Thinking out loud … while wondering whatever happened to Jim Harrick?
— Should we allow for a mea culpa on URI football? Rhody earned a win last week, beating Delaware, 20-0, for just its fifth win in the past 41 games. I know there’s an old adage that says, “Winning cures all ills.” The trouble with that here is that there’s probably not enough winning available to cure anything with Rhode Island football.
— And speaking of URI football and success, former URI player and coach Darren Rizzi was named assistant head coach of the Miami Dolphins this past week. Good luck with that. No, seriously, good luck with that.
— Don’t know about you, but I felt let down that the Patriots-Cowboys game last week wasn’t a bit more competitive. Dallas is a mere shell of its former self, without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. But I will say this: New England’s defense was surprisingly stout across the board, and completely locked up tight end Jason Witten.
— The Pats secondary is improving each week. They don’t have Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner back there, but the two young players in Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan are athletic and physical and they can make plays in the mold of a Revis. They make mistakes, too, but haven’t been burned much. Yet.
— Losing Nate Solder to a season-ending biceps tear is a blow, no doubt. But injuries are always a part of the game, and to get into Week 6 before having someone lose their season to an injury is about as good as it gets these days. The rotation system the offensive line has learned should pay off from here, as the Patriots now work to protect TB12’s blind side.
— Part of protecting the blind side is for Tom Brady to get the ball out to his receivers as fast as he can. Expect teams to muddle the middle of the field in an effort to reach him more often — which also puts a premium on using a talent like Dion Lewis. Get the man the ball, as often as possible. He makes defenders miss, and the move he busted to get into the end zone against the Cowboys? It was a video game-quality move.
— Julian Edelman already calls Lewis “Jitterbug” for his stopping and starting, cat-like quick reactions. How about “X-box?” More relatable?
— Love the suggestion from Pats fan Max in San Diego, who wrote in to suggest the Lewis-LeGarrette Blount duo be nicknamed “Sonic Boom.”
— If the Patriots don’t lay a 40-dog or 50-burger on the Colts this week, I get the impression most fans around here will be disappointed. Revenge can only carry you so far, so let’s move on. Are the Colts a chief culprit in the whole Deflategate mess? Of course, but what would you rather be? The snitch who tried to make something out of a deflated football or the bully set to pound the snitch into the ground?
— Not all of them, but certainly there are a couple of notable members of the Indianapolis media who clearly are disturbed by what has transpired in New England’s consistent beatdown of their Colts. Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star, who reminds me of that kid in seventh grade who lived to rat out all of your friends, called all Patriots fans “awful human beings.” His on-air, quasi-apology to WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan was an interesting exercise in backpedaling. But hey, it’s who he is. Moving on.
— Indy talk show host (and former college basketball coach) Dan Dakich also thinks our media waves pom-poms for the Patriots. He hasn’t really spent much time in New England, has he?
— It won’t happen, but don’t you think one way to get past all of the deflating news over the past eight months would be for the NFL (hello, Roger Goodell) to drop its appeal against Brady? Ian O’Connor wrote a good piece this week on ESPN.com about the subject and he’s spot-on correct. For the good of the game, Mr. Commish. Isn’t that what you’ve told us all along? Be a leader. Be a big-picture guy.
— Mr. Goodell purports to be staying with the appeal for the “integrity” of the game. This issue is way past simple integrity, Mr. Commissioner. Leaders have the ability to see beyond the obvious, and this, sadly, you cannot do. Surprise us. And do something about head injuries in the sport, too, while you’re at it. Integrity? Sheesh.
— Sorry to learn of the passing of former Patriots offensive lineman Sam Adams. He played guard — opposite Hall of Famer John Hannah — on arguably the best offensive line in team history during the 1970s through 1980, and one of the best in pro football. Adams started 90 of 119 games during his nine seasons in New England, and was a major part of the ’78 season when the Patriots set the NFL record for rushing yards in a single year (3,165 yards). With a name like Sam Adams, how could he be anything but a Patriot?
— Saw this one coming from miles away, and it didn’t take long. In fact, called it here last week. DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) sites like DraftKings and FanDuel now must be regulated and licensed if they want to keep operating. The Nevada Gaming Control Board ruled Thursday that Daily Fantasy contests are no different from other forms of sports betting. Boston-based DraftKings (Patriots owner Robert Kraft is involved, as is the NFL) and FanDuel now must apply for a license to continue to operate in Massachusetts.
— “I want a piece of your pie.” — signed, Uncle Sam.
— I have to admit, now that the penalties in Texas have been handed down to the coach and players involved in “targeting” and taking out a high school football official on the field, our emotions always manage to get in the way of discovering the truth. The coach says he did not order the players to attack the official, but that he was overheard by the players that the ref “needs to pay the price.” He was surprised as anyone when they did it.
— I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at that. It sounds disingenuous at best, and like an outright lie at worst. The coach has been placed on two years’ probation and remains suspended for the rest of this year. The players, currently suspended from the team and moved to another school, said last month they were told by the coach to carry out the attack. As usual, we’ll probably never know the real truth.
— Even the zebras need to watch their backs, it seems. It’s rough out there in the jungle.
— The great story-to-come for the Friars this season certainly revolves around whatever success Kris Dunn encounters, or earns for himself. No surprise that he’s the preseason Big East Player of the Year. He should be. Now comes the hard part, and that’s meeting the preseason ultra-high expectations now thrust upon his once-wounded shoulders. Who’s betting against him?
— Especially with an attitude like his. When asked why he returned to Providence this year, Dunn told CBSSports.com, “I felt I needed to be a college player and a college person for one more year. Friends and family and fans, they only see the good on the court. I know, personally, the things I have to work on. I felt I need another year to develop those skills. I don’t want to go to the NBA and not be ready. There’s a lot of guys who go there, and their skills aren’t developed. Some players don’t like to admit it, but I can see my flaws.”
— One flaw Dunn doesn’t have? Immaturity. Just sayin’.
— Dunn’s inclusion in the preseason Bob Cousy Award mix for the top point guard in America got me to thinking about the best guards in Friars history. Who are your top five all-time? For my money, I’ll select Lenny Wilkens, Jimmy Walker, Ernie DiGregorio, Eric Murdock and Kris Dunn. But it’s very hard to look past John Egan, Ray Flynn, Joe Hassett, Kevin Stacom, Billy Donovan, Bryce Cotton and Marshon Brooks. Friars fans have been blessed with some pretty amazing talent through the years, right?
— Thought the Big East coaches pretty much nailed the preseason Big East poll, with Villanova at the top over Georgetown and Butler. Providence coming in fifth is a nod to Dunn’s expected season, and the Friars will need some big-time assistance to potentially improve upon that spot. Marquette is the early media darling, with a group of very talented freshmen. Henry Ellenson may be the first one-and-done league player in the “new” Big East.
— Things I’m looking forward to this season: Watching Butler play (this team could be scary good) and Bulldogs fan favorite Andrew Chrabascz (from Portsmouth, R.I.) continue to develop; seeing if Xavier can find a point guard to lead a monster front court; will St. John’s really finish last? If so, I can’t imagine the Red Storm will be there for long.
— File this under “safe and smart.” Seton Hall’s basketball players — thought to be a rather immature, precocious bunch a year ago — have decided to ban themselves from social media beginning Oct. 31. Isaiah Whitehead was the “leader” of the young guns a year ago, reportedly driving guard Sterling Gibbs out of the program (he transferred to UConn). Whitehead has had the nickname “The King of Twitter” given to him by coach Kevin Willard, but he’s the one who suggested the team hiatus. His teammates, for now, have bought in. For a group that lost 12 of its final 15 games a year ago, this could be a big step back in the right direction.
— The preseason accolades have begun to roll in for Rhody’s E.C. Matthews, nominated this week for the Jerry West Award as the nation’s best shooting guard. Matthews should be a fave for Atlantic-10 Player of the Year as well, and the Rams’ Hassan Martin will find a piece of the spotlight, too. Can Dec. 5 (PC-URI at the Ryan Center) get here quick enough?
— Psyched for that Ludacris performance at PC’s Late Night Madness? LNM is for the students, and it sounds like quite a show for Saturday night, but what about the fans? The donors? The ticket buyers? Shouldn’t there still be something for those who “pay the freight” for support of the basketball program, as there was a few years ago?
— My buddy Statbeast sez he’s not sure what rap music is all about. “It’s about the lyrics, or it’s about the message. Who can understand those? Rap is to music as Etch A Sketch is to art.”
— Tweet of the Week, from @JDonaldsonProJo: After losing first 3 at home, @NHLBruins win @Avalanche. Make request to #NHL to play all remaining games on the road.
— After a 1-0-1 week to start their season, the PC hockey Friars zoomed up the national rankings from seventh to the No. 2 spot, behind North Dakota. Winning (and tying) another nationally ranked team on the road (at No. 11 Miami-Ohio last week) will do that for you.
— But wait a little while before getting too excited? Not that the Friars won’t have a chance to be pretty good, or even repeat as national champs, but college hockey rankings are a fool’s folly — as up and down and unpredictable as a TV weatherman’s forecast.
— The home team finally won a game in the Texas-Toronto ALDS, which actually was very entertaining. And as for the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista and his bat flip that has been catching flak? It was a bit over the top, yes. But it was full of energy and emotion, and I’ll argue baseball could use a little more “personality” to engage younger fans. Still, he might want to watch out for the next fastball that comes in high and tight.
— Just remember, Joey Bats, that there are impressionable young people who do look up to you. Now, get off my lawn!
— Dope of the Week: Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who tweeted out congratulations to the Houston Astros for going to the ALCS. D’oh! There’s now an opening for a social media director in the Texas Governor’s office, I hear. Stupid is as stupid does.
— Not for nuthin’, but Chase Utley‘s slide into second base and subsequent taking out of the Mets’ Ruben Tejada was one of those baseball plays that you love to see — but then feel like you need to jump all over after it happens. Relax. Does Utley have a history here? Yes he does, but I like seeing aggressive play on the base paths. And while we’re at it, bring back the home plate collision, too. If baseball legislates these plays out of the game, might as well put skirts on the players. With all due respect to ladies. Yep, I said that.
— Who in their right mind isn’t rooting for the Cubs? At least a little bit? Put away your Theo hate, your Lester-left-us sorrow and your Joe Madden envy for a minute. Chicago’s success is, and could continue to be, a great story. I always root for the great stories.
— But if you had told me before the year started that the Cubs, Mets, Royals and Blue Jays would be the final four teams standing? I’d would have asked you to pee in a cup.
— It’s always the right move to make, and no one would suggest it’s a bad idea, but the PawSox have frozen ticket prices for 2016 at current levels. As an added attraction, they’ll be introducing something called a “loaded ticket,” which will include reduced prices for concessions and merchandise. Group ticket qualifications also will change, for the better — so give credit where credit is due, new stadium or no new stadium.
— And it’s still “no new stadium.” For now.
— Lamar Odom’s story is a sad and sometimes sordid tale. The former URI hoop star and two-time NBA champion continues to fight for his life in a Nevada hospital after being found unconscious in a brothel outside of Las Vegas. My, my. Whatever demons he’s fighting, I hope he knows he’s not alone. Demons know no bounds, class or status in life.
— Odom’s head coach at URI, Jim Harrick, led the Rams for two seasons in the late ’90s (’97-99) and also led the Rams to their only Atlantic-10 tournament title. In the 1998 NCAA Tournament, URI reached the Elite Eight, losing to Stanford by two points in its shot at reaching the Final Four — only a year after Pete Gillen had led Providence to the same stage. Harrick had skeletons in his coaching closet from his previous tenure at UCLA before he ever arrived in Rhode Island, and those skeletons managed to escape his closet again in Kingston. Harrick eventually left Rhody for what might have seemed like greener pastures to coach at Georgia, but his tenure there ended in controversy over his son (and assistant coach) Jim Jr. paying a player’s expenses and giving grades to others who never attended class. After resigning at Georgia following the 2003 season, Harrick has scouted in the NBA, coached in China and even ran an NBADL team. Last year, he worked West Coast college hoop games on television for Fox Sports Net.
— Kashif from Kingston, Jamaica, posted on Facebook this week: Life is one funny thing. During the pre season, we all hoped that Jimmy G, if he started the first four games, would go 2-2. Now that the general TB12 is under center, we are 4-0. Can’t stop smiling. Kashif: Love a good perspective, and you’ve got one there, my friend. It’s why we should never get too high over success, or too low over a lack thereof. It also doesn’t hurt to have one of the best of all time under center, either. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.
— Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ’em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrooke@weei.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster, and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke.
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