Sunil

To address one of the two groups of ppl well pointed out by Mama_bull. I don't know why it is necessary to make the "# posted" public viewing each time we post. On other message boards I've particpated...many of those with a higher # of posts lord over "newbies" as if their opinions are somehow more valid just because they post 50 times a days. (not much of that attitude here...but it shows up once in a while) : Being someone who is relatively new, it blows my mind that anyone could even have 20,000 or 40,000 postings. 20,000? I mean..that would require you to post 1 time every day for about 55 years. Or if you pair that down to 5 years..that's 11 a day....wow...just wow.  Do you really have that much to say EVERYDAY? Do you even remember what sunlight looks like?? Obviously everyone should be allowed to post as many times as they want no matter how inane. But maybe the moderators should consider removing the # of postings indicator on each posting and just leave the "ranking" (scout team, sophmore, administrator, etc) if you feel it is necessary. If we want to see how many times we've posted for ourselves, keep that information available in our profiles or something when we want. Just an idea.... Listen newbie, just shut the heck up!!  j/k  ;D  ;D  ;D Enjoy it now...you can only mistreat me for another 7200 postings or so. And I'm closing in FAST

To address one of the two groups of ppl well pointed out by Mama_bull. I don't know why it is necessary to make the "# posted" public viewing each time we post. On other message boards I've particpated...many of those with a higher # of posts lord over "newbies" as if their opinions are somehow more valid just because they post 50 times a days. (not much of that attitude here...but it shows up once in a while) : Being someone who is relatively new, it blows my mind that anyone could even have 20,000 or 40,000 postings. 20,000? I mean..that would require you to post 1 time every day for about 55 years. Or if you pair that down to 5 years..that's 11 a day....wow...just wow.  Do you really have that much to say EVERYDAY? Do you even remember what sunlight looks like?? Obviously everyone should be allowed to post as many times as they want no matter how inane. But maybe the moderators should consider removing the # of postings indicator on each posting and just leave the "ranking" (scout team, sophmore, administrator, etc) if you feel it is necessary. If we want to see how many times we've posted for ourselves, keep that information available in our profiles or something when we want. Just an idea....

Let's hope Mike Ford ends up being as good as advertised. Having said that, I'd like to see what Samuels has to offer. We know what we have in B. Williams...he's a capable back, but lacks much flash and the escapability that Ande Hall spoiled us with. Even with Ford, we definitely will need another back to get us through our schedule. For those who frequented practices last year, any idea who has the best hands in that backfield? It'd be nice to see us work our backs into space in the passing game more frequently; to take advantage of some of those linebacker matchups.

ANy idea of what would happen with theOrange Bowl if Miami left? I don't live there so I don't know the specific geography or local politics...but could the OB be renovated for baseball? Something tells me that the Marlins would pull in more revenue as a sole tenant rather than continuing the sharing arrangement with the Dolphins. (Of course they'd also have to buy out any remaining years on the lease as well...) Also...it might seem a bit soon...but what about FIU? The size of the stadium is bigger than what FIU would need now...but maybe they could grow into it. What's more, if FIU were the primary tenant...I have to believe any renovation costs would be substantially less because they don't need the "frills" at this point in their program. Thoughts from the locals?

Don't worry...Jesus Saves....

I know it wouldn't be much, but I would think that this type of thing would be a perfect chance for the athletic department to make some money. In fact, the marketing department should be making copies and sending it out for free to potential recruits, season ticket holders, unregistered alumni and the media. (within the rules of course) I can't imagine it costs much to burn copies of CD's unless there is a copyright issue. Am I missing something here?

I get the point and agree, but the above discrepancy isn't as bad when you figure that alot more kids are playing football than basketball in this state. I'd say that as far as recruits go, this state is so used to earning an A++ that the C (average) we get for our basketball recruits becomes that much more glaring. Weather of course has alot to do with it, since player development increases the more a sport can be played. Outside sports in Florida can be played year round while indoor sports such as basketball and even hockey are about the only sports you can realistically play all year up north. If we're going to take the next step in Bball, we simply cannot rely on staying in-state. It'll probably take some northern/midwestern recruits with a sprinkle of more guys like Radenko Dobras  We'll have to sell kids on the beaches and girls in cowboy hats I think it's definitely doable...but will take time and the right leadership.

They view Louisville as their big conference rival...so it's not surprising that it'd hurt more. The only team they would have hated losing to more is Pitt. It's like if Michigan had a loss against Ohio State and another against Northwestern. He didn't say it didn't sting to lose to us...just that Louisville was worse. If we're just grasping for stuff to throw on the bulletin board, then alright...but it doesn't appear like much to me... I've said before, and I'll say it again. We're at the point in our program where we need a hated rival to stir up some venom and get fans on both sides pumped up. The best thing to happen to us in the BE might just be to beat Rutgers again this year. Sure we have a little bit of a thing with Louisville, but it's more of a rivalry for us than it is for them. Rutgers is the one school who is up and coming just like us...who has no other another major rival....just like us. I'm also an alum of that school as well, and travel through that area frequently....believe me when I say that we already have their attention. If we can both string together good records again, and we go on to win that game this year, the rivalry will be on....and that's a GREAT THING!

We knew we were a bubble team and need to face facts. If we wanted to get into the tourney, we needed have won a few more games. Plain and simple. If you just win your games, everything else takes care of itself.

Just tossing out names, (Because Matt Daugherty and Steve Lavin are SO much more realistic, right? ) RELAX.  :

Random 2 guys... **** Vitale! (The guy is always in the tampa-sarasota area...and regardless of coaching success would give the program a higher profile instantly!)  This would probably take some serious cash based on what ESPN is probably paying...but who knows? maybe we get the hometwon discount? Richard Schmidt - who? He's been the head coach over at the university of tampa for about 25 years. He's very familiar with the area and has always run a successful program (winning seasons in 22 of 23 years). He was voted South Region Coach-of-the-Year following the 1985-86 season and was named the Sunshine State Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2000, and 2002. Has a record of  485-196 (.712) as HC there. http://tampaspartans.athleticsite.com/profile.asp?playerID=142 I doubt either is realistic given their ages...but why not just throw names out there. How about 2 UF assistants Larry Shyatt or Donnie Jones. Shyatt has had some success as a former HC at both Clemson and Wymoning. Jones is their associate head and been an assistant for almost 20 years where he is supposed to be a key recruiter. Both are obviously in a successful program that is within the state and might bring some of that program's success and buzz with them. http://www.gatorzone.com/billydonovan/?sub=staff&bio=shyatt http://www.gatorzone.com/billydonovan/?sub=staff&bio=jones

Driving to Alabama...12 hours Skipping Statics and Physics...a fraction off your cumulative GPA Kicking Auburn's A$$ and taunting your in-laws...priceless. I think the choice is clear.... 8-)

I think this whole idea of expanding the tournament is ludicrous. It's one of my concerns about a potential football playoff as well. The whole point of the tourney is to crown a national champion...not just to have teams make a tournament (correct me if I'm wrong). Therefore if you are "on the bubble" out of that 65...what gives you a legitimate gripe to say you are the national champ. Granted that there are always upsets and a cinderella could get hot at the right time...but if the point is to crown a national champion and we've selected all the major conference winners and the rest of the top 25 AND include a bunch of at large teams..and you still don't get in...what's your claim to be the BEST team in the NCAA? It's not nearly as subjective as the BCS system can be....at least in basketball if you win your conference, it's enough...you're in. As I said before, this same whining would concern me in talking about a football playoff. If you have a 4 team playoff...#5 will be whining....a 12 team playoff...a 13th team complains. I realize that's another debate...but the BBall tournament is about as inclusive as a "playoff" realistically needs to be. Jim Boeheim seems like a great coach...but it's hard for me to have sympathy for "bubble" teams in their claim to become the national champ.

Brighthouse does run the telecasts for Catch 47 here in Bradenton. The question becomes whether they are time delayed...something to look into.

I think that schools need to remember why they carry sports. If it's strictly about making money, then there would be alot of schools who need to fold their football programs and others their BBall teams (maybe even us). Schools have gotten away from sports being an endeavor to promote school spirit and providing activities for it's student body...and it's now all about the money. Unfortunately, not every sport will turn a profit: that's reality. At a certain point a school like Memphis needs to consider that $2 milllion might just the price of having a football team. If the point is just about just having football at a university...then chalk up the football expenses with all the other money losing sports you provide for your students to participate in. If dollars and cents are THE huge factor, then the alternatives are to 1) pump in more dollars in hopes of an improved return...or 2) consider scaling back to competing at a level you can afford (gasp!).  :-? No alumni member of a school wants to ever admit it, but many schools do have a ceiling on their programs. Memphis will most likely never be the football factory that U of M has become...and there isn't any shame in that. If the goal is for a school to become a part of a BCS aligned conference, then that's understandable...everyone wants in on the payouts. But at a certain point a school like Memphis that is losing that kind of money has to ask...what are we paying for and is it worth it?

Hmm...I think it will be an interesting experiment. As strange as it sounds, I think alot of UM's appeal to recruits is from being a "renegade" program. They've taken on alot of talented kids from pretty suspect backgrounds with chips on their shoulders into build their reputation as the "U". It'll be interesting to see if such measures dissuade or attract kids to signing on with them.

From Wikipedia, ever a great source of hard to find info (Doesn't sound like he'd give up that gig even if we wanted him to) : "He currently is the Director of Basketball Operations for the men's and women's teams at Northwood University Florida campus, a private school in West Palm Beach, Fla. He is coaching the Northwood University Seahawks. The 2006-2007 year will be the first basketball team the Northwood Florida campus (as members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, with hopes of joining the NCAA Division II ranks in the future) has ever had competing in the Florida Sun Conference. Coach Massimino hopes to lead the team to the NAIA Division II National Championship in their first season. The Seahawks' first game was against one of Coach Massimino's old teams, which he won a championship with in 1985, the Villanova Wildcats. Villanova won the contest between the coach and the student, 97-60."

An interesting topic that came up when talking to a co-worker in talking about our upcoming pro-day. Just how important is it to the progress of our football program to produce a player who is selected in the first round of the NFL draft? Obviously if you look at some of the other in-state universities and national football powers..they all have at least one guy who has gone onto draft success and become a household name. Deion (FSU), Emmitt (UF), Ray-ray (UM) are guys who most in-state recruits know by their first name alone. Even UCF constantly points to Daunte Culpepper as a signature player produced through their program. Nationally, you have smaller schools producing big-time pros such as Ladainian Tomlinson (TCU), Ben Roethlisberger (miami-ohio) and Chad Pennington-Byron Leftwich-Randy Moss (marshall).  Of course we have had some very good pros in our short history (Kawika, Anthony Henry), but no one of that caliber as of yet. Is this a vital measuring mark in the progress of our program? Does our national image have a "ceiling" until we do? Thoughts?

Joe - you're right...forgot about that, my mistake. That just underscores the importance of that Elon game. If we're not crisp and it take us a few quarters to pull away...it doesn't bode well for us.

at this point if CJL had consecutive losing seasons...not sure that he'd be fired, but there would be a strong sentiment for it. Fair or not, he has set his own bar really high, and there is just too much momentum and talent in this program to NOT win at least 6 games. College football is not like the pros where stringing together "winning" seasons is really hard. Look at our own conference last year...Pitt went 2-5 in the conference and STILL finished 6-6. Syracuse and UCONN went 1-6 in the Big East and won 4 games. So basically to avoid the losing season you need to go .500 in conference and steal another few games. That's reasonable to expect from this program and CJL...anything less would really point to a serious problem.

I'd have to agree with that thought, but remember that in those games we had a freshman QB starting for the first time. WHat I'll be more interested in seeing is the type of playcalling we'll see at the beginning of the season. Gregory is by no means a novice playcaller, but offenses tend to be a little more conservative to begin the year so that the kids start clicking together. Lots of high percentage passes with a short QB drop back along with a good dose of straight ahead runs are typical. On defense there usually isn't usually much complexity with blitzes, stunts, disguising coverages, etc. because early season games can usually be won on talent. I think that's fine to begin the year, but we really need to be meshing well by game #3(Auburn). When we've had the most success has been in the past has been when we're aggressive on both sides of the ball (WVU last year, L'ville the year before). I'm hoping that both units show enough early on to allow the coaches to feel comfortable with an agressive game plan against the Tigers and Eers. If we struggle with the vanilla playcalling that is to be expected against Elon and UCF, then it spells big trouble for those tough games. We don't want to have our coaches hesitating to throw deep or take chances when we need to because a conservative game plan WILL get us beat.

I think as a program we should pull any offers we have for him because I think there are better recruits out there...but at the same time I'm not going to get angry with the kid. So he doesn't share the love for our school that the alums on this board have....what do we expect?? Do we expect him to say "I just left SC but I already can't wait to be at USF and their up and coming program"? As nice as that would stroke our egos as Bulls fans, it's just not going to happen. This is a kid who just left one major program and would be foolish NOT to weigh all his options. His only mistake here is actually speaking the truth in the media. If we'd take off the green and gold colored glasses for a moment here, we'd realize that most of us at that age would have taken the same strategy in that position.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/thun.htm It appears that it was indeed Camon. This is just terrible stuff.

Big East wins are no doubt vital....but let's face facts. Big East is only now getting the national recognition as being a tough conference. IF we go into their house and beat Auburn...a bigtime program from the powerhouse SEC...it might be the biggest win in school history. The recruiting and media doors would fly open like none of us have ever seen.... (not to mention the mass suicides that smazza point out)

Hmm...by that logic Dungy won with Mora's team? We could go round and round on this...but the fact is that Dungy didn't get the job done and was canned. End of story. The next year another coach did get the job done. Was the defense that was already in place the reason they won? Sure, it was definitely alot of the reason. But if we apply the same logic to the Colts and their offense....it just becomes silly. Dungy is a great man, but even great men have their failures. And though extremely successful here, he failed in winning it all. I think he's admitted that...why does anyone argue?