Kevin McGuire, Sports Journalist

The Big Ten Preview: 2012 a year worth forgetting? Not exactly

saturdayfootball — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:32:30 -0400

The Big Ten Preview: 2012 a year worth forgetting? Not exactly:

Crystal Ball Run will be previewing each conference for the 2013 season with week-by-week coverage. Today we continue our 2013 conference previews with a look at the Big Ten.

The Big Ten continues to bring in the money like no other conference can. Unfortunately for the conference, that money has not exactly translated to on-field success as the conference continues to prove itself worthy of being a major power in the college football landscape. Though the conference had an undefeated team last season, the Big Ten was pummeled in the postseason by the SEC and Big 12 and edged by the Pac 12 as well, for good measure. Can the conference continue to relay on the big two, Ohio State and Michigan, to carry the conference’s banner or is it ready for other programs to finally step up and take charge on a national level?

What does the 2013 season have prepared for Big Ten fans before more changes come to the conference and college football in 2014? That is what we will be taking a look at this week on Crystal Ball Run, but before we do allow us to take a glance back at the 2012 season in the Big Ten.

Continue to read my review of the 2012 Big Ten season.

Bobby Petrino returns to coaching a new man

saturdayfootball — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:45:00 -0400

Bobby Petrino returns to coaching a new man:

America loves a good come back story. We latch on to those stories all the time in sports, whether it be an icon’s return from retirement like Michael Jordan or one in which a player looks to get a hold of his life the way Josh Hamilton did years ago. The college football world has seen its share of comebacks as well, and this season includes one more comeback to pay attention to in the Sun Belt Conference.

When we last saw Bobby Petrino on a sideline he was leading Arkansas to a 2012 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M, with the Razorbacks being floated as a potential BCS Championship contender in 2012. Arkansas had just gone 11-2, with the only losses coming against BCS Championship Game participants, and division rivals, Alabama and LSU. The Crimson Tide and Tigers had each soundly defeated Petrino’s Razorbacks, but Arkansas ended the year in the top five and had a schedule and roster that looked like a championship contender heading in to the 2012 season. This is where the old VH1 Behind the Music narrator would come in to say “But then something went terribly wrong.”

Continue reading full story on Crystal Ball Run.

Brady Hoke upset because Notre Dame won the break-up with Michigan

saturdayfootball — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:30:31 -0400

Brady Hoke upset because Notre Dame won the break-up with Michigan:

Most of us have been there before. We have a nice relationship with somebody, share a few laughs and lovable memories we believe we will cherish forever. Then, out of the blue, that relationship is over. You go your separate ways and look for reasons to feel better about your future now that the other is removed from the picture, but deep down inside you are curious what they are up to. You secretly hope that you find happiness before they do and you may even look forward to the day when you can flaunt your new and improved self and life in front of the one who left you. It’s petty, but likely true.

It may be safe to say that Brady Hoke is playing the role of the scorned lover right now. Notre Dame won the break-up.

Penn State Football: The 10 All-Time Best QBs in Nittany Lions' History

saturdayfootball — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:39:00 -0400

Penn State Football: The 10 All-Time Best QBs in Nittany Lions' History:

Penn State is commonly referred to as Linebacker U. The football program has been a linebacker factory over the course of the program’s history, and for good reason. For all of the great players who have played at Penn State over the years, quarterback has rarely been one of the stronger positions before the arrival of Bill O’Brien as head coach.

O’Brien looks to be turning a corner with production at quarterback and the future looks bright for any quarterback who may have a shot at playing in O’Brien’s quarterback-friendly offense. Whether or not we one day include a name like Tyler Ferguson or Christian Hackenberg in a ranking of the top ten quarterbacks in Penn State history will be determined years from now.

For now, let’s take a look through some of the best to play quarterback at Penn State to date and see how far the position has come.

Five Reasons It's Hard Being a Fan of the Philadelphia Eagles

saturdayfootball — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:51:17 -0400

Five Reasons It's Hard Being a Fan of the Philadelphia Eagles:

Is life as a Philadelphia Eaglesfan really so hard? Yes, it is.

Eagles fans have been through years and decades of failure but continue to come back season after season in hopes that their commitment to their favorite football team will finally be rewarded. The future appears to look bright with Chip Kelly now leading the team and bringing some new twists to the offense, but will he be able to help change the outlook of the Philadelphia fan?

Here is a look at the top five reasons being a Philadelphia Eagles fan is tougher than any other franchise.

Read full story.

sportsnetny: Yup. Greatest Kiss Cam moment ever....

saturdayfootball — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:49:13 -0400

sportsnetny:

Yup. Greatest Kiss Cam moment ever. - @amandarykoff

This is fantastic.

markcoatney: Every now and then, Facebook comments can be so,...

saturdayfootball — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:54:43 -0500

markcoatney:

Every now and then, Facebook comments can be so, so great.

Miami president tells NCAA they have suffered enough

saturdayfootball — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:22:16 -0500

Miami president tells NCAA they have suffered enough:

After two years and a flawed investigation by the NCAA, I agree that enough is enough for Miami. Charged with a reported lack of institutional control, Miami has already voluntarily sat out the past two postseasons, and three postseason games. I say Miami should be given time-served given the circumstances.

Story via Examiner.com.

Texas legislation looks to schedule Texas, Texas AM annually

saturdayfootball — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 06:32:44 -0500

Texas legislation looks to schedule Texas, Texas AM annually:

It was once thought Texas state legislature was what would keep Texas and Texas A&M in the same conference. That proved not to be the case. Does it have the power to reunite the long time rivals? One legislator in the state of Texas hopes so.

Democratic representative Ryan Guillen, a Texas A&M alum, has introduced a bill that looks to mandate an annual football game between the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies. Guillen announced his bill via Twitter Monday night.

“Just filed HB 778,” Guillen tweeted referring to the bill. “It requires UT and A&M to play each other annually in a nonconference, regular season football game.”

Details of the bill, such as when the game would be scheduled and perhaps how each school would be compensated and more, are not yet known.

Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.

"Since the University first alerted the NCAA to the possibility of violations more than two years..."

saturdayfootball — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:58:49 -0500

““Since the University first alerted the NCAA to the possibility of violations more than two years ago, we have been cooperative and compliant with the NCAA and, I believe, a model for how institutions should partner with NCAA staff during investigations. In addition to encouraging current and former staff members and student-athletes to cooperate with investigators, we have provided thousands of documents to the enforcement staff.

I am frustrated, disappointed and concerned by President Emmert’s announcement today that the integrity of the investigation may have been compromised by the NCAA staff.

As we have done since the beginning, we will continue to work with the NCAA and now with their outside investigator hoping for a swift resolution of the investigation and our case.

I want to thank our community for their continued support and patience.

Stand with the U.””

- University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala (January 23, 2013)

The NCAA admits to messing up in Miami investigation (Crystal Ball Run)

PA Governor, lawsuit challenge NCAA's handling of Penn State sanctions

saturdayfootball — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:50:41 -0500

PA Governor, lawsuit challenge NCAA's handling of Penn State sanctions:

The state of Pennsylvania will file an anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking a dismissal of all Penn State sanctions levied last summer. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett claimed the NCAA has operated beyond their authority in punishing Penn State following the release of the Freeh Report, an independent investigation paid for by Penn State’s Board of Trustees to detail the responses taken in the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

“I believe that the NCAA has no authority and operated outside of their own bylaws to issue these sanctions,” Corbett said in a stern press conference.

Penn State was punished by the NCAA in the form of significant scholarship reductions, a four-year postseason ban and a $60 million fine. In addition, Penn State was forced to vacate over 100 wins from the NCAA record books, a move regarded by some as a way to punish and tarnish the reputation of former head football coach Joe Paterno, who has been tied to the Sandusky scandal along with former university president, athletic director and official.

“They punished past, present and future students, student athletes, local residents and citizens of Pennsylvania,” Corbett said. “I found myself asking the question: ‘Why would the NCAA involve themselves in something already being handled in the courts?”

Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.

Report says NCAA to be sued by Pennsylvania

saturdayfootball — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:30:09 -0500

Report says NCAA to be sued by Pennsylvania:

The state of Pennsylvania and the NCAA have been at odds over how to distribute the funding provided by fine payments by Penn State related to NCAA sanctions. That battle could be heading to the courts, according to multiple reports this week.

On Tuesday Sports Illustrated reported the state is preparing to file a lawsuit against the NCAA but the primary intent of the lawsuit is not yet known. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday but Sports Illustrated reports the lawsuit was not requested by Penn State. Penn State is not directly involved in the lawsuit, according to the report.

It is likely the lawsuit will focus on how the funds raised from Penn State’s fine payments will be distributed, as the state and NCAA have been debating how much of the funds should be used for local and national child abuse prevention. The NCAA fined Penn State a total of $60 million to be deposited in to an account to be used to fund child abuse prevention in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and details reported in the Freeh Report that investigated Penn State’s response and actions in the Sandusky scandal.

Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.

Five Games To Pay Attention To This Weekend If You Are Hoping The Eagles Snag A Top Draft Pick « CBS Philly

saturdayfootball — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 10:58:33 -0500

Five Games To Pay Attention To This Weekend If You Are Hoping The Eagles Snag A Top Draft Pick « CBS Philly:

For CBS Philly

leitch: I was saddened by the news this morning that Sporting...

saturdayfootball — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 05:07:06 -0500

leitch:

I was saddened by the news this morning that Sporting News magazine is ceasing print publication with this next, final edition. (The brand will continue digitally, on iPads, online, so on, you know: Internetty places.) Like many people, I read TSN regularly as a kid and have been a subscriber my entire adult life. I also worked for TSN Online as my first real job, from June 1998-December 1999.

But want a good sign why the print publication is ceasing? How about this: I’ve been the front-of-the-book columnist for Sporting News for more than four years now — I started a couple of weeks after I left Deadspin — and I don’t personally know a single person who knows that fact, outside my family and my editors there. I mean, no one has ever mentioned it to me, ever. The only people I’ve ever met who knew I was the columnist were people who personally emailed the address next to the column itself. Many of them people were in prison or currently, that second, in the dentist office.

I enjoyed writing the column and loved working with some of my old TSN colleagues from the St. Louis days. Those guys have worked their asses off for years. And it’s certainly possible that the column itself was so bad that it just never garnered a reaction, that every other writer was getting constant feedback, that it was just me. (Oh man: I hope I didn’t kill the magazine.) But the saddest part isn’t that TSN is ceasing print publication this month; the saddest part is almost everyone thought it already had.

I do not know if I’ll be continuing to write for TSN in its bi-monthly yearbook editions. I’m interested, as long as I don’t have to write next to this moron. But even though it’s just an “evolution of the brand,” as they always say, let’s not kid ourselves. The Sporting News has been printed for 126 years. Now it won’t be. We’re losing something real here.

Incredible to see a 126-year publication cease to exist in the physical form.

Notre Dame is playing for a BCS title and that is OK

saturdayfootball — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:24:52 -0500

The nightmare scenario for many college football fans around the nation has come true. Notre Dame will play for a BCS national championship in January.

It may have taken a while but Notre Dame finally feels as though their approach to college football has been justified. Running an independent football program years after other big name programs decided the time was right to align with a conference has seen more than a fair share of criticism saying the life of an independent is not the way to go and by doing so actually leaves Notre Dame in the dust in terms of national relevance. In the grand scheme of things, perhaps this will be proven to be true, but this season Notre Dame made it work.

Returning to college football’s pedestal was a long and rough road at times for the Irish. Since last capturing national glory in South Bend in the 1988 season Notre Dame has made four coaching changes and even suffered through a 12-year drought without a single bowl victory, a stretch perhaps unimaginable since the Ara Parseghian era.

Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.

On this day in 1962...

saturdayfootball — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:23:52 -0500

Wilt Chamberlain drops in 73 points to lead the Philadelphia Warriors to a 127–111 triumph over the New York Knicks before a crowd of 7,146 at Madison Square Garden. Wilt collects 29 field goals and 15 free throws and doesn’t commit a single personal foul while playing all 48 minutes. Though he is a notoriously poor foul shooter, Chamberlain sinks 14 free throws in a row. The Warriors-Knicks clash is part of a double header and, in the preliminary, fans at the Garden catch a glimpse of the future as two high school teams from the New York City area play each other. Power Memorial, led by 15-year-old sophomore Lew Alcindor, defeats LaSalle Academy, 56–44. Alcindor (who will change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971) scores 22 points and nabs 15 rebounds. Chamberlain will end his career with 31,419 points. It stands as the NBA record until Abdul-Jabbar surpasses it in 1984.

Via Page-A-Day Calendar

Wisconsin looks for statement game vs undefeated Buckeyes

saturdayfootball — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:46:00 -0500

You would not think that two-time defending Big Ten champions would need to come up with a statement win in mid-November, having already clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game weeks before the conclusion of the end of the season. Yet, this is exactly what the Wisconsin Badgers will look to do this weekend when they welcome Big Ten Leaders division rival, and undefeated, Ohio State.

Ohio State enters this weekend with a perfect 10-0 record, but due to NCAA sanctions are ineligible for postseason play. With Penn State also on probation the path to a return trip to Indianapolis for the Badgers was more like an express lane. Wisconsin has already clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game for a chance to defend their outright conference championship and guarantee a third consecutive trip to Pasadena to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl.

But it is the Buckeyes that have ironically carried the conference banner this season for a Big Ten that has come up small on the national stage from week one. Ohio State is one of four undefeated teams left in the country, joined by No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Kansas State and No. 3 Notre Dame. Because the Buckeyes are ineligible for postseason play they are not ranked in the BCS standings, but Ohio State is accepting of the position they currently sit in and are focused solely on the two final games of their 2012 season.

“You know, I could lie to you and say that I don’t,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said earlier this week when asked about caring about being one of the four undefeated teams in the country. “I’ll hear it and read it once in a while, and I have good friends in the profession that will make a comment, and I’ll think for a second. But then I go back to knowing exactly who we were, and you go back to how we’ve won and who we are right now, and we’re pretty fortunate where we are. Let’s find a way to get No. 11.”

Meanwhile Wisconsin has struggled at times throughout the season, with a sluggish start of the season that was thought to ruin any chance running back Montee Ball had to make any runs for individual honors and perhaps see a trip to Rose Bowl elude them in a season that was their trip to lose.

<Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.>

Barack Obama’s Victory Speech Full - Election 2012 (by...

saturdayfootball — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:59:39 -0500

Barack Obama’s Victory Speech Full - Election 2012 (by WSJDigitalNetwork)

President Barack Obama wins re-election in the 2012 Presidential Election.

Duke football enjoys rare success, but not finished yet

saturdayfootball — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 10:14:00 -0400

Duke football enjoys rare success, but not finished yet:

Duke football means something this season, and it has been a long time coming.

A capacity crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium is a rare sight for Duke’s often forgotten football program, but on Saturday night the Blue Devils put together one of the most important drives in program history against rival North Carolina. For those who have been through some dark seasons in Durham, a better script may not have been able to be written.

Trailing the Tar Heels late in the fourth quarter, Duke organized a 14-play drive that covered 87 yards and ended with quarterback Sean Renfree completing a pass to wide receiver Jamison Crowder with 13 seconds remaining, to give Duke a 32-30 lead. Following an extra point attempt Duke held a 33-30 lead with little time remaining for the visiting Tar Heels. The defense took care of the final seconds and Duke improved to 6-2 on the year, making the Blue Devils eligible for a postseason bowl game for the first time since 1994.

“I just had a good feeling, I honestly did, even when it got to fourth down,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said following the game. “Jamison Crowder doesn’t have good hands, you know this, he has great hands and for him to hold onto that ball was great. I don’t think anyone could have pried it loose from him. It was just a well-executed play.”

With six wins this season Duke has already won as many games as they have in the past two seasons combined and have now won the second most games in a season dating back to 1990. The only time in that span the Blue Devils were heading to the postseason, they did so with eight wins. Kansas State’s Bill Snyder and Penn State’s Bill O’Brien have been receiving an increasing amount of national praise for the jobs they have been doing this season at their respective schools, with each being mentioned as a strong national coach of the year candidate, but Cutcliffe may have the upper hand in the entire discussion with what Duke is doing this season.

Since the last time Duke’s football team played in a bowl game, the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl, Duke’s men’s basketball team has won 40 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games, highlighted by a pair of national championships. Right now, Duke’s football team is the story of the year on campus, and possibly the entire ACC.

Continue reading full story on Examiner.com.

Penn State 39, No. 24 Northwestern 28 (2012) - YouTube

saturdayfootball — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:28:04 -0400

Penn State 39, No. 24 Northwestern 28 (2012) - YouTube:

If you want to browse through my raw video clips from Penn State’s win against Northwestern, I just grouped them in a playlist.