It's Blue-White Roundtable day and Galen has the questions this week. Go check out The Nittany Line and Run Up The Score to get their take. And please leave your comments so we know we're not just talking to ourselves all off season.
Ron Zook signed one of the top recruiting classes this year... at Illinois. Must be the long winning tradition. No? Well how about the top notch facilities? Negative. Warm weather - never mind. Well then how in the Hell did Zook get such good talent to come to the fighting [offensive mascot removed]?
Isn't the answer obvious? He's offering them lots of free stuff. All you have to do is walk around town and look for unlocked cars. The world is your oyster!
The two wide receivers were arrested Friday night after police found suspected stolen wallets, cell phones, electronic devices and at least six laptop computers inside Ellis' car, Champaign police Chief R. T. Finney said Monday.
State's Attorney Julia Rietz said the items were taken from four Champaign residences in and around campus on Friday, during what's called unofficial St. Patrick's Day. The event is a promotion begun by local bars to make up for revenue they lose when St. Patrick's Day falls during the university's spring break.
Rietz said it appeared that most victims had left their doors unlocked.
"I think [Ellis and McPhearson] might have been taking advantage of people who were not [cautious] on unofficial St. Patrick's Day," Rietz said, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
What's hilarious about these douchbags is that after getting caught with other people's wallets with their ID in them, they still denied stealing anything.
There was a recent hearing about the lack of black head coaches in the NCAA. The NFL instituted the "Rooney Rule" which forces any team seeking a coach to interview at least one minority. Is it possible for the NCAA to force universities to adopt more inclusive hiring policies?
Well, I'm a conservative republican, so I hate any type of social engineering experiment like this. The problem with this policy is that there aren't many black offensive or defensive coordinators out there. So schools will be interviewing a lot of position coaches, and it's rare that you ever see a position coach get promoted to head coach.
I think these things correct themselves with time. Ten years ago you could have probably counted on two hands the number of black position coaches out there. Now there are tons of them. Give them a few years and they will work their way up to a coordinator job somewhere. Then beyond that, they will get head coaching jobs. Bringing in black position coaches to interview for jobs they aren't (yet) qualified for isn't the answer. It will work in putting more minority coaches in head coaching positions. There will be some university presidents out there that will want to be trail blazers or will not want to deal with the negative press of denying a minority candidate a job in favor of a middle aged white guy. Unfortunately, I think we'll see a lot more Ty Willinghams and not many more Tony Dungy's.
I feel bad for the guy that will become the college version of Dennis Green. Remember a few years ago when the NFL adopted the "Rooney Rule" that said you have to interview at least one minority candidate for every coach opening. Poor Denny Green became the token interviewer. Every team called him in to meet the requirement of the Rooney Rule, then they went and hired the guy they wanted anyway. Soon Green became a joke around the league and the only job he could get was in Arizona. Nobody should have to go through that kind of humiliation. That is a bigger disservice to African Americans.
Phil Fulmer just got a 2 year contract extension with no raise. Was this the right move for Tennessee or should they have parted ways?
I know it says two years on the contract, but I think Fulmer has one year to make an impact on the SEC or he's history. He got a one year pass only because he improved over last year. This contract was basically written up so he can look a recruit in the eye and tell them he's going to be the coach for a while by virtue of his two year contract. I think it's safe to say his fate is sealed in Tennessee. Only an SEC championship can save his job at this point.
Penn State has pretty lenient tailgating rules compared to other schools but what one rule change would make your tailgating experience better?
Hmmm. We have a blast, really. I can't recall ever being harassed into stopping something we were doing. Maybe it would be nice if we could have kegs. That would be cool.
Penn State is pretty deep at wide receiver this year after signing Moye and the return of Bell, how do you think the coaches will handle the plethora of talented wideouts?
I'm actually kind of worried about this. I can see the coaches trying to get everyone in the game by putting them in for situations that cater to their skills. Running Williams on end arounds and bubble screens. Butler on deep routes. Norwood on crossing patterns. Bell lines up in the redzone for the jump ball. Unfortunately, this makes it easy for defenses to guess what is going to happen when you use certain people for certain plays.
If it were me, my three wide receiver set would be Butler and Bell on the flanks with Williams in the slot and I would stick with those three guys as much as possible. Norwood would come in when a fourth wide receiver was needed. Everyone else has to either beat them out or hope they get injured. Sorry Brendan Perretta. Sorry Mark Rubin. Sorry James McDonald. If you want to play, practice harder and get better. Rotating too many guys in and out makes it hard for Morelli to get a rhythm.
Lightning Round
Did the Eagles make a mistake not re-signing Jeff Garcia?
Donovan McNabb just turned 30 and has missed games due to injury in four out of the last five years. They will regret letting Garcia go. But hey, they got A.J. Feeley, so there's that.
Baseball season is fast approaching do you have a favorite team or don't you give a crap about the `roid league?
My favorite team would be the Mets, but I only follow baseball when they're good. It sounds stupid for a Pennsylvania boy living in Philly, but I grew up in central PA and used to watch them play on WWOR all the time. I never get to see them play anymore unless they are playing the Phillies or Braves on television.
Troy Smith: late round bargain or future NFL bust?
He's the next Rodney Peete, except he beat out the stud running back for the Heisman.
Sticking with the music theme, what album do you have in your collection that you're too embarrassed to name? BE HONEST - don't make me send the music police to raid your home.
I'm trying to remember my collection. I listen to everything on my iPod now and get music off of iTunes. Probably the most embarrassing thing on my iPod is "Sweet Caroline" and "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Neal Diamond.
I'm pretty sure I discarded my Vanilla Ice cassette tape a long time ago, but I have a very impressive Limp Bizkit collection.
Word to your mutha!