The road to Omaha continues to move closer and closer to Oxford. Ole Miss won yet another Southeastern Conference series over the weekend, disposing of Arkansas. Meanwhile, the fabulous first round of the NBA Playoffs reached its conclusion, California Chrome ran away with the Kentucky Derby and collected thousands of Twitter followers (at the same time), and we moved that much closer to this week's NFL draft. My thoughts on those topics and more follow here, thanks to my friends at Grenada Nissan.
1. Ole Miss won on Friday and Saturday before an 11-1 loss on Sunday. The Rebels now have 15 SEC wins with two weekends left --- home against Georgia this weekend and at Texas A&M to finish things up. Personally, I think the Rebels need four wins in those six games to be a national top-eight seed. Three wins will lock up a regional host site, again in my humble opinion.
Of course, it's more than a bit possible the SEC tournament in Hoover, Ala., will be absolutely critical, especially the first few days of it. We shall see. I think there are reasons for concern --- a couple of pitchers seem tired; second baseman Preston Overbey is really struggling --- but the Rebels have the look of a serious contender with two weeks left in the regular season.
Swayze Field should host postseason baseball again, and that's cause for excitement. It's been too long.
2. Sergio Rouco left the Ole Miss basketball program Saturday night, according to multiple sources. That leaves Andy Kennedy, who declined comment at this point, with just one assistant coach --- Bill Armstrong --- on his staff. Al Pinkins left last month for Tennessee, and now Rouco has joined Orlando Antigua at South Florida.
Where does Kennedy go from here? Former Ole Miss guard Todd Abernethy is joining the program, but in an administrative capacity, per multiple sources. Two sources are emphatic that former Ole Miss guard/Callaway (Miss.) High School coach David Sanders is headed back to Oxford as well. What Kennedy decides to do in replacing Rouco will be interesting. Does he add another young coach with regional ties to aid in recruiting? Does he add an older coach to provide experience and another set of eyes on the bench?
I have no idea, and I'm not sure it matters. Kennedy is going to run his style of play, and he has a senior point guard (Jarvis Summers) as a coach on the floor. If I were he, I'd add coaches (like Sanders) who could possibly help him recruit to the new arena. It might work again this upcoming season, but I question how long Kennedy can assemble junior college transfers and post-college grads before it comes back to haunt him.
3. It's looking more and more like South Carolina defensive end Jadaveon Clowney will be the first pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday. The question is who will select him.
The Houston Texans currently own the pick and their owner, Bob McNair, reiterated the stance general manager Rick Smith took late last week: Houston is open for business with the No. 1 pick.
"Really at this point we don't know and we really won't know until right up at the time we have to make a decision because people are talking to us about the possibility of trading down and it's a question of what people offer, whether their offer is such that it's worthwhile to trade down," McNair told Fox 26 in Houston on Friday.
If the Texans hold the pick, McNair said, "You take a guy like Jadeveon Clowney. He's obviously the best player in the draft, but he's a defensive end. He's not a quarterback. If he's a quarterback and the best player it's easy, but that's not the case. So can that defensive player have a greater impact on the success of your team than one of these quarterbacks? It's not a sure thing that he is."
The Texans' owner made it clear that if a signal caller came close to Clowney in terms of talent, the team would have a tougher call.
"You got three quarterbacks and all of them have some holes in their resume," McNair told the Houston television station. "A quarterback that goes out and performs for you and is a franchise quarterback is more valuable than a player playing another position, but there's a lot more risk there. It's a more difficult position to play and there are lot more failures."
Houston has a need at quarterback, and McNair wouldn't rule out taking one in the first round. He hinted, however, that the Texans wouldn't do so unless "somebody wants you to drop down and they give you two or three more picks that would let you get two or three more quality players, are you a stronger team dropping down a little bit, getting these additional picks and getting more depth."
The next five days will be full of smokescreens and misdirection, but it's clear that no team is completely sold on any of the quarterbacks at the top of the draft. It's also becoming clear the Texans aren't sure they want Clowney. It promises to be a compelling Thursday night.
4. The SEC recently announced it would stick with its eight-game conference schedule in football. The SEC also announced that every league team will have to play at least one non-league game against a big-5 opponent (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-12). That decision was received pretty well in the Southeast. Out west, however, the reaction was borderline incendiary.
The Pac-12 held a football coaches teleconference on Thursday and several coaches blasted the SEC's decision. The Pac-12 plays a nine-game league slate and several of its coaches are concerned that may put them at a disadvantage when it comes time for the College Football Playoff selection committee to choose which four teams will compete for the national title.
"I've been saying this for three years now: I think if we're going to go into a playoff and feed into one playoff system, we all need to play by the same rules," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "Play your conference. Don't back down from playing your own conference."
Oregon State's Mike Riley, Oregon's Mark Helfrich and UCLA's Jim Mora, Jr., echoed his thoughts.
"I don't think it's right," Riley said. "There's got to be some equity here."
"Obviously our feelings are if we are going to call anything equal or point in the same direction for the playoffs, it seems like the qualifications for that playoff should be equal," Helfrich added. "We are a long ways from that in a few leagues and conferences."
In case you were wondering, Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze favored an eight-game SEC schedule. Specifically, Freeze wanted a 6-0-2 schedule, meaning the Rebels would play two rotating SEC Eastern Division teams each season in addition to playing their six divisional rivals each season. Instead, Ole Miss will play Vanderbilt and one rotating SEC East opponent each year.
"I was in favor of eight just because I think we beat each other up enough," Freeze said Wednesday. "We've been very successful with having eight, including (putting) our teams in the national championship hunt. ... I'm not sure why we would want to change until it's proven that doesn't work anymore."
In my opinion, the SEC would be nuts to add a ninth league game. There's no reason to make an already brutal slate that much tougher. The public relations campaign from the Pac-12 coaches is smart, really, but the SEC was smart to not take the bait.
5. While we're on the subject of college football, Jameis Winston's citation for stealing $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish should result in a suspension, in my opinion. Winston was suspended indefinitely from the Florida State baseball team, a suspension that ended when he was reinstated on Sunday. The penalty, given his background and his stature, was stunningly light. Sure, Winston was exonerated of rape charges a year ago, but he's been in and out of trouble in Tallahassee ever since he got there, allegedly playing a role in the shooting out of windows near Doak Campbell Stadium and allegedly stealing soda from a Burger King.
Winston claimed "youthful ignorance" in a statement after getting caught by Publix employees in an incredibly nuanced press release issued through Florida State. On the surface, it's easy to say Winston simply should have known better.
I suspect he had reason to believe he could take what he wanted from that Publix without paying for it (read into that what you will), but his actions were stupid nonetheless. If I were an NFL team, I'd be more than a bit wary to invest in him. He's got bad news written all over him. Unless Florida State shows its displeasure, I'm going to have a similar opinion of the Seminoles' program.
If there's a lack of displeasure from Florida State, it's likely a sign that the Seminoles' athletics department administrators can't really judge Winston. Perhaps there's an understanding with Publix and other area establishments. You know, it's important to make sure Heisman Trophy winners don't starve to death.
6. While the Texans decide what to do with this year's top pick, the No. 1 selection from 10 years ago is looking to have a renaissance season of sorts. Former Ole Miss star Eli Manning had offseason ankle surgery and he's already ahead in his rehabilitation.
The New York Giants' franchise quarterback said told the New York Daily News Thursday that he's begun to do "some running" as part of his rehabilitation from the left ankle surgery he underwent on April 10.
That's an impressive three weeks ahead of his initial schedule. Following that surgery, he said the doctors had told him he would begin to run in approximately six weeks, which would've put him on track for around May 22.
"I'm off all crutches," Manning told the newspaper. "Out of the boot. Doing some running, doing some drops. So it's coming around fast."
That news certainly opens the question of whether Manning will be able to participate in any of the spring drills or the Giants' full-team mini-camp in June. On Thursday, Giants general manager Jerry Reese declared Manning is "going to be out of spring ball," though he later left the door open for at least a partial early return.
"Well, he'll be back when he gets back but we're not going to rush him back," Reese told the News. "We want him for the summer. We know he'll be back in the summer. That's important for us, to have him back in the summer. If he can do something in the spring, we'll be happy to see him out there but we're not going to rush him back."
The Giants revamped their defense via free agency this offseason. Offensive line figures to be a point of emphasis in the draft. The NFC East should be one of the weakest divisions in the NFL, and the Giants could win it --- provided Manning bounces back from a disastrous 2013. The fast healing of his ankle is a giant first step.
7. Speaking of NFC East quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III is under the gun in Washington and his new coach, Jay Gruden, is planning to limit Griffin's exposure to hits in the open field.
The Redskins, per SI.com, have said that they plan on running less of the read-option in 2014 under Gruden, which will force Griffin to rely more on his arm and ability in the pocket than his legs. Griffin said he's all for Gruden's plan.
"It's coach's decision. Last year we ran it a lot," Griffin told ESPN.com. "If he wants to use a sprinkle, a dash, whatever he decides, that's his take, and I'm all for it. I know guys like myself have used that attack our whole careers, so it's part of our game. At the same time, it's not like we live and die by it."
Griffin spent last season battling the effects of a knee injury, and he was usually awful. He's placed the blame on former Washington coach Mike Shanahan, but the bet here is he'll be benched by mid-season in favor of Kirk Cousins. Griffin is a reminder of sorts to NFL execs thinking of drafting a quarterback early on Thursday --- there are no guarantees at the position.
8. I love horse racing's triple crown. I want two things: 1. I want to see the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed did it when I was nine years old and 2. I want a good story.
California Chrome might not win the Triple Crown. I have no idea. The horse is, however, a fantastic story.
As Yahoo.com's Pat Forde wrote late Saturday, "Perry Martin is the silent partner in California Chrome's working-class ownership arrangement. He didn't even attend the post-race press conference, leaving gregarious Steve Coburn to do the talking.
"But the two men were equal dreamers when it came to this horse. Financial and stylistic opposites of the thoroughbred power brokers, they came together to form Dumb Ass Partners, and their racing silks have a donkey on them. They had each paid $4,000 to purchase the mare Love the Chase, then another $2,000 to breed her to Lucky Pulpit. The first foal was California Chrome, which is a breeding fantasy come true.
"In March, Dumb Ass Partners turned down what Coburn says was a $6 million offer for 51 percent interest in their colt. Could they use the money? Absolutely. But the decision wasn't a hard one.
"'The answer wasn't just no,' Coburn said Thursday. 'It was hell no. … What price do you put on a dream that's coming true?'"
Had the horse sold, he would have been taken away from 77-year-old trainer Art Sherman. On Saturday afternoon, after California Chrome pulled away in the backstretch to win the Derby, Sherman said it was "the sweetest moment of my life. To be my age and have something like this happen, what can you say?"
As Forde wrote, "the race unfolded perfectly. California Chrome came here looking like very much like the best 3-year-old colt in America, which is why he was sent off as the 5-2 favorite ? the shortest odds on the Derby favorite in six years. Then he backed it up, pulling away by what looked like four lengths in the stretch before gliding in 1¾ lengths ahead of fast-closing Commanding Curve, a 38-1 long shot.
"His winning time was 2 minutes, 3.66 seconds ? fairly glacial by Derby standards. It's not the kind of time that puts Chrome among the great Derby champions.
"I don't really care what the track record is," Coburn said. "All I know is my horse won the Kentucky Derby today."
And those of us who love a good story got our wish --- and something to cheer for the next few weeks.
9. The United States' attempts to one day win a World Cup or an Olympic gold medal just might have been bolstered in a major way this weekend. The Washington Post reported Saturday that Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem could be about to pledge his future to the U.S. national team.
According to the Post, Zelalem is close to becoming an American citizen, and by virtue, becoming eligible to represent the United States in international competition. Zelalem, who turned 17 in January, is believed to be in Washington with his father this weekend for naturalization purposes. By the time they return to London, both will likely be carrying U.S. passports.
Zelalem is a German-born midfielder of Ethiopian descent who lived in the D.C. suburbs for six years and honed his craft with Olney Rangers before joining Arsenal last year. He trained with the U.S. under-15 team twice, but without citizenship, did not meet eligibility requirements for official matches.
Zelalem is in the German national team system, but in March, abruptly withdrew from the under-17 squad ahead of European Championship qualifiers. Had he played in any of those matches, he would have relinquished any hope of representing the United States. FIFA does allow players to switch affiliations once, provided they are citizens of both countries at the time they make their international debut.
According to the Washington Post, Zelalem is eligible for a U.S. passport through the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which "serves to facilitate the acquisition of U.S. citizenship of the foreign-born children of U.S. citizens ? both biological and adopted ? who did not acquire citizenship at birth."
In other words, because he is under age 18, he would automatically become a citizen when his father becomes a citizen. His father, Zelalem Wolydes, was a medical technician in the Washington area, and despite joining his son in London, maintained U.S. permanent residency. At some point, he began pursuing citizenship. His application has apparently been approved, and both arrived in Washington in recent days to finalize the process.
Zelalem's vision, touch and distribution have drawn comparisons to Cesc Fabregas, the Barcelona and Spanish World Cup midfielder who, almost 11 years ago, launched his career at Arsenal at age 16.
"You need to be quite brave to put a boy of that age into the team, but you can only be brave if you are convinced that he has something special," Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger said last month. "Of course, when you think about 16- or 17-year-olds, usually it's not a physical advantage they have ? most of the time it's an exceptional talent or technical ability."
Should Zelalem commit to the U.S. program, he would become the second high-profile prospect from a major club to spurn Germany. In March, Bayern Munich's Julian Green, an 18-year-old attacker with dual citizenship, chose to play for the Americans. The Post speculated Saturday that Zelalem would likely fall into U.S. coach Juergen Klinsmann's long-term plans, such as the 2016 Olympics and next World Cup.
10. The NBA's elite eight, if you will, is finally set after a first round that featured an NBA-record five Game 7s, eight overtime games and 23 games decided by five points or fewer. Indiana and Washington will square off in one Eastern Conference semifinal with Miami and Brooklyn in the other. In the Western Conference, San Antonio and Portland will meet in one semifinal series while the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City renew acquaintances in the other.
Here are some thoughts from the week that was in the NBA:
A. The Thunder's Kevin Durant had a magnificent Game 7 to help end Memphis' season, delivering 33 points on Saturday night. He will win the MVP award Monday, hours before Game 1 against the Clippers and on the heels of two of the best games of his career. On Sunday, Durant said his resurgence against the Grizzlies was a result of his getting out of his own way. "I was thinking too much," Durant told Yahoo! "I was worrying about what (the media) was saying. I was worrying about what shots I was going to shoot throughout the game…" Durant wasn't bothered much by The Oklahoman's Thursday's "Mr. Unreliable" headline. His family and friends were. "This is a one-sport town, and he's the superstar," Thunder guard Derek Fisher told Yahoo Sports. "Kevin understands it. He embraces it. The fact everybody else was going crazy over it ? family and friends and fans ? made it almost enjoyable for him to go out and play that night. As much as anything, it was a reminder that a lot of people cared about him here. …Kevin wasn't worried about getting his shot, or his points, he was worried about letting the guys in the locker room down," Fisher said. "For him, that was the hardest part. He felt like he was letting guys down as the franchise player, as the leader. Every great player goes through it at some point, all of them. There starts to be some doubt. There starts to be criticism all around you. There's second-guessing. They all do ? and Kevin worked his way right out of it."
B. The Clippers, meanwhile, went through adversity of their own last week. On Saturday night, as the Clippers finally finished off the Golden State Warriors, coach Doc Rivers pumped his fist toward the Staples Center rafters six times, screamed and suddenly began high-fiving fans seated near the court. "I needed to exhale some too," Rivers said. "This was a hard week. Was it a week? I don't even know. It felt like two months. I just needed to be able to smile and laugh and cheer and be proud of something." Rivers soaked in the aftermath of the Clippers' 126-121 victory over the Warriors because it represented so much more for the franchise, for Rivers himself. From the moment owner Donald Sterling's racial comments were made public late on the night of April 26, Rivers and the Clippers weathered a week unlike any in NBA history. The players considered boycotting Game 4 of the series, then were criticized by some when they opted to play. Within three days, NBA commissioner Adam Silver was levying a lifetime ban on Sterling and announcing the league would attempt to force him to sell the franchise "When Adam made his decision, we were at shoo-taround for Game 5, and that was the first time where everybody was like, 'Phew,' " Clippers guard J.J. Redick told Yahoo. "You go into the locker room five minutes later and somebody tells a joke. I hadn't heard that for three days. When that happened on Tuesday that was the first real moment where guys started moving on." Privately, Rivers said, he leaned on his wife and four children for support. "I didn't know what to do," Rivers said. "There was so much stuff. …I'm not going to tell everybody everything, but there was way more stuff going on. I was just trying to keep the guys together, man. …It became such a burden because you had nowhere to turn."
C. The Chicago Sun-Times, citing anonymous sources, reported this weekend that Bulls all-star center Joakim Noah had a "conversation" with soon-to-be free agent forward Carmelo Anthony during all-star weekend in New Orleans in February. According to several sources, including a teammate, "conversation'' with the New York Knicks' star didn't end in New Orleans. They had discussions via text the rest of the season, including the day after the Bulls were eliminated in the playoffs by the Washington Wizards. I was kidding Jo that they were boys now,'' a source told the Sun-Times in a phone interview Friday. " 'Well, get your boy to come to Chicago.'" When asked during the season about his heart-to-heart with Anthony, Noah was his usual coy self. "What are you talking about? The gossip going on?'' Noah said. "I feel a lot of gossip. I think we all know that we're in a good place. We've got a healthy group, it's a healthy environment, and we're not going to let gossip get in the way of what we're doing. We've gone through so much this year, so it's not going to be a little gossip that gets out there.You want me to address that? I don't feel like addressing it. I really have nothing to say.'' Sources said Noah has been in Anthony's ear as often as possible, and he has told other Bulls to push hard for Anthony this summer. But there is one condition: Backup big man Taj Gibson can't be sacrificed. For the Bulls to keep Noah, Gibson and point guard Derrick Rose, Anthony would have to be willing to sign a contract in the $14 million- to $15 million-a-year range, and general manager Gar Forman and vice president John Paxson would have to get creative with the rest of the roster.
D. My second-round picks: Miami over Brooklyn in 6, Indiana over Washington in 7, San Antonio over Portland in 6 and Oklahoma City over the Clippers in 7.
11. Monday is Cinco de Mayo. So Tuesday, for many, will be Hangover de la Hell. Esquire magazine quizzed bartenders from the around the country about cures for the day-after overconsumption. Because I care, here are some of the ideas:
"Aspirin and huevos rancheros, even if I'm waking up at two o'clock." --- Troy Sidle, Pouring Ribbons, New York City
"B vitamins, a multivitamin, bunch of water, coconut water, and Pedialyte." --- Greg Buttera, the Barrelhouse Flat, Chicago
"Just a shot of Fernet Branca. It's been curing people for a couple hundred years." --- Julian Cox, Rivera, Sotta, and Picca Los Angeles
"Sirsasana, or headstand... Headstand for ten minutes at least. You gotta turn the blood upside down, replenish the organs. You gotta move things that don't move." --- Chris Hamel, The Dirty Truth, Northampton, Massachusetts
"I actually have two schools of thought. One is a spicy-chicken combo from Wendy's with a Dr Pepper. That always does the trick, really. And the other one is just a little hair of the dog. Assuming you don't have to go to work. I would say a glass of wine. White wine in the morning." --- Nate Howell, Cusp Dining & Drinks, La Jolla, California
"I usually get a Subway sandwich with as many vegetables as possible on the way home, and I put it in the fridge. That, and half a cup of Pedialyte." --- Sean Dillon, Smithfield, New York City
"A Bloody Bull. It's a Bloody Mary with a little bullion soup. Excellent drink." --- Manny Aguirre, Musso and Frank Grill, Hollywood
"Ibuprofen, Gatorade, and IHOP. Those are usually how it goes. Now they have all-you-can-eat pancakes. If you have a really good crowd with you ? I'm a dude's chick, I have all guys as friends, and they can eat. If we all go out and we go hard and we're completely hungover, now they have all-you-can-eat pancakes. So there's no conversation. You have your hat on, you don't want to talk to anybody. You have your orange juice and your ibuprofen and you can just get your pancakes and be done with it." --- Haley Urbano, Primanti Brothers, Pittsburgh
"A supercharged Vitamin B12 in the morning, water, and Coca-Cola for some reason always works. Coca-Cola was originally a bitters, technically. Plus, it also makes you feel comforted. Well, me anyway." --- Aaron Gregory Smith, 15 Romolo, San Francisco
"Lots of sweaty exercise. It's painful, but it sweats it out. That's a golden rule that cooks live by: They come into work hungover the next day, and they sweat it out in the hot kitchen." --- Kevin Ludwig, Beaker and Flask, Portland, Oregon
12. Sometimes, I need a little life perspective. Perhaps you do, too. Here's the story, via ThriveSports.com, of martial artist Mark Staniszewski, and his two-year-old son, Jake, who is battling a rare form of cancer.
This post was edited on 5/4 10:21 PM by Neal McCready
This post was edited on 5/5 11:54 AM by Neal McCready
Martial arts champ's son fights cancer
