Uncertainty at One Bills Drive

The Buffalo Bills fired their head coach and fellow Tribesman Sean McDermott on Monday.  I don't love this move for several reasons.

First, McDermott is a good head coach.  But much like the practice of law, being an NFL head coach is all about "what have you done for me lately."  Here's how McDermott compares to the best coaches over the last four years and their career Super Bowl records with the best in yellow:

McDermott is no Andy Reid or Nick Sirianni, but he compares favorably with everyone else over the last four years.  He made the playoffs with Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman as his starting QBs for god's sake!  It isn't clear that anyone could do much better.  

Second, as with anything in life, a change can make things better or worse.  It was pretty ugly before McDermott arrived at One Bills Drive going back 30 years:

That's 17 consecutive years without making the playoffs.  From an AFC East perspective they finished in last place 8 times, in the bottom two 16 times, and went 24 years without winning the division.  That was not fun.  You know what was more fun?  Ninety-eight wins, eight playoff appearances and five division titles over nine years.  Will they do as well with Brian Daboll or Mike McCarthy or Klint Kubiak or Joe Brady?  For every Marv Levy or Sean McDermott there's a Mike Mularkey or a Chan Gailey.

Third, a bunch of things outside of McDermott's control cost them this game.  

zdaughter really got into football this season and plays a lot of Madden (which involves drubbing me mercilessly and talking smack about it).  At the end of the first half with 22 seconds left she said "They should run four verticals" and I said "No, they will take a knee."  They did not take a knee, which is on McDermott, but what happened after the snap is not on McDermott.

Allen should've thrown this away, or slid, or really done anything other than carry the ball like a loaf of bread.  McDermott didn't cause that fumble, or fail to recover it, or kick the FG for Denver.

I know that zdaughter is a real Bills fan because she woke up on Sunday still pissed off about the Brandon Cooks play.

Even this guy in a Celtics shirt says the Bills got ripped off and he brings the receipts with the same fact pattern but a different outcome in the Rams/Bears game.

Real Bills fans know that it isn't fair to besmirch someone based on another person's failures.

Fourth, there's no clear choice to replace McDermott.  

The last time I did one of these posts I talked about coaches with rings, or CWR.  No coach ever won a Super Bowl with two different teams despite the fact that there have been LIX (that's 59 for you math majors) opportunities to do so.  As a result I don't want a CWR so that rules out John Harbaugh (who isn't available), Mike Tomlin (who wants to take the year off and would require sending draft picks to the Steelers), and Mike McCarthy (who doesn't get me excited and probably wants to go home to Pittsburgh anyway).

The Pegulas' goal appears to be getting to the Super Bowl ASAP.  Only seven coaches reached the Super Bowl in their first year with a team:

• Don McCafferty with the 1970 Colts.  They won.  McCafferty was the Colts' offensive backfield coach in 1969.
• Red Miller with the 1977 Broncos.  They lost.  Miller was the Patriots' OL coach in 1976 (that's a crazy career upgrade by the way).
• George Seifert with the 1989 49ers.  They won (for the second year in a row) with a stacked roster including six Pro Bowlers, three first team All Pros, and the league MVP (and at least five future Hall of Famers).  Seifert was the Niners' DC in 1988.
• Bill Callahan with the 2002 Raiders.  This team was stacked with Rich Gannon (league MVP), Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, two first team All Pros on the offensive line, Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Bill Romanowski, and Sam Adams (the DT not the brewer).  Callahan was the Raiders' OC in 2001 and they lost to ...
• John Gruden with the 2002 Bucs.  He was the Raiders' HC in 2001.  This defense was one of the best ever with Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Ronde Barber, John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, and Booger McFarland.  Sapp, Barber, Lynch and Brooks are HOFers.
• Jim Caldwell with the 2009 Colts.  They lost.  Like Seifert, he was on the team's staff the prior year (assistant HC/QB coach) and he took over a stacked roster that won it all a few years previously including seven Pro Bowlers, three first team All Pros, and the league MVP (and at least two future Hall of Famers).
• Gary Kubiak with the 2015 Broncos.  They won thanks to arguably the league's best defense featuring five Pro Bowlers and one first team All Pro.  Peyton Manning's withered husk started 9 games going 7-2, completing 59.8% of his passes for 9 TD and 17 INT.  Brock Ostweiler chipped in 5 wins, 10 TD and 6 INT along the way.  Kubiak was Baltimore's OC in 2014 and he had a history with Denver as their backup QB in the 1980s.

So what's the best comp for this Bills team?  

The roster is not stacked--they do have three Pro Bowlers (Allen, James Cook, Dion Dawkins) but they have no speed at receiver, the defensive line has no one fearsome (despite spending lots of draft capital there), the defensive backs are shaky (despite spending lots of draft capital there) and always injured, two of their starting OL are free agents, and they will be more than $7.6m over the cap (due in not insignificant part to Allen's $56m cap hit, up from $36m this year).

The coaching staff has talent.  Bobby Babich put together the top pass defense (despite all the injuries) but the run defense was like a sieve.  Joe Brady would maintain Tribal continuity and he assembled a top five offense three years in a row.  But neither are as seasoned as Seifert or Callahan.

The closest match I can see is the 2002 Bucs--they were very good on one side of the ball--so I'm looking for a good head coach (or coordinator with head coaching experience) who didn't break through yet.   Looking closer at history, Gruden and Kubiak were offensive coaches who won Super Bowls as head coaches with dominant defenses so maybe the Bills need to hire someone who came up as a DC like Leslie Frazier (former Bills DC), Vic Fangio, or Steve Spagnuolo, but they're old as hell, so Vance Joseph, Robert Saleh, or Brian Flores.  For shits and giggles I'll give Anthony Campanile a shoutout because Fair Lawn and Don Bosco.

Ultimately though, they will probably hire Brian Daboll because Josh Allen loves him and that's as good a reason as any.  I don't love that hire (I watched him coach a lot of bad Giants losses) but I'll hope for the best.

USSF Presidential Election: A Very Special Guestie

Obviously, those of us with interest in both William & Mary and the United States Soccer Federation have a rooting interest in the race for the USSF Presidency. And some of us (coughshlaracough) aren't particularly subtle about our preference. So, in the interest of impartiality, we asked our pal Fay Guy in a Speedo to weigh in on the process that culminates on February 10 with the election of the new USSF boss.

Sunil Days Aren't Here Again

Columbia Grad

As the current president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), Sunil Gulati has taken as much heat for the USMNT's failure to qualify for the upcoming World Cup as Bruce Arena, the coach he (re)hired for the campaign. As a result, Mr. Gulati has decided to step down from the  position he's held since 2006 after being re-elected for a record-breaking 4th time for the 4-year post. Obviously, Gulati has done some incredible work for the sport in the USA, you can check out his C.V. at econ.Columbia.edu if you don't believe me. The reason Gulati is affiliated with Columbia U is due to his status as a Senior Lecturer in Economics there. The reason he is a lecturer at Columbia is due to the fact that his position as current president of the USSF is a gratis position. How am I supposed to trash on a guy who is the de facto head of a non-profit and works for nothing?

The equivalent position in the FA in England made a couple million pounds last year for reference. The USSF is run as a non-profit and none of the 14 board members draw a salary, including the president. A quick scan of their 2016 tax return confirms this as well as a few other items of interest. Apparently all of the board members average 5 hours per week to oversee the behemoth that is US soccer while the staff (coaches, players, et al.) average 40 hours per week. These hours seem patently ridiculous given that a flight to talk to former head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to LA from NYC is 5 and a half hours if you're lucky. The numbers also reveal that USSF CEO, Dan Flynn, earned $695K while Klinsmann made $3M as head coach. If this doesn't annoy you enough note that his assistant coach, Andreas Herzog, earned almost $400K while Jill Ellis (W&M '87), the head coach of the unfathomably successful US Women's National Team earned just over $300K. The average salary of a Senior Lecturer at Columbia is $77K and it isn't even a tenure track position. No wonder the USMNT can't compete in the easiest and worst regional division of world soccer, CONCACAF; there isn't much at stake for the brass if the team succeeds or fails. No carrot, no stick. This seems incredibly un-American, maybe our Communistic approach to a relative nascent sport in this country is a reason for our lack of success. Gulati has been faulted in the past for not attending important games for the men's and women's teams in the tri-state area and his excuse for not attending is that he's had a class to teach at the time. I imagine this is a problem unique to soccer anywhere else in the world except for the 'shithole countries' recently referenced by our orange-in-chief.

Wharton grads

The election for a new overlord president is a few weeks away and there are eight candidates vying for the unlucrative position and middling power. Out of those eight, most Americans have only heard of one, Hope Solo, and although she has no shot of winning there would be a beautiful symmetry in having a dual dumpster fire presidency to rival the one in the Oval Office. The front-runners are Kathy Carter (W&M '91) and Eric Wynalda. One is a marketing guru and President of Soccer United Marketing and the other is Eric Wynalda. Mrs. Carter (Kathy, not Bey) represents the old regime and didn't decide to run until Gulati opted out. The current administrators are promoting her presidency while Mr. Wynalda is the populist front-runner with radical ideas to shake up the tedium also known as MLS. Either way, apparently there's not much at stake here. How can there be for a position that has no salary at five working hours per week? That's like me listing redtube.com viewing on my resume. Soccer will continue to limp along on the fringes of the American sporting consciousness. The MLS will continue to earn enough dough to keep it from radically altering its structure. The USA's developmental soccer progam will continue to be a pay for play affair that's only available to the privileged, unathletic few. Winter is no longer coming and there's no Game of Thrones until 2019. It could be worse, we could be Italian.*

DeVry grads

*Italy is neither a shithole country nor a place to be maligned. They failed to qualify for the World Cup as well.

(If you're scoring at home, the official G:TB prediction is that Wynalda and Kyle Martino join forces after several ballots fail to resolve the issue, and Wynalda wins. And is a trainwreck.)

The Best Sort of Homecoming

By the time you read this, I'll likely have awakened, groggy and cotton mouthed, possibly in the back seat of my car, and in any case almost certainly wearing the clothes I wore the night before. I'll be somewhere on Interstate 64, or maybe 95, headed to my current home from my once and future.

I'm certain to have heard and told stories that I've long ago memorized, remet and remembered people I'd long forgotten, and walked in a younger version of my own footsteps. I'll have mini-summited, drank beer out of plastic pitchers, laughed, laughed, and laughed.

I'll be there.

Tribe Pride

I still haven't fully processed Jon Stewart's departure from The Daily Show. It's probably time, frankly, but it's hard to overstate how good he was, and how influential his ostensibly comedy program was, for 16 years.

While we ponder deep thoughts, one of Stewart's most memorable moments below, from the time he demolished Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson on their own show, Crossfire. Balls.

#1bid4wmtribe roadie

The tiny dictator is picking me up around 2 for our trek to Baltimore and the CAA Tournament. Tribe game tips at 8:30. Remember, kids, your hashtag of the day (next three days, god and griffin willing), is #1bid4wmtribe

Bonus footage of what the car ride will likely resemble:

[h/t]

Patience Is A Virtue/Saturday College Basketball Open Thread

While we all eagerly await Day 12 of Gheorghemas, I thought I would post this video I found of Rob.  I'm not sure if he is trying to have sex with this cat or just playing.  Enjoy...



In totally unrelated news, it should be noted that the NY Football Jets had quite a day.  As was pointed out in the comments yesterday, Kellen Winslow was charged with possession of synthetic marijuana after a witness reported that he was in his Caddy treating his body like an amusement park.  From the gumshoe squad at the NY Post:

According to the report, when cops approached Winslow, he said he was looking for a Boston Market, but couldn’t find it. When police approached Winslow went from “slouched in his seat and moving around” to an upright position. His genitals were not exposed, but officers saw “two open containers of Vaseline on his center console.”

Sounds perfectly innocent to me.  Who doesn't need to get their nads all lubed up before enjoying some fast food rotisserie chicken and creamed spinach?

Not to be outdone by his semi-aroused, quasi-stoned, poultry loving tight end, Jets quarterback Geno Smith apparently went the full Alec Baldwin and got himself kicked off a Virgin America flight for refusing to turn off his cell phone after (maybe) fighting with ticket agents about getting his seat assignment.  

Anybody think Rex Ryan may regret taking that contract extension?

Finally, the Tribal cagers take on the slobbering hell hounds of Jimmy Madison U around 4 PM at the Tribedome in Williamsburg.  W&M is favored by 7.5.  As always bet against Rob's selection.

Is that a #PantslessGriffin on my TV?

The CAA released their 2013-14 television schedule today as part of their annual media day, and will you look at that, the Pantsless Griffins of William and Mary actually appear six times on said (conference) sked.

• Sat., Jan. 18 James Madison at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
• Sun., Feb. 2 William & Mary at James Madison NBCSN 2:30 PM
• Sat., Feb. 15 Towson at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
• Sat., Feb. 22 Northeastern at William & Mary CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS, SNY (TD) 4:00 PM
• Sat., Mar. 1 William & Mary at Towson CSN-MA; CSN-P; CSN-NE; CSS; SNY 4:00 PM
• Thu., Jan. 23 William & Mary at UNCW CAA-TV; CSN-MA+; TCN-P; CSN-NE; WECT 7:00 PM

There are high expectations for this edition of the Tribe, something rob or I are afraid to discuss in public (a 5th place finish, as predicted below, would be tremendously disappointing). But let's just say there aren't a lot of years where preseason accolades are thrown at not one, but two, Tribe hoopsters:

At the Colonial Athletic Association’s annual media day, the William and Mary men’s basketball team placed a pair of players on preseason all-league teams, while the Tribe was picked fifth in the preseason poll. Junior guard Marcus Thornton was selected Preseason First Team All-CAA, while senior forward Tim Rusthoven garnered second-team honors.

Poochie Griffin

It's do or die for the Pantsless Griffins today

The William and Mary baseball team lost a tough one yesterday, falling 1-0 to No. 7 North Carolina State and star pitcher Carlos Rodon. The loss throws the Tribe into the losers bracket of the Raleigh Regional, meaning the Pantsless Griffins need to defeat Ole Miss at 1 pm today, then take down NC State at 6pm tonight. Oh yeah, W&M would then also need to defeat the Wolfpack again tomorrow. So, yeah, it's gonna be dicey.

I have no idea who is pitching for either team in the 1pm game, but first pitch occurs in 18 minutes so rather than do any research I will just toss this preview up as a Sunday open thread. Here's hoping the Tribesters take down Ole Miss for the second time in three days, at the bare minimum, and that they somehow pull a win out of their behinds against NC State tonight to force a game tomorrow as well.

Roll stupid colonial mythological creature thing...

#PantslessGriffins NCAA Baseball Previewgasm, Part 2: El Beisbol Boogaloo

HOLY SHIT, THEY DID IT. After scoring an at-large bid to the 2013 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the William and Mary Tribe defeated 23rd-ranked Ole Miss 4-2 in a first round regional game yesterday, earning the first tournament victory in school history. So, yeah, they're kind of a big deal (tho zman doesn't think so, because he's a zdick). The win also gave the team 38 victories on the year, setting a school record.

Jason Inghram (9-6) was huge on the hill for the Fightin' Tribesters, allowing just two runs and eight hits in eight innings of work, striking out three Rebels and walking one on the day. Senior lefty Matt Wainman (eventually) closed the door in the ninth, tying a Tribe record with his ninth save of the season.

The Pantsless Griffins scored all four of their runs against Ole Miss in the fifth inning, rather unconventionally I might add. To w(h)it:

That's four runs on zero hits, folks. Oh yeah - they did that all with two outs. Pretty freakin' hard to do. Anyhoo, as is the norm with Tribe sports teams, the Rebels eventually began to chip away at the 4-0 lead, and in fact had All American catcher Stuart Turner at the plate as the tying run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs before Wainman sealed the deal on the historic victory.

So, guess we need to briefly preview today's game, right? And we sure as hell aren't going to let rob write the preview, because for a guy that small he is a huge jinx. Which means you get a few more useless words from this guy.

I need to stop googling "Pantsless Griffins"

Tonight, 7pm at Doak Field, William and Mary will take on the top seed in the Raleigh Regional, N.C. State, on their home field. The Wolfpack are ranked seventh in the country entering the tournament, and probably got hosed out of being one of the top eight national seeds. (N.C. State head coach Elliott Avent certainly seems to think so)

Making matters even tougher for the Tribe, they will face N.C. State ace Carlos Rodon this evening. The All-American sophomore is 8-2 this season, and in the ACC tournament last weekend broke the single-season strikeout record (he now has 151 on the year). The Wolfpack defeated Binghamton yesterday 4-1 courtesy of home runs from Tarran Seanay and Trea Turner to set up Saturday's matchup with the Tribe. Also, if you have not seen the catch NC State's Jake Fincher made in yesterday's contest, enjoy it now.

  

The good news for the Pantsless Griffin faithful is the boys from the Burg will be sending their best pitcher to the hill tonight as well, in All-CAA performer John Farrell. (He is good. And stoic.) He has been discussed a few times on GTB, and hopefully will keep the Wolfpack bats in check long enough for W&M to get a run or two across the plate against Rodon. Hell, the Tribe don't even need hits to score, so how hard can it be?

Earning a victory will be a tall order, Nordberg, but us FUTILE SUPERFANS have faith. In the immortal words of noted thespian Rob Schneider, YOU CAN DO IT.

Futile Superfans Pantsless Griffins Uber NCAA Baseball Previewgasm

I was told to write a Tribe NCAA baseball tourney game preview. Well, here you go...(warning, this post is going to be a disaster)

For only the third time in school history, and the first as an at-large bid, the William and Mary Tribe have made the NCAA baseball tournament, despite a lackluster showing in last weekend's CAASe7en tourney (went 2-2, losing to academic bastion Towson in the championship round). The Tribe take the field today at 2pm as the #3 seed in The Raleigh Regional, facing #2 seed Ole Miss. You know what they say, throw our the records when these two get together (no one in their right mind says this). Also in this regional: top-seed NC State and soon-to-be-CAA member Binghamton (I think. conference realignment scares and frightens me. much like an elliptical machine). Regional play is double-elimination, with the pod winner advancing to the Super-Regional. For the hell of it, here's who the Tribe will face after they win the pod (FUTILE SUPERFANS UNITE):



Fun fact: William and Mary has ZERO wins in the NCAA baseball tourney. ZERO. I even checked with twitter to confirm what I think I thought I already knew (I sound like FUPA Peter King now). But hey, unlike the Burg hardcourt denizens, at least these guys have made the dance...

The Pantsless Griffins have made the NCAA tourney two times prior to the 2013 at-large selection, in 2001 as CAA champions and in 1983 as ECAC South champs (now you're just making up conferences). In 2001, Clemson and South Alabama took down the Tribesters. In '83, North Carolina destroyed W&M 11-0 in the first game and then the Tribe lost 13-8 to the scholars of JMU.

Quick aside: You might have heard the (god awful) mascot for William and Mary is a Griffin, a Griffin who lacks a particular piece of clothing. Well, today I learned there is an actual f'ing website called "Dress The Griffin". Seriously. It even has an app. Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?

Killer chain, bro

Please keep the mythological Greek creature away from the children.

Game preview: Oh, right, the actual contest at hand. W&M enters the game with a record of 37-22, one victory shy of the school record for wins (their 17 CAA victories did set a record). Ole Miss, after beginning the season 19-1, also enters the game with a 37-22 mark. At their highwater mark this season, the Rebels were ranked No. 6 in the nation.

The Tribe will send sophomore Jason Inghram (8-6, 3.46 ERA) to the mound this afternoon, opposed by Ole Miss junior Mike Mayers (5-5, 2.98 ERA). W&M star pitcher John Farrell, a 1st team all-CAA performer, is the likely regional Game 2 starter. I think rob delved a bit into Farrell's outstanding season in a previous post, but since I don't read anything on here, I'll add a few nuggets on the best pitcher the Burg has seen since before WWII. Farrell was 11-2 on the year, with a 2.80 ERA and 86 strikeouts against just 13 walks. The kid is a neuroscience major, and three grafs into this profile of Farrell we get a Marcus Aurelius name drop. Stoicism, for the win.

Moving on...at the dish, the non-pants-wearing Griffins are led by 1B Michael Katz, who is hitting .365 with 5 HRs and 47 RBI entering Friday's action. His plate work is complemented by 2B Ryan Lindemuth, who has a nearly identical offensive line (.363, 4 HR, 47 RBI). As a team, the Tribe hit .296 on the year with 17 home runs, 330 runs batted in and 367 runs scored.

Not to be ignored, Ole Miss has a hitting superstar as well, catcher Stuart Turner. The junior backstop is hitting .381 with five dingers, 44 runs scored and 50 RBI. On Thursday Turner was named to the Collegiate Baseball's All-American team.

TJ, how do I follow along with the action, you may (not) be asking? Hunker down in your cube with TribeAthletics.com (@TribeAthletics) open in your non-porn browser window for live stats and audio, provided by Wes Kempton and new FOG:TB Kris Sears (@kasear). It seems ESPN3 will also be streaming action from all 16 regionals this season, so hit that up if you get it.

Important youtube clip inclusion:

Are you pointing to the sky? Are you #1? Or do you just want everyone to watch the Lloyd Christmas clip again?

Go git 'em, Tribesters. Do it Bill Bray, Brendan Harris and Will Rhymes, fellas.

For more details on today's matchup, and the squad in general, be sure to check out this legitimate game preview, not the schlock I provided above.

Full NCAA tourney bracket can be found here.

rob fails yet again to title a post

While William & Mary's basketball programs (men's and women's) haven't met with much success in the modern era (though Thursday marked the 60th anniversary of Tribesman Bill Chambers' NCAA-record 51 rebounds against Virginia), the Tribe's Olympic sports have traditional been CAA and even national powers. W&M's men's cross country team has captured the last 12 conference championships, while the women harriers have won 7 of 9.

Freshman Emily Stites looks to be the latest in a long line of stellar W&M runners. Two weeks ago on a muddy course outside of St. Louis, Stites dominated the field to capture the USA Track & Field junior women's national championship. Stites finished more than 21 seconds faster than the runner-up to become the first W&M freshman to win a national championship of any kind.

Team G:TB finds this very cool.

CAA Conference Tourney Morning Filler

I was trying to dig up video of Nick Nolte's ridiculous Red carpet interview on ABC last night, but I am failing miserably, so in the meantime I pasted below the bracket and schedule for the upcoming CAA tournament, which begins Friday in Richmond. The key game for us of course is the Tribe's matchup with Northeaster, at 6pm pm on Friday. The boys of Shaver win that one, and I for one (as a futile superfan) absolutely think they'll put a scare into VCU. Hell, they almost beat them once this year, why not do it in style in the tourney.

First Round, Friday, March 2: 
Noon: (8) James Madison Dukes vs. (9) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
2:30 p.m.: (5) Delaware Blue Hens vs. (12) Towson Tigers
6 p.m.: (7) Northeastern Huskies vs. (10) William & Mary Tribe 
8:30 p.m.: (6) Georgia St. Panthers vs. (11) Hofstra Pride

Second Round, Saturday, March 3: 
Noon: (Winner James Madison/UNC-Wilmington) vs. (1) Drexel Dragons
2:30 p.m.: (Winner Delaware/Towson) vs. (4) Old Dominion Monarchs
6 p.m.: (Winner Northeastern/William & Mary) vs. (2) Va. Commonwealth Rams
8:30 p.m.: (Winner Georgia St./Hofstra) vs. (3) George Mason Patriots

Semifinals, Sunday, March 4: 
2 p.m.: Winner of Sat.'s early games
4:30 p.m.: Winner of Sat.'s late games

Finals, Monday, March 5: 
7 p.m.: Semifinals winners

I might have some upcoming news on the Finals game later in the week. In the meantime, start prepping for GherogheFest folks, it's just six days away.

This Week in Wrenball: Shiny Things

We have a confession to make. We've been so distracted by Marcus Thornton's flash and his tantalizing potential that we've completely missed the point. We've whined about injuries keeping JohnMark Ludwick and Kyle Gaillard from contributing, and robbing Quinn McDowell of his consistency, and ignored a big story. We've celebrated Beasthoven without giving credit where credit is due.

The fact is, friends, when the Tribe wins, it's because Brandon Britt played well.

Last year as a freshman, Britt brought a dynamism and speed to the Tribe's backcourt that Williamsburg hadn't seen in, well, maybe ever. He averaged 10.9 points per game and tallied more assists than turnovers - a non-trivial plus for a freshman point guard.

Thornton's arrival in Williamsburg heralded great things, and the athletic frosh has certainly had his moments. Unfortunately, he thrives most with the ball in his hands, which had created problems for Britt, who, not coincidentally thrives most...with the ball in his hands. As you may know, the game is played with a single ball on the court at any given time. Therein lies the rub.

The Tribe's season has been a study in frustration, the team's perimeter-based offense sputtering as it tried to figure out how to accommodate two young, gifted athletes with similar skillsets while not forgetting that their best player is a wing who needs the ball, too. More often than not, the results have been disappointing.

But in the Tribe's five wins, a pattern emerges. Britt, who averages 8.9 ppg on the season, drops in 16.8 per game in W&M victories. His shooting percentage rises from 36.5% to 51% in victories, with his free throw accuracy increasing from 72.4% to 82.4%. He's averaging 2.0 turnovers a game on the season, but has only given it up three times total in the Wrens' wins. Geeking out a bit, he's 57.8% more efficient on offense in wins, going from 85.4 points/100 possessions to 134.7. If you don't believe me on this stuff, check out Michael Litos in his weekly CAA Court Report. Note the outstanding facial topiary (and next time you see him, ask him where he gets his W&M nuggets):



It may be too late to salvage the 2011-12 season, but with Britt just a sophomore and Thornton but a pup, the future of the program depends upon Tony Shaver figuring out how to get the two to co-exist on the floor.

Tough row to hoe this evening in Philly as the Tribe takes on red-hot Drexel at 7:00. The game's televised on CSN-MA for those of you not stuck in a Hallmark-based holiday tradition. Or, as I like to say when my wife can hear me, "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie! Hugs and kisses!"

In big league news, the CAA announced a television partnership with the fledgling NBCSports Channel yesterday. Smarter folks (read: Litos) can give you all the details, but for my money, the league gets a partner with a vested interest in its success (the CAA is the first conference to enter into an agreement with NBCSports) and no real entrenched conflicts of interest. Yes, turning its back on ESPN is a risk, but I think the upside is significant for the league, and not just for basketball and football (CAA gridders get five games televised as part of the package).

Finally, and speaking of hugs and kisses, a giant Happy Birthday to Gheorghe Dimitru Muresan. Many happy returns, big fella.

Dennis Pens an Ode to Darren Sharper

You know Dennis, right? The mud farmer on our editorial staff who is never around? Well, it appears Darren Sharper's retirement stoked the creative fire...as he just sent me this email/post. Enjoy.

Shining Path...Fading Tunnel.

Post this please….preferably with a cool photo of him in his Tribe days. I’ve done little to no editing, so post with caution… Clicks. [I chose to barely edit this, because honestly I have no idea what parts Dennis actually wrote, and what parts he just copied and pasted from other sources. Kinda like our college days.]

Former Saints safety and five-time Pro Bowl selection Darren Sharper plans to retire. Just about to turn 36 in November, Sharper got a workout with the Broncos in September but there wasn't much interest in him around the league. The Redskins scheduled a workout but canceled when Sharper parked in owner Dan Snyder’s reserved space. A member of the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2000s, it is likely that he follows through on his plan. Sharper is most notably remembered for his team first attitude, Super Bowl performances, nose for the pick-6, lightly covering Randy Moss, and the greatest 360 dunk in the recorded history of intramural basketball. Though unlikely to garner enough votes to make the cut, he will potentially land on a Hall of Fame ballot or two (he has G:TB’s vote, that’s for certain).

During his retirement days, Sharper plans to further his business career as a part-time producer at BET and entrepreneur of his organic foods supply company, Sharp Simple. He’ll also be kept busy by his 4 dogs and 3 adopted children from Eastern State Hospital. In the new year Darren also plans to launch a charity in his name entitled “The D-List” , through which funds will be raised for former UVA athletes who fall on hard times - Darren’s brother Jamie and former NBC star Tiki Barber will be among his flagship projects. He has always held true to his roots and maintained a need to give back. He reflects fondly on his formidable years in Hampton Roads and Williamsburg, VA. His admiration for local organizations and community initiatives were exemplified by his unique relationship with the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity - Virginia Psi chapter - of the College of William and Mary, where his famous words will forever be remembered when spoken with unwavering confidence even as a scoreboard was thrust at his head during a post game brawl: "I’m out….they rollin’ 30 deep." A man who knows his limits. Darren Sharper, stand and be recognized. And those 30 guys behind you; they’re not chasing you, they’re honoring you…and so are we.

EDITOR'S NOTE/BONUS PIC: Sharper apparently tagged this back in 2010. Thank you Google images. Thank you.

This Week in Wrenball: My Eyes!

Team G:TB had a rare opportunity to take in live Wren action over the Thanksgiving holiday, heading inside the Beltway to catch the Tribe at Howard. With students on break, the Burr Gymnasium crowd was considerably less than capacity, and the W&M faithful outnumbered their Howard counterparts.  Unfortunately, that's about the best thing we can say about the Tribe's performance in the 67-58 loss.

W&M's perimeter players struggled from the outset with Howard's defensive pressure in halfcourt sets, with several lazy passes becoming turnovers and easy buckets. With two sophomores (Brandon Britt and Julian Boatner) and a freshman (Marcus Thornton) carrying a big part of the ball-handling load, a certain amount of inefficiency is expected, but W&M's passivity on offense wasn't.

Thornton's got a ton of athletic ability (he almost hit his head on the rim on a late, ill-advised drive to the basket that resulted in a charging call), and he's more capable of getting his own shot than any William & Mary player in recent memory. Right now, though, his individual talent hasn't meshed with Tony Shaver's disciplined system, which results in a lot of one-on-one play that leaves a bunch of teammates standing around.  We'd like to see Thornton playing off the ball more, using his athleticism to free himself up for easy looks - the offense stagnates when he's at the point.

It's fashionable these days to downplay the importance of team chemistry, especially since we can't measure it. While I'm as hip to the value of tempo-free stats as the next guy, this Tribe team sure seems to be suffering from an identity crisis that's hard to understand with numbers alone. Case in point: Tribe star Quinn McDowell's performance against Howard, which was one of the most bizarre disappearing acts we've seen. Entering the game with a team-leading 13.5 ppg, McDowell didn't take a shot until less than four minutes remained in the contest, finishing with a single point, four rebounds, and three turnovers in 33 oddly silent minutes. We've praised McDowell's unselfishness in the past, but if any game warranted a "give me the ball and get the fuck out of my way" moment from the Tribe's best player, it was this one - and he'd done just that in leading the Tribe to a win over Liberty in their most recent game. McDowell's play combined with the backcourt's 8-for-31 marksmanship testified to an uncertainty and lack of offensive purpose we haven't seen in the past three seasons.

On the bright side, and there certainly was one, Tim Rusthoven returned to the court for the first time this season and was the best player on the court in his 21 minutes. Beasthoven scored an efficient 13 points (4-5 from the field, 5-6 from the line), grabbed a team-leading 6 boards, blocked a shot and recorded a pair of steals. He also hit the floor at least three times in pursuit of loose balls, providing the only spark W&M delivered all afternoon.

As the great MGL noted in response to my tweeted frustration about the Tribe's 1-6 start, "It would be more frustrating in January". And so we continue to believe our motto, "In Shaver We Trust", and expect the Tribe to figure out what ails them.  Getting JohnMark Ludwick back to extend the opposition's post defense would be a nice start, though he looked fairly uncomfortable in his walking boot on Saturday.

W&M takes on Richmond on Wednesday, a prospect that seems daunting from where we sit today, before opening CAA play on the road against improving Georgia State.

Gheorghe Votes: The Atlantic 11 Poll, Week 2

Gheorghe: the Blog is now a voter in Dan Steinberg's weekly Atlantic 11 poll, a ranking of the local college hoops teams (the image below is blatantly ripped right from Dan's DC Sports Bog). Here's last week's poll results. Below you will find my ballot for this week, with a few snarky comments where appropriate. Enjoy, or don't. I don't really care one way or the other.

1. Georgetown (2-0) 
The Hoyas finally play a real team today (Monday), facing #11 Kansas in the Maui Invitational. Once the game is done, Georgetown will actually head west, to wrap up some unfinished business with those punks from the Bayi Rockets.

2. Virginia (3-1)
The Cavaliers dropped a game to TCU lost week, 57-55, but then defeated Drexel by the aesthetically unappealing final of 49-35. Both teams shot abysmally (is that a word?) in that game, with the Cavaliers winning solely on the strength of 14 more made free throws than the Dragons.

3. Virginia Tech (3-0)
Someone let me know when the Hokies actually play somebody. East Tennessee State, Monmouth and FIU don't count. Well, don't mention FIU to George Mason though, they might beg to differ on that one.

4. Old Dominion (3-2)
Blaine Taylor's squad only lost by 10 to the #2 team in the country, Kentucky. For right now, that gets you a lofty spot in these rankings. Lose upcoming games to Vermont and East Carolina and the Monarchs will drop accordingly.

5. George Mason (2-2)
The Patriots lost to Isiah Thomas' team. As the kids say, LOLZ. If Mason plays a school from Florida that goes by an acronym (FIU, FAU), they will lose. Proven fact. Hope they don't have USF on the schedule. Or UCF. Hold on...all these damn Florida schools go by acronyms.

6. VCU (2-2)
The Rams are one of many (all) CAA teams struggling out of the gate. We'll call it a Final Four hangover. On a related note, the #HalfBid4CAA hashtag has been born.

7. Maryland (2-2)
Terps got absolutely worked by Iona out of the MAAC Sunday, losing by 26 to the Gaels. Mark Turgeon is very mad. You don't want to see Mark Turgeon when he is mad. He actually has a personality then. Maybe he should teach that to Randy Edsall.

8. Richmond (3-1)
Spiders had a two win week, albeit with wins over Sacred Heart and Hampton. But, it's early, and this poll has some truly turrrrible teams, so it keeps them ranked. Plus, I'm lazy.

9. George Washington (1-1)
The Colonials allowed me to judge a dunk contest at their Midnight Madness event. That earns them a 9th place vote. It's my ballot, I'll do what I want (cue Cartman "Maury" clip). Name to watch: GW guard Tony Taylor, from Sleepy Hollow, NY. He's the Rip Van Winkle of A-10 hoops. I have no idea what that actually means.

10. William and Mary (1-5)
I don't care how much they suck this year, they will always be my vote for 10th place. Fun stat rob just sent me: "Tribe has a 57:98 assist to turnover ratio." That's good for 309th in the country (out of 345 D-1 teams). Awesome work, fellas.

William and Mary Hoops Weekend: What You Need to Know

The Tribe hoopsters have begun the year 0-3, but have a chance to right the ship a bit with three games in three days this weekend as part of the 2K Sports Classic, to be held in Lynchburg, VA. FOG:TB @CoachesInc is actually live in Lynchburg, so maybe we'll get some updates from him via the tweet machine.

William and Mary kicks off their 72-hour hoopsfest with a 4:30pm tipoff against Lehigh today. Lehigh, out of the Patriot League, is 1-2 on the year. Their nickname? The Mountain Hawks. WTF?

Tony Shaver's squad will face Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, at 4:30pm, and then gets a revenge game (yep, this is happening) against Liberty to close out the weekend (5:00pm tip Sunday). Freakin' Liberty already beat the Tribe 75-72 four days ago.

In lieu of actually writing any words of analysis, I will simply paste below William and Mary's current standings in some key statistical areas. Small sample size or not, the Tribe has been rather putrid in their first three games:

But hey, at least we still make a lot of three pointers? Oh, what's that...we only made 6 against Hampton and 4 against Liberty? Riiiiiight. (we did have 11 against St. John's, but just four in the 2nd half of that game when the Red Storm got a clue).

It is doubtful any of these, ahem, marquee matchups will find their way on to the boobtube, so follow the games at TribeAthletics.com.

And, honestly, if the Green and Gold drop two games to Jerry Falwell U in the span of six days, Gheorghe might have to choke a b*tch.

And There Was Much Rejoicing: William and Mary/St. John's Hoops Preview

The long wait is over folks...the college basketball season officially begins tonight, and our very own William and Mary Tribe will play in the first official game of the season (by my shady math), courtesy of their 7:00pm EST tip-off against the St. John's Red Storm in a 2K Sports Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic matchup. The game will be played at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, and will be televised on ESPNU. Word has it FOG:TB @NUHF and Marls will be also be in attendance.

It just so happens that rob's attempt to make us the third biggest provider of Tribe Hoops content on the internet has apparently paid off, as St. John's blogger Pico Dulce came calling, asking us five questions about the game. He can be found over at the SB Nation Red Storm blog Rumble in the Garden (@RumbleSBN), and also on the ole twitter at @ECoastBias. rob did a tremendous job answering Pico's questions about the game here, and I strong urge you to read that first.

Again, go read rob's handiwork. If you do not, rob will be all salty that I did not publicize his hard work, presumably done while he was forced to watch his kids ride the Disney TeaCups. I told you to buy lifts, dude. You should've listened.

Anyway, in return, I tried to chip in and ask Pico five (or so) questions about St. John's that our loyal bakers' dozen of readers would want to know before tipoff tonight. I need to thank Marls here, as his scouting work of the Red Storm aiding me greatly in creating these "Jiminy Glick"-esque questions. Read up, enjoy, and meet us in the comments for a full day of Tribe and CAA Hoops excitement. Or something.

1. Your coach, Steve Lavin, had surgery in early October. Will he be returning for the opener? If not, will the human combover know as Gene Keady be taking his stead on the bench? How does that affect the ballclub, if at all?

Now, for all we know, Coach Lavin could pop back on court for Monday’s game, hale and hearty, filled with literary references and trios of synonyms to get his point across. The information people are tight lipped in that Parcellsian way about Lavin’s recovery. And we don’t know when he’s coming back. Lav has been in contact with the staff and the players, and Associate Head Coach Mike Dunlap, who has been a HC on the Division II level and in Australia, has been operating as the head man. And in truth, Lavin is often described as the idea man and Dunlap as the man who puts it into motion. Not that Lavin is a completely poor x’s and o’s coach, but Dunlap is more of the technician. What the team lacks is that personality and charisma that Lavin has - he’s a very good relationship manager. Hard to say how that’ll affect the team, though; these guys haven’t played an official game yet, so would they be better with Lavin? Maybe, maybe not. I expect them to spend the non-conference season giving St. John’s fans heartburn and becoming a lot more cohesive by the middle/ end of January.

2. The Red Storm appear to have an even younger team than the Tribe, especially since three of your best guys (in my research) seem to be out for the Fall semester. How big of a deal is this? How different will this team be when conference play begins?

It’s a big deal. The Red Storm expected to be young, even with Jakarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle and Amir Garrett in the fold. And the team was going to be thin in the paint. But Pelle and Sampson could play down low, and Amir Garrett is the kind of versatile baller who is fine with banging on defense down low. All three tried to get eligible over the summer, filling in core courses that they didn’t have qualifying grades in... and the NCAA didn’t accept those grades. It’s a big deal. The Red Storm have 7 scholarship players, a walk-on who was put on scholarship, and a tall freshman walk-on. There were supposed to be other walk-ons, but they haven’t shown up on the roster. In exhibition play, it hasn’t been a big deal. But an injury or other issue with God’sGift Achiuwa or Moe Harkless would leave the Johnnies... I don’t know what the hell that would look like. It would be short, that’s what. Amir Garrett should make it back for the second semester, providing a utility player. Norvel Pelle may come back, he may not, he may come in 2012, he may go to San Diego State, he may be working on the greatest mural the world has ever known. It’s hard to tell (but he does have strong interest in art). JaKarr Sampson is enjoying being recruited again, and i don’t see him returning. But the Red Storm will still be painfully thin of roster, painfully young, and the young players will have their stamina tested. (This is what happens when you let the former coach stock up on players who graduate in the same year.)

3. Speaking of conference play, you went 12-6 in the Big East last year, tying for third with Syracuse and Louisville. This surprised many (me included). Can that success be duplicated? Did you not sneak up on some opponents last year who will be amped to face you this year? 

Last year’s team was entirely, entirely different. The Red Storm snuck up on some opponents - especially after the non-conference losses to crappy teams from the Bronx and some place called Olean or Olestra or something like that. But hey, Louisville coach Rick Pitino thought St. John’s deserved a first-place vote! And other coaches knew the Red Storm had underutilized talent. 12-6 was a complete surprise. And that’s probably not gonna happen again. The thin roster, the inexperience, the youth - it’s not a good combination. Teams can win with youth, but it’s usually youth that should have gone in the NBA draft instead of spending a freshman year pretending they know the way to the Campus Center for Kids Who Want To Learn To Read Good (And Do Other Stuff Good Too). St. John’s may have a player like that, but it’s unlikely to yield funky dividends this year. And I’m sure Duke will want to put a real whipping on the Storm.

4. Given the roster scarcity in the Fall semester, did you perhaps attend open tryouts? Even if you did not, is there a “Rudy” in the mix we should be looking for as the year plays out? 

So... yeah.... there was a Rudy story or five in the making, chronicled on the Rumble and in other places. But it seems that some of those players either didn’t make the cut, or were found ineligible by the NCAA. Sam Sealy is tall, and he’ll get some minutes at some point. And Jamal White is now on scholarship, but is a former walk-on; he may just get some minutes. But no one as adorable and plucky as Sean Astin. It was Sean Astin in that movie, right?

5. What scares you most about your official season opener with a team not many know, or care, to know about, the William and Mary Tribe?

I’d say height, but the Tribe seem to not use their height very well. I think the idea of a team that may run a deliberate offense and shoots the leather off the ball could be problematic; the Storm play a zone and - I’ll finish this answer under bonus question #1.

Bonus questions: 
- Holy hell, your defense is atrocious. Can they ever hope to stop anybody? 

Yeah, that defense was shreddable last year and is shreddable this year. The defensive plan is to use pressure to force bad/ hurried outside shots, create flurries of runs where the Johnnies’ athleticism can dominate, and get crucial stops. In between, though, teams can get some good outside looks. And part of that, this year, is that the Red Storm are just getting used to the zone, getting comfortable in it. They are athletic, and with a couple of good defensive players, the Red Storm can stop people for stretches - enough to win some games.

- You have the best “name” team I’ve ever seen. Pick your favorite name. There can be no losers. 

Adding a “Sir” to any name adds a level of respect and WTF-ness that I cannot look away from, so Sir’Dominic Pointer’s my guy. The wifey and I have a faux baby name that starts with Sir; and we’ve had it since before I’d heard of Mr. Pointer. Who has other awesome nicknames, like Ziggy.

- You guys hate free throws, eh? 

Yes. They’re taken so far away from the basket. Layups and dunks are much, much more Stormy (where “Stormy” is like Smurfy, but less cute and more Queens).

- How great is it to have a “home” arena for college sport that allows you to enjoy an adult beverage?

BURRRRRP. I actually can’t remember if they serve alcohol for St. John’s games; I’ve been to so few MSG games, and I’m never drinking (or already tipsy) when I go.

Futile Superfans Rise Up

One might think that fans of a program boasting a pair of recent conference title game appearances would be less thrilled by middle-of-the-pack preseason expectations. One obviously hasn't learned enough William and Mary history.  Follow along as we spit knowledge in advance of W&M's scrimmage tonight against Norfolk State.

Though most prognosticators have the Wrens finishing between 5th and 7th in the balanced CAA (Michael Litos, FoG:TB and Teej-proclaimed Don CAAleone, has the Green and Gold finishing 6th as do the CAA coaches.), it's the team's upside that has the futile superfans wrestling with the unfamiliar feeling of expectation.  Swingman and first-team preseason All-CAA standout Quinn McDowell (15.5 ppg in 2010-11) leads a very deep backcourt, one that's arguably the most talented in W&M history.  Sophomore Brandon Britt (10.9 ppg, 2.2 apg) looks to back up his CAA All-Rookie opening campaign, while classmate Julian Boatner (6.8 ppg, 40% three-point accuracy) added muscle in the offseason as he seeks to add versatility to go with his outside shooting acumen.  Senior Kendrix Brown (3.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) will see a lot of action as a third guard, and the Wrens will rely on his glue-guy skills and scrappiness.  Junior guard Matt Rum (5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg) adds depth and the ability to drain open threes.

We'll break for a breath and some light stretching before moving on.  With all the depth among returners, Team G:TB is most excited by freshman shooting guard Marcus Thornton's arrival in Williamsburg.  Perhaps the most lauded W&M recruit ever (really, have you ever heard of a W&M recruit described as lauded?), Thornton was the Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year and the POY in the very competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC).  The 6'4" (and 170 pounds - kid needs to talk to Igor about ways to gain weight eating W&M cafeteria food) Thornton averaged 23.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 44% from beyond the arc in his senior season.  Litos calls him the CAA's Newcomer of the Year.  All that, and he's a prolific and silly user of Twitter (@MarcusWM3).  If he can play defense at the college level, Tribe fans are in for a treat.  And Tony Shaver will have the really pleasant problem of trying to find minutes for a bunch of talented guards.

Shaver's less pleasant problem will be finding size and strength inside to make it hard for opposing defenses to extend to pressure the Tribe's perimeter players.  Even with Marcus Kitts' physical presence last season, W&M was one of the worst rebounding teams in the country.  Kitts and his 6'9", 240-pound frame have graduated, leaving a question mark.  It's our fervent hope that 6'9, 230-lb sophomore and Muppet lookalike Tim "Beasthoven" Rusthoven's (5.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, numerous floor burns per game) added strength will elevate his high-energy game and require opponents to account for him on both ends.  Rusthoven shot nearly 60% from the field over the final 20 games of 2010-11, showing glimpses of what might be.  Early returns on 6'8 freshman Tom Schalk are good, but he may be too raw to contribute in the early going.  6'8" junior Kyle Gaillard (5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) has been more of a wing in his career, but the Tribe's most athletic player will find himself playing more 4 in 2010-11.  Soph Fred Heldring's 6'9, 240-pound frame will come in handy off the bench. 

Last, and most certainly not least, W&M's odd center-guard Dr. Frankenstein creation JohnMark Ludwick returns for his final season in the 'burg.  The 6'8, 230-pounder ranks 4th in W&M history in three-point percentage, and may rank first in NCAA history in three-point shots as a percentage of all shots taken.  92 of his 102 shots in 2010-11 were longballs. Ludwick gives Shaver a unique offensive weapon - the variety of sets W&M can run with its talented guards and a perimeter-based big will give teams fits, especially those who haven't seen much of the Wrens (you hearing me, St. John's?).  The big questions, as they often are for Shaver's Tribe squads, will be defense and rebounding.

In any case, this team will be fun to watch, mixing more athleticism that we're accustomed to seeing in William and Mary Hall (at least since our Pi Lam A-side Hockey squad won that intramural championship thriller against PiKA) with Shaver's innovative offense.  And if you weren't paying attention, this is a very, very young team that'll be hell to reckon with in another year or two.  Truly, this is a golden age.  Or at least a shiny one.

Television programmers seem to agree, slating the Tribe for 9 games for national or regional coverage, including the season-opener on Monday, November 7 at St. John's.  That one's on ESPNU, as is the Tribe's January 19 tilt at VCU.

Finally, in semi-related news, seems W&M has heeded my plea and decided to put some clothes on the damn Griffin.  And you can help: go download the iPhone and Android app today and waste your employers precious time and money.

Weenie Does Something Cool

We have a friend named Kevin.  Sometimes we call him Weenie.  Sometimes he deserves the name.  But not this past weekend: