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San Diego State football is the epitome of bad timing. With the advent of the BCS, the WAC/Mountain West took an absolute pounding from the esteemed power conferences. The conference SDSU was in presented from 1997 to 2003 some truly horrid football. During that time, the Aztecs were only once able to take advantage of the lack of competition and reach a bowl game. That was in 1998, and then-Athletic Director Rick Bay had to pull a lot of strings to get his school into the Las Vegas Bowl against North Carolina.
Here in 2009, with the pathetic staff of Chuck Long jettisoned and the highly accomplished staff of Brady Hoke ready to take over, SDSU's poor sense of timing strikes again. This is not your father's MWC/WAC. Instead, the Aztecs have to compete in one of the top conferences in the nation. In the old days, it was a big deal for this core group of schools -- BYU and Utah, Air Force and Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico and Wyoming -- to have one preseason ranked team. In 2009, there are three and they all deserve to be there.
So San Diego State should be better in 2009 and will likely improve tremendously in coming seasons, but it's like a greyhound chasing a metal rabbit, the goal keeps moving. It's not like 1986, when Denny Stolz came in and took the Aztecs to the Holiday Bowl in a WAC that offered very little competition. SDSU will be better, but they have to climb a much taller mountain.
That said, the numbers point to a 6-6 season, probably no worse than 5-7 and no better than 7-5, a record I think they'll need to attain a bowl game. There are some teams -- opening night opponent UCLA, TCU, BYU and Utah -- that they just aren't going to beat. They have to play Air Force and UNLV on the road. On the other hand, they get Wyoming and New Mexico at home and play a weak non-conference schedule after Week One. Things are really set for a season that will be close to .500.
If it was the old days, I'd predict a Stolz-style turnaround with no qualms. This team might have the best set of linebackers in the conference, a quarterback who will open eyes in the West this season and some receivers who can make plays. If the offensive line can open some running lanes and the cornerbacks can hold their own, then this team will be vastly improved. But the timing remains poor.
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Reports floated around recently that true freshman Jordan Wynn (Oceanside HS)won the starting QB job at Utah. In reality, while Coach Kyle Whittingham has not officially named a starter, Wynn has been mostly working out with the second team, according to media reports in Salt Lake City ... Former Aztecs QB Kevin O'Connell was cut from New England Sunday, a shocker for a guy who entered training camp as Tom Brady's heir apparent. O'Connell was awful in the most recent exhibition game, and Brady's health is such that the Patriots can't take a chance on the youngster now that Matt Cassell is gone. It appears that a couple teams are interested in the La Costa Canyon HS alum, including the 49ers, so my earlier speculation that I'll soon be writing about Alex Smith (Helix HS) being cut might actually come to pass. Darn it ... I read last week that former USD QB Josh Johnson, who seemed paired with O'Connell during pre-draft All-Star games and workouts, is on the trading block in Tampa Bay ... Deja vu all over again: in Baltimore's 5-2 win over Cleveland in baseball Sunday, USD's Brian Matusz was the winning pitcher over SDSU's Justin Masterson.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Chargers Sacks, Padres Future
So here we are two weeks into the exhibition season and only now people are starting to worry about the protection QB Philip Rivers is going to receive? I've been complaining about the Chargers offensive line for years now, and the inattention given to the unit by GM AJ Smith, because its so easy to see how things are going to go.
That Rivers was sacked four times in the first quarter at Arizona last Saturday is not necessarily a sign of the times. Weird things happen in these games that don't count, and that was one of them. It doesn't translate to 16 sacks in a full regular season game, and the coaches will tighten things up.
But it was something that we fans have to be concerned about. Even eight sacks in one game is a tremendous amount, because it will mean that the defensive line is getting pressure on Rivers on many more pass attempts.
What's more, the line has not opened running lanes for LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, both of whom are averaging less than three yards per carry after the first two exhibition games. I stated on this blog previously that I think the Bolts are deficient in three of the five spots on the offensive line, maybe four of the five if LT Marcus McNeill doesn't return to form. I think we're seeing the effects of that now.
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As the Padres head into the final month of the season, it's not to early to start thinking about how to build for next year. As I see it, the Friars are now set in a number of positions on the field, unlike their situation coming into the season.
The 2010 Padres will have 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 2B David Eckstein, Lf Kyle Blanks, CF Tony Gwynn, RF Will Venable and C Nick Hundley. The bullpen appears set with Heath Bell and Mike Adams as the anchors.
Your issues are what to do about 3B, starting pitching and the question of whether Everth Cabrera is really that good at SS.
At third, Kevin Kouzmanoff is doing nothing special (.256-16-74 before Thursday) and Chase Headley has hit.307 since the All-Star break just to lift his batting average to Kouz's level, and has far fewer HR and RBI. Kouzmanoff, at least, is a Gold Glove candidate at the hot corner. While Headley has played more left than third, he'll probably never be the fielder Kouzmanoff is. I go with Kouz and make Headley a reserve since he won't unseat Blanks. At the same time, I'm going through the trade market like crazy. I'd love to get a legit every day guy there and I'd trade both of these guys to get one.
Starting pitching remains pretty weak, leading me to renew my wonder at trading away one of the few legitimate number one starters in baseball. Jake Peavy suffered a new injury in Chicago, which might not have happened here, so his 2009 is probably finished. However, in 2010 he'll be there, not here.
Chris Young is having his second straight injury-plagued season, so who knows what sort of production the Padres will get from him next year. You can pencil him into the rotation but you better keep your eraser handy.
Right now, I'd say the 2010 rotation looks like Mat Latos-Kevin Correia-Clayton Richard. That's three guys and you need five. Pencil in Young to make four. Tim Stauffer could make five, but he's not terribly impressive. If the Padres want to compete in the NL West next season, they really need one more solid guy.
Finally, Cabrera. Headed into Thursday, he's hitting .269-2-23 with on on-base percentage of .359 and 19 steals. Moreover, he's a plus fielder who has committed just eight errors. Yet he needs to be a little more productive at the plate if the Padres are to contend, and I don't know if he is there yet. If the Padres get an every day SS offered in a trade package, I'd really have to consider it.
One more issue to think about. Venable, Blanks and even Headley now are all hitting and Cabrera isn't doing too badly. But the outfielders and SS have not been up from AAA for very long, so pitchers haven't found the holes in their bats. They will, either in September or next year. It happens to all youngsters, and those who go on to be successful are able to adjust. I don't know if they have that ability in them or not. So while they go into 2010 as near-certain starters for the Padres, it's highly questionable that they'll hit as well as they have in August. If they do, and they get more out of Cabrera and Gwynn, Gonzalez stays the same and improvements are made at 3B, this could be an interesting ball club to watch.
That Rivers was sacked four times in the first quarter at Arizona last Saturday is not necessarily a sign of the times. Weird things happen in these games that don't count, and that was one of them. It doesn't translate to 16 sacks in a full regular season game, and the coaches will tighten things up.
But it was something that we fans have to be concerned about. Even eight sacks in one game is a tremendous amount, because it will mean that the defensive line is getting pressure on Rivers on many more pass attempts.
What's more, the line has not opened running lanes for LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, both of whom are averaging less than three yards per carry after the first two exhibition games. I stated on this blog previously that I think the Bolts are deficient in three of the five spots on the offensive line, maybe four of the five if LT Marcus McNeill doesn't return to form. I think we're seeing the effects of that now.
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As the Padres head into the final month of the season, it's not to early to start thinking about how to build for next year. As I see it, the Friars are now set in a number of positions on the field, unlike their situation coming into the season.
The 2010 Padres will have 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 2B David Eckstein, Lf Kyle Blanks, CF Tony Gwynn, RF Will Venable and C Nick Hundley. The bullpen appears set with Heath Bell and Mike Adams as the anchors.
Your issues are what to do about 3B, starting pitching and the question of whether Everth Cabrera is really that good at SS.
At third, Kevin Kouzmanoff is doing nothing special (.256-16-74 before Thursday) and Chase Headley has hit.307 since the All-Star break just to lift his batting average to Kouz's level, and has far fewer HR and RBI. Kouzmanoff, at least, is a Gold Glove candidate at the hot corner. While Headley has played more left than third, he'll probably never be the fielder Kouzmanoff is. I go with Kouz and make Headley a reserve since he won't unseat Blanks. At the same time, I'm going through the trade market like crazy. I'd love to get a legit every day guy there and I'd trade both of these guys to get one.
Starting pitching remains pretty weak, leading me to renew my wonder at trading away one of the few legitimate number one starters in baseball. Jake Peavy suffered a new injury in Chicago, which might not have happened here, so his 2009 is probably finished. However, in 2010 he'll be there, not here.
Chris Young is having his second straight injury-plagued season, so who knows what sort of production the Padres will get from him next year. You can pencil him into the rotation but you better keep your eraser handy.
Right now, I'd say the 2010 rotation looks like Mat Latos-Kevin Correia-Clayton Richard. That's three guys and you need five. Pencil in Young to make four. Tim Stauffer could make five, but he's not terribly impressive. If the Padres want to compete in the NL West next season, they really need one more solid guy.
Finally, Cabrera. Headed into Thursday, he's hitting .269-2-23 with on on-base percentage of .359 and 19 steals. Moreover, he's a plus fielder who has committed just eight errors. Yet he needs to be a little more productive at the plate if the Padres are to contend, and I don't know if he is there yet. If the Padres get an every day SS offered in a trade package, I'd really have to consider it.
One more issue to think about. Venable, Blanks and even Headley now are all hitting and Cabrera isn't doing too badly. But the outfielders and SS have not been up from AAA for very long, so pitchers haven't found the holes in their bats. They will, either in September or next year. It happens to all youngsters, and those who go on to be successful are able to adjust. I don't know if they have that ability in them or not. So while they go into 2010 as near-certain starters for the Padres, it's highly questionable that they'll hit as well as they have in August. If they do, and they get more out of Cabrera and Gwynn, Gonzalez stays the same and improvements are made at 3B, this could be an interesting ball club to watch.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Closed to Public Scrutiny, Alex Smith
As an alumnus of San Diego State University and a committed fan of the Aztecs sports teams, or a fan who should be committed, I want to know everything I can find out about the players, coaches, injuries, strategies, etc. when I pick up my morning newspaper or listen to the radio.
That's clearly not happening under the new regime of football coach Brady Hoke, who has closed practices to the public and media, and banned freshmen from speaking with reporters. The lone exception is he'll let the media in for the first 30 minutes of a couple practices each week, mainly so TV crews can get some fresh video. For those not in the know, the first 30 minutes of a football practice consists of stretching. Whoopee.
As a reporter by trade, I believe there is an obligation of transparency for people in public positions. Scrutiny by a good reporter gives the busy populace its only chance to evaluate its public institutions. SDSU football, as part of a state university and dependent on ticket sales to emotionally connected fans, requires scrutiny. If you think this is a stretch, I have two words for you: Chuck Long.
On the other hand, I've spent most of this decade covering the criminal courts and police stories, both government functions. There are times that you just can't get the information you want when you want it. After a while, you learn where the line is drawn, though there are a number of public lawyers who are media unfriendly and won't tell you anything for any reason. But these issues don't involve football.
Again, these people -- from District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to Hoke -- work for us and should not be allowed to hide behind a "no comment." They're obligated to let the public see what's going on within their offices and, for better or worse, the press is the public's representative in such matters.
I'm not typing here to demand Hoke immediately open his practices to one and all. I do think he's erred by a matter of degree in that he's trying to reconnect local football fans and SDSU alumni to the program and yet he's shutting them out of watching practice. He should have said practice on this day or that day is open and the others are closed, or some formula of that type. He's installing new systems and it appears he's going to be using a lot of new players, including true freshmen, and he doesn't want anything revealed, or distraction to the kids trying to learn new things. I understand that.
Hoke has said, however, that at Ball State he loosened up the restrictions after the first couple of years and thinks he'll do the same here. We the media and the public need to make sure he does so.
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SDSU defensive coordinator Rocky Long justifies the restrictions by saying practices really don't tell you much about players, that to really judge them you have to see them perform in games. That appears to be applicable to former Helix QB Alex Smith, who lost his battle to start for the 49ers to Shaun Hill.
Smith, who missed the 2008 season with an injury, has failed to live up to his promise when he was drafted first out of Utah. The 49ers as a whole were awful the past few seasons but appear to be building steam in 2009, so this is a big season for them. I actually think the NFC is weak enough for San Francisco to be a wild card contender, so coach Mike Singletary better get his QB choice right.
The trouble is Smith looked great throwing the ball in off-season workouts. The Bay Area newspapers all had articles along the lines of: guess who's back in the QB mix? That's how well he was doing.
Then came the exhibition games. He threw a TD pass in the first contest against Denver but his completions averaged just over six yards. Against the Raiders last week he completed just 3 of his 9 throws and tossed an interception. His passer rating was 4.2. Not good.
So he lost his chance to start and, I'd bet, maybe his job. The 49ers have veteran Damon Huard and drafted Hoke's old Ball State signal-caller, Nate Davis. Therefore, look for Smith to be released in early September. Just my bet.
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Raiders LB Kirk Morrison (SDSU) separated his shoulder in that second exhibition game and will be out a few weeks. Former Aztecs WR Chaz Schilens had all but nailed down the Raiders top receiving spot before he also got hurt. Yuck. Best to the recovery for both.
That's clearly not happening under the new regime of football coach Brady Hoke, who has closed practices to the public and media, and banned freshmen from speaking with reporters. The lone exception is he'll let the media in for the first 30 minutes of a couple practices each week, mainly so TV crews can get some fresh video. For those not in the know, the first 30 minutes of a football practice consists of stretching. Whoopee.
As a reporter by trade, I believe there is an obligation of transparency for people in public positions. Scrutiny by a good reporter gives the busy populace its only chance to evaluate its public institutions. SDSU football, as part of a state university and dependent on ticket sales to emotionally connected fans, requires scrutiny. If you think this is a stretch, I have two words for you: Chuck Long.
On the other hand, I've spent most of this decade covering the criminal courts and police stories, both government functions. There are times that you just can't get the information you want when you want it. After a while, you learn where the line is drawn, though there are a number of public lawyers who are media unfriendly and won't tell you anything for any reason. But these issues don't involve football.
Again, these people -- from District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to Hoke -- work for us and should not be allowed to hide behind a "no comment." They're obligated to let the public see what's going on within their offices and, for better or worse, the press is the public's representative in such matters.
I'm not typing here to demand Hoke immediately open his practices to one and all. I do think he's erred by a matter of degree in that he's trying to reconnect local football fans and SDSU alumni to the program and yet he's shutting them out of watching practice. He should have said practice on this day or that day is open and the others are closed, or some formula of that type. He's installing new systems and it appears he's going to be using a lot of new players, including true freshmen, and he doesn't want anything revealed, or distraction to the kids trying to learn new things. I understand that.
Hoke has said, however, that at Ball State he loosened up the restrictions after the first couple of years and thinks he'll do the same here. We the media and the public need to make sure he does so.
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SDSU defensive coordinator Rocky Long justifies the restrictions by saying practices really don't tell you much about players, that to really judge them you have to see them perform in games. That appears to be applicable to former Helix QB Alex Smith, who lost his battle to start for the 49ers to Shaun Hill.
Smith, who missed the 2008 season with an injury, has failed to live up to his promise when he was drafted first out of Utah. The 49ers as a whole were awful the past few seasons but appear to be building steam in 2009, so this is a big season for them. I actually think the NFC is weak enough for San Francisco to be a wild card contender, so coach Mike Singletary better get his QB choice right.
The trouble is Smith looked great throwing the ball in off-season workouts. The Bay Area newspapers all had articles along the lines of: guess who's back in the QB mix? That's how well he was doing.
Then came the exhibition games. He threw a TD pass in the first contest against Denver but his completions averaged just over six yards. Against the Raiders last week he completed just 3 of his 9 throws and tossed an interception. His passer rating was 4.2. Not good.
So he lost his chance to start and, I'd bet, maybe his job. The 49ers have veteran Damon Huard and drafted Hoke's old Ball State signal-caller, Nate Davis. Therefore, look for Smith to be released in early September. Just my bet.
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Raiders LB Kirk Morrison (SDSU) separated his shoulder in that second exhibition game and will be out a few weeks. Former Aztecs WR Chaz Schilens had all but nailed down the Raiders top receiving spot before he also got hurt. Yuck. Best to the recovery for both.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Little League Brings Home Title Hopes
The sluggers of the Green Machine, the mighty 11- to 13-year-olds of Chula Vista's Park View Little League, head to South Williamsport, Pa., this week with a chance to merely bring home the first national championship for a San Diego team since 1973.
There's some pressure to place on young shoulders, huh? Not really. While we all hope for the best for the squad that will now be labeled simply "West" in their upcoming games, they will come home as conquering heroes no matter what happens on the exalted ballfield back east. Both Oceanside and Rancho Buena Vista fell just short of winning it all in their 2000 and 2005 appearances and came home to raucous welcomes. Park View will, also.
I bring up the connection not to longingly look to pre-teens for championship salvation, but to point out the utter futility of being a sports fan around here. Not since San Diego State's volleyball team shocked the world by winning the NCAA volleyball crown 36 years ago has a local team gone all the way. The 1980s Sockers? Please. Indoor soccer was a novelty. The Gulls played minor league hockey, albeit mostly successfully. USD had a women's tennis national champion, but she was an individual and an Eastern European import for Chrissakes.
The Padres, the Chargers, the Aztecs, the Toreros. None of them have won a team title for that period covering nearly four decades. Some teams have at least come close. SDSU soccer made a national final and I think USD made a soccer final, too, or at least a Final Four. I think UCSD won Division III girls a couple times but I doubt if anyone noticed. It's been frustrating.
These kids from Chula Vista, who have rocket launchers for bats, have a chance to go the distance. With Little League, they could even make it an international championship, so much the better.
If they don't, no big. If they do, then the kid sitting next to you in sixth grade English class might be more accomplished than Tony Gwynn, Junior Seau or Marshall Faulk. How about that?
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As of this writing, Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State has yet to sign a contract with the Washington Nationals. You can never really tell what's going on behind closed doors. I hope the kid went into his relationship with agent Scott Boros with his eyes open. One gets the impression that with Boros, you work for the agent, instead of the other way around. Some of the talk -- which could be just that -- is that Boros is pushing for some kind of fundamental change in how draftees are evaluated and valued by the baseball clubs. If I'm Strasburg, that's fine, but in the meantime, get me signed. I hope it happens.
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The layoffs at The San Diego Union-Tribune are now cutting deeply into the sports department. Just last week, SDSU sports beat writer Mick McGrane was sent packing, joining former Padres writer Tom Krasovic and several high school writers.
Padres coverage has suffered terribly without Krasovic, who had a nose for what was not just newsworthy but also interesting to read. Now you can pick up the sports page and read the same news about the Friars players you saw the day before, and the day before that. Not good.
I feel better about the Aztecs coverage. It appears Brent Schrotenboer is taking the spot, and he has a great record of investigative reporting. He, I hope, will give some needed direction to the coverage of the Aztecs. I also hope that with Brady Hoke throwing a virtual cloak of invisibility about his team, that he has the insight and energy to do the legwork to actually find the news instead of simply taking what's been handed to him.
There's some pressure to place on young shoulders, huh? Not really. While we all hope for the best for the squad that will now be labeled simply "West" in their upcoming games, they will come home as conquering heroes no matter what happens on the exalted ballfield back east. Both Oceanside and Rancho Buena Vista fell just short of winning it all in their 2000 and 2005 appearances and came home to raucous welcomes. Park View will, also.
I bring up the connection not to longingly look to pre-teens for championship salvation, but to point out the utter futility of being a sports fan around here. Not since San Diego State's volleyball team shocked the world by winning the NCAA volleyball crown 36 years ago has a local team gone all the way. The 1980s Sockers? Please. Indoor soccer was a novelty. The Gulls played minor league hockey, albeit mostly successfully. USD had a women's tennis national champion, but she was an individual and an Eastern European import for Chrissakes.
The Padres, the Chargers, the Aztecs, the Toreros. None of them have won a team title for that period covering nearly four decades. Some teams have at least come close. SDSU soccer made a national final and I think USD made a soccer final, too, or at least a Final Four. I think UCSD won Division III girls a couple times but I doubt if anyone noticed. It's been frustrating.
These kids from Chula Vista, who have rocket launchers for bats, have a chance to go the distance. With Little League, they could even make it an international championship, so much the better.
If they don't, no big. If they do, then the kid sitting next to you in sixth grade English class might be more accomplished than Tony Gwynn, Junior Seau or Marshall Faulk. How about that?
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As of this writing, Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State has yet to sign a contract with the Washington Nationals. You can never really tell what's going on behind closed doors. I hope the kid went into his relationship with agent Scott Boros with his eyes open. One gets the impression that with Boros, you work for the agent, instead of the other way around. Some of the talk -- which could be just that -- is that Boros is pushing for some kind of fundamental change in how draftees are evaluated and valued by the baseball clubs. If I'm Strasburg, that's fine, but in the meantime, get me signed. I hope it happens.
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The layoffs at The San Diego Union-Tribune are now cutting deeply into the sports department. Just last week, SDSU sports beat writer Mick McGrane was sent packing, joining former Padres writer Tom Krasovic and several high school writers.
Padres coverage has suffered terribly without Krasovic, who had a nose for what was not just newsworthy but also interesting to read. Now you can pick up the sports page and read the same news about the Friars players you saw the day before, and the day before that. Not good.
I feel better about the Aztecs coverage. It appears Brent Schrotenboer is taking the spot, and he has a great record of investigative reporting. He, I hope, will give some needed direction to the coverage of the Aztecs. I also hope that with Brady Hoke throwing a virtual cloak of invisibility about his team, that he has the insight and energy to do the legwork to actually find the news instead of simply taking what's been handed to him.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Coaching Question to be Answered at SDSU
When San Diego State’s football team begins its first pre-season workout Monday, it will not only usher in the new era with head coach Brady Hoke, but it will answer a question asked by local fans for years: can the Aztecs program find success if it ever gets a good coaching staff?
The group under Hoke certainly qualifies. Al Borges (offense) and Rocky Long (defense) are among the game’s best coordinators over the past couple decades and Brian Sipe, brought in to tutor the quarterbacks, is merely a former NFL Player of the Year. There’s something to say for the other guys on the staff, too.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say this is the best group of football coaches assembled on the Mesa since the beginning of the Ted Tollner-era in the mid-1990s. Those guys, remember, led the Aztecs to two 8-win seasons. The current staff might not rival the NFL coaching factory under Don Coryell and Claude Gilbert but that’s only because they’re just now getting their first season underway.
There’s plenty of reason for the diminished number of Aztec faithful to be desperate for a quality staff:
After the news of the past couple of weeks, I don’t think I need to pile on the legacy of Chuck Long, who now goes down as one of the worst coaching hires in the history of American sports.
As great an offensive mind as he has, Tom Craft needed an offensive coordinator to help with in-game adjustments, but the athletic department wouldn’t spend enough money. The lack of financial support resulted in a low-quality staff that recruited poorly and left their successors in a lurch.
Tollner had the great staff initially but those early successes were stymied by the development of the BCS, which redirected players and assistants to the Pac-10 and other major conferences. They ran out of steam by the new millennium.
(By way of full disclosure, from my dealings with both men, I really like and respect both Craft and Tollner personally. Both had nothing but love for SDSU. Tollner was beat down by the changed landscape of college football and Craft’s resurrection program simply didn’t work.)
Longtime fans are certainly aware that Al Luginbill, Denny Stolz and Doug Scovil all had their issues, too.
Now a good staff is on hand, guys with solid track records. One gets the impression of a sea change at San Diego State because of these coaches. We’ll finally find out what SDSU football can do with another great coaching staff -- especially interesting because the sport’s landscape has swayed back into State’s favor with the ascent – finally – of the Mountain West Conference.
How long it will take to get the answer is obviously unclear. It took Tollner and Luginbill two seasons each to find success. Stolz did it his first year, before he discovered he liked golf even more than Steve Spurrier. I bet we’ll have our answer, good or bad, sometime in November 2010. However, anyone who prays for something – and Aztecs fans have prayed for salvation for years now – knows the answer sometimes is “no.”
Friday, August 07, 2009
Assault Prompted Long's Firing, Little League
Considering that San Diego State University has one of the finer business schools in the country, it's perhaps fitting that a highly teachable episode of mismanagement occurred on campus last fall and apparently led to the removal of Chuck Long as head coach of the football team. This could serve as a great "how not to" lesson, in case management professors believe that students won't be able to relate to General Motors.
According to Friday's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, former offensive lineman Lance Louis, apparently annoyed by being poked with a stick by safety Nick Sandford, later came up from behind and attacked his then-teammate in an athletic building meeting room, injuring him enough to require hospitalization. The article said that Louis went ahead and played the Aztecs final three games, as Long tried to handle the matter internally and protect Louis' chances to move on to professional football. When Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel found out about the incident and aftermath two weeks later, that's when he went to school President Stephen Weber with the recommendation that Long be fired, the article read.
There are so many problems that come out of this episode. Remember that SDSU was mired in an injury-plagued 2-10 season and was getting absolutely crushed by teams both good and mediocre. The preparation for the season and individual games by the coaching staff was some of the worst I've seen in my decades of watching college football.
An attack like this shows two things:
1. Morale among the players must have been horrible. Even in a losing season, Louis must have recognized that he had NFL potential (and is now in the Bears training camp), which should have given him light at the end of the tunnel. That he didn't see it and studiously avoid confrontation, even if provoked, is a sign of how bad things must have been in the locker room.
2. The coaches completely lost control of the players, and the players had no respect for the coaching staff. When you have a group of 100 people in close proximity nearly year-round, things are going to happen. Guys will confront each other somewhere, usually after drinking, throw some punches, and teammates will break it up. Happens. Not in a meeting room of the athletic administration building. No way.
Clearly, Long had a problem and should have taken it to higher-ups. I understand his reasoning in wanting to cut Louis a break. The kid suffered a terrible injury early in his career and spent the last two seasons playing out of position, sacrificing himself for the good of the team. You want someone like that to leave school with a chance for a career, not as a criminal. He should have gone right to Schemmel and incorporated his concern for Louis into a plan of action.
I think that the ultimate blame goes to Schemmel, who supported Long through all the horrible losses until he learned about the alleged assault. It's his job to determine how well things are going for any Aztecs team, and for him to back Long and completely miss the inner turmoil among the football players is absolutely inexcusable. I've never thought much of him as an athletic director, was not surprised when Weber led the effort to fire Long, and I now think that Schemmel needs to go, too.
The bottom line for management students: you have to draw the line in the sand early. I have a hard time believing the alleged assault came out of nowhere. As a manager, coach, administrator, you have to recognize problems in their early stages and solve them immediately or they will snowball. Enterprises go bad, God knows we've seen that in the current economy. The big wigs in the failing entities still have to maintain some discipline, amongst themselves and their employees. Frustration needs to be taken out elsewhere, in some other manner. Respect has to be maintained and recognition has to be made that despite everyone's best efforts, sometimes the best-laid plans don't work. If you're in middle management and a situation is spiraling out of control, you take it to upper management. You can't hide the problem, you'll be found out. If you're in upper management, your focus can't just be on the one level below you. You have to go all the way to ground level and see how life is for the line employees. Taking interest in their welfare doesn't mean you're passing up middle management. Eyes open, all the time. It's called diligence.
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No surprise that they brought in a disciplinarian like Brady Hoke, huh?
And also, congrats to Sandford for staying the course for his senior year. I don't know whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, but the easy thing would have been to leave and point fingers at everybody. Not only is he back, but he won a starting role in the new rover position in defensive coordinator Rocky Long's 3-3-5 scheme.
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I can't tell you how thrilled I am that Chula Vista's Park View Little League baseball team made it to the Western Regionals this week. There was so much excitement from recent Little League World Series appearances by Oceanside and Vista, and the anticipation of Solana Beach making it to the regional final, that I'm glad we're able to experience it again. My own son has played LL ball the past two years, and I find those games and the kids far more interesting than major league ball. Good luck.
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Kyle Banks sucks! There's the dose of karma, go have a big weekend.
According to Friday's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, former offensive lineman Lance Louis, apparently annoyed by being poked with a stick by safety Nick Sandford, later came up from behind and attacked his then-teammate in an athletic building meeting room, injuring him enough to require hospitalization. The article said that Louis went ahead and played the Aztecs final three games, as Long tried to handle the matter internally and protect Louis' chances to move on to professional football. When Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel found out about the incident and aftermath two weeks later, that's when he went to school President Stephen Weber with the recommendation that Long be fired, the article read.
There are so many problems that come out of this episode. Remember that SDSU was mired in an injury-plagued 2-10 season and was getting absolutely crushed by teams both good and mediocre. The preparation for the season and individual games by the coaching staff was some of the worst I've seen in my decades of watching college football.
An attack like this shows two things:
1. Morale among the players must have been horrible. Even in a losing season, Louis must have recognized that he had NFL potential (and is now in the Bears training camp), which should have given him light at the end of the tunnel. That he didn't see it and studiously avoid confrontation, even if provoked, is a sign of how bad things must have been in the locker room.
2. The coaches completely lost control of the players, and the players had no respect for the coaching staff. When you have a group of 100 people in close proximity nearly year-round, things are going to happen. Guys will confront each other somewhere, usually after drinking, throw some punches, and teammates will break it up. Happens. Not in a meeting room of the athletic administration building. No way.
Clearly, Long had a problem and should have taken it to higher-ups. I understand his reasoning in wanting to cut Louis a break. The kid suffered a terrible injury early in his career and spent the last two seasons playing out of position, sacrificing himself for the good of the team. You want someone like that to leave school with a chance for a career, not as a criminal. He should have gone right to Schemmel and incorporated his concern for Louis into a plan of action.
I think that the ultimate blame goes to Schemmel, who supported Long through all the horrible losses until he learned about the alleged assault. It's his job to determine how well things are going for any Aztecs team, and for him to back Long and completely miss the inner turmoil among the football players is absolutely inexcusable. I've never thought much of him as an athletic director, was not surprised when Weber led the effort to fire Long, and I now think that Schemmel needs to go, too.
The bottom line for management students: you have to draw the line in the sand early. I have a hard time believing the alleged assault came out of nowhere. As a manager, coach, administrator, you have to recognize problems in their early stages and solve them immediately or they will snowball. Enterprises go bad, God knows we've seen that in the current economy. The big wigs in the failing entities still have to maintain some discipline, amongst themselves and their employees. Frustration needs to be taken out elsewhere, in some other manner. Respect has to be maintained and recognition has to be made that despite everyone's best efforts, sometimes the best-laid plans don't work. If you're in middle management and a situation is spiraling out of control, you take it to upper management. You can't hide the problem, you'll be found out. If you're in upper management, your focus can't just be on the one level below you. You have to go all the way to ground level and see how life is for the line employees. Taking interest in their welfare doesn't mean you're passing up middle management. Eyes open, all the time. It's called diligence.
---
No surprise that they brought in a disciplinarian like Brady Hoke, huh?
And also, congrats to Sandford for staying the course for his senior year. I don't know whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, but the easy thing would have been to leave and point fingers at everybody. Not only is he back, but he won a starting role in the new rover position in defensive coordinator Rocky Long's 3-3-5 scheme.
---
I can't tell you how thrilled I am that Chula Vista's Park View Little League baseball team made it to the Western Regionals this week. There was so much excitement from recent Little League World Series appearances by Oceanside and Vista, and the anticipation of Solana Beach making it to the regional final, that I'm glad we're able to experience it again. My own son has played LL ball the past two years, and I find those games and the kids far more interesting than major league ball. Good luck.
---
Kyle Banks sucks! There's the dose of karma, go have a big weekend.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Short Stuff
This has been a good year for young local baseball players, with Sean O'Sullivan of Valhalla HS being called up to the Angels for a few successful starts and Adam Jones of Morse HS making the American League All-Star team for the Orioles. Add now Brian Matusz of USD, who will be making his first big league start for the O's tonight. Who is next? ... The down side was the Padres releasing Mark Prior of USDHS, who just couldn't overcome his shoulder injuries. Another year or two of rest and rehab might give him another chance, but by then he's going to have to do an awful lot of talking to get a team to give him a minor league roster spot over a deserving youngster. That said, I think the Padres made a reasonable move in signing him. He was a great pitcher at one time and wow, what could have been ... I think the Padres recent winning ways have mainly come against teams -- Reds and Brewers -- heading into the tank, yet the success of young starters Mat Latos and Tim Stauffer is encouraging ... Weekly rant against Kyle Blanks for the sole purpose of keeping up the karma which has improved his hitting: against struggling Brewers starter Braden Looper Friday, he twice missed on a couple straight fastballs so we all knew what was coming next, a breaking ball in the dirt. He swung like he was fooled. Why? I guess that's a young player for you. I do like how he knocked one of those lifeless fastballs 428 feet in his next at bat -- I hope the nice word doesn't send him into a slump.
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Tough crowd! QB Alex Smith gets booed on the first day of the 49ers camp. This is what happens when people don't read newspapers, because there's tons of news reports out there saying the Helix HS product has been sensational during off-season practices and may be ready to reclaim the starting position ... Kevin O'Connell of La Costa Canyon and SDSU suddenly has competition for the backup QB spot for the Patriots, who signed big-armed former Raider Andrew Walter. There had been talk of the Pats signing less-threatening Cleo Lemon, but Walter is a former (not-too-successful) starter ... Reggie Bush of Helix not only no longer has no GF but his surgically-repaired left knee is proving balky, so he's going to sit out a couple practices for the Saints ... Kellen Winslow Jr. of Scripps Ranch is missing a couple practices for the Buccaneers with an ankle sprain ... Remember Teyo Johnson, who came down with Amon Gordon from Washington state to play at Mira Mesa HS for their senior seasons before going on to Stanford? He's now a slotback for Toronto in the CFL. Gordon was recently waived from the Eagles after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
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If SDSU's mens basketball team jells and becomes as good as it could be, the Mountain West Conference schedule appears favorable, at first glance. The Aztecs last two games are against Colorado State at home and at Air Force, a school that Coach Steve Fisher's bunch has taken to physically dominating. The week before is a potential match to determine the league title at BYU.
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Tough crowd! QB Alex Smith gets booed on the first day of the 49ers camp. This is what happens when people don't read newspapers, because there's tons of news reports out there saying the Helix HS product has been sensational during off-season practices and may be ready to reclaim the starting position ... Kevin O'Connell of La Costa Canyon and SDSU suddenly has competition for the backup QB spot for the Patriots, who signed big-armed former Raider Andrew Walter. There had been talk of the Pats signing less-threatening Cleo Lemon, but Walter is a former (not-too-successful) starter ... Reggie Bush of Helix not only no longer has no GF but his surgically-repaired left knee is proving balky, so he's going to sit out a couple practices for the Saints ... Kellen Winslow Jr. of Scripps Ranch is missing a couple practices for the Buccaneers with an ankle sprain ... Remember Teyo Johnson, who came down with Amon Gordon from Washington state to play at Mira Mesa HS for their senior seasons before going on to Stanford? He's now a slotback for Toronto in the CFL. Gordon was recently waived from the Eagles after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
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If SDSU's mens basketball team jells and becomes as good as it could be, the Mountain West Conference schedule appears favorable, at first glance. The Aztecs last two games are against Colorado State at home and at Air Force, a school that Coach Steve Fisher's bunch has taken to physically dominating. The week before is a potential match to determine the league title at BYU.
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