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First of all, I am a Tim Tebow fan.
I wasn't a fan when he was in college because I didn't care for the University of Florida very much, well to be fair...it wasn't so much Florida I didn't care for...It was Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN's "kiss up" love affair with the Gators and the SEC.
It's funny, if you talk about a person or team long enough it'll make you start really disliking them.
I think the media does it on purpose.
Lebron James was shoved down everybody's throat 20 times a day before he ever played a game in NBA...experts were saying "he'll be the best ever". Shouldn't you have to play a few seasons first? Shouldn't he have to get one ring first before we start that kind of talk?
Tony Romo was anointed the next Brett Favre after just month and a half as a starter in the NFL. BTW, he's not there yet.
The 2005 USC Trojans were deemed the greatest college football team of all time...week in and week out. I got so tired of hearing it. I used to love USC but the media made me hope for their demise. BTW, they lost to Texas in the National Championship game.
The 2007 Patriots were already being considered the best team in NFL History before they even had the Lombardi trophy in hand. Again, I couldn't turn on ESPN without them comparing the Patriots to the 70's Steelers, 80's Niners, etc and why the '07 Pats were better than these teams...again all this was before they took a snap in the playoffs that year. BTW, they lost in Super Bowl.
The media just talks too much about certain teams or players that are "trending" at the time. Too much talk.
My friend Missy Little made the point that 24 hour sports networks and radio are to blame. They have to have something to talk about. I think that's true.
What Tebow is doing is great. And once a team starts believing; they can do anything. Anything!
But I think we're talking about him a little too much at this point. (Crap, now I'm talking about him...the irony is not lost on me...but 6 wins in a row is very note worthy).
Let's allow this to play out first. Let's look at Tebow's 7 wins.
Sunday they beat a Bears (7-6) team without their starting QB and RB. Chicago is 0-3 without Cutler. They lost to KC last week, no offense at all right now. Horrible time management, bad fumble with game in hand.
Last week, Denver beat a 2-11 Vikings team that's the king of losing games they should have won. Look it up.
They beat KC (5-8) in the game Cassel was lost for the year I think. No offense. Chiefs are 28th in total offense.
They beat the Jets (7-6). New York was on a short week (Thursday night game) after getting trounced by the Pats 37-16. They turned the ball over late in a sure win. Jets are 27th in total offense.
San Diego (6-7) had been a embarassment for the better part of 6 weeks and they missed a FG that could have won the game late. The Chargers had lost 5 straight games going into the Broncos game...and then lost that one.
They beat Oakland. Pretty good win, but I think Carson Palmer was making his first start since last year and threw 3 INT's. The Raiders also had 15 penalties and gave up a punt return TD.
Tebow's first win was against a winless Dolphins (0-6) team at the time.
Now before you say, "Isaac I thought you said you were a Tebow fan, you sound like just another Tebow hater".
No, no, no...I assure you I'm a fan.
Tebow put his team in position to win all those games. Give him the credit for all the 4th quarter comebacks. He gets better everyday.
And there's no doubt he's clutch. Big time clutch. If you keep it close, Tebow will win it.
And also, I've been waiting for a team to incorporate a Read Option offense. NFL personnel has always said it couldn't work. I've always believed it could if modified a little. With good defense, a good punter, place kicker...option football has a place. Field position and time of possession still wins games and option football with help you with good field position and will eat up a lot of clock.
I've seen NFL teams pass on guys for years that I know could have been good QB's. Again, it's like I talked about with basketball last week, coaches should adjust the systems to their talent.
Vince Young should have had the chance to do what Tebow's doing...all Vince Young does is win (ask the aforementioned USC). Mike Vick should have been able to do his thing also...but nobody took the chance the way John Fox and his staff have done. Vick has done well in traditional systems, but he would be on another level with read options sets.
Years ago, (the late) Bill Walsh had a QB who was accurate but not "big-armed" but he a like a bezillion comeback wins in college. Walsh developed an offense for the 3rd round pick from Notre Dame. All that guy did was become the greatest QB of all time. Joe Montana. The most clutch athlete of all time.
C'mon NFL teams, pick up a history lesson or two.
But I digress...the Broncos are the beneficiaries of the world's easiest schedule down the stretch.
Yes they have New England on the schedule next week. Tom Brady and company are not known for giving games away late. That will be a challenge.
But then the Broncos finish against the struggling Buffalo Bills (5-8) and the injured KC Chiefs (5-8). Why did they fire Haley? He's not my favorite coach all the time, but is it his fault that the whole team is on injured reserve (Moeaki is probably his fault, though...why in the world was he still in the game at the end of the 4th preseason game?).
So, the Broncos should finish as the AFC west winner it seems.
And once you get to the playoffs, anything could happen.
I like Tebow and I love what's going on with the Broncos...this is a fun story and it's fun to talk about around the water cooler.
It's deserve some air time. Some...
But please let's watch it play out.
A win next week against the Patriots?
If he gets a win or two in the playoffs?
Then...and only then...let's really start talking
The 4 Corners (rankings through Dec. 12)
Girls
4) Diamond (3-3)
The injuries finally caught up with the Lady Cats against a solid Lamar squad and Seneca.
3) Seneca (3-1)
Seneca got a nice win over Diamond on Monday night. There was a game listed on the schedule for last Friday night versus Logan-Rogersville, but it appears that it got canceled or something?
2) Webb City (4-2)
Second straight tournament, second straight runner-up finish. But don't think that's a bad thing. The young lady birds lost the two championship games by a combined 6 points. They beat the #1 seed (in the Joplin Lady Eagles tourney) Har-Ber (Springdale, AR) on route to their second place finish.
1) Carthage (4-2)
Sky's the limit for the Lady Tigers. A loss in a tough battle with Mt. Vernon doesn't change a thing. Kaylee Morgan made a move against East Newton last Monday that most of our boys couldn't make.
Boys
4) Webb City (2-1)
Solid first week of play for Webb. A second place finish in the Arvest Hoopfest down in Rogers, AR. Not bad for a team that's been practicing for 2 weeks.
3) Diamond (5-1)
Diamond went 3-0 on their way to the Seneca Tournament championship. The distance between TJ and Diamond is one inch.
2) Thomas Jefferson (4-1)
Went 1-1 on the week. The did lose to a competitive Riverton (KS) squad last week but that was without starting center Justin Brown. Not sure the extent of his ankle injury but it's something to keep an eye on. Considering the Brown injury and the head to head victory over them, I can't move Diamond above TJ at this time...but it's very close.
1) Carthage (4-1)
A 71-61 loss to Kickapoo on Saturday (on the road) doesn't do any harm to the Tigers standing. Carthage played them dead even the entire game. Based on what we've seen thus far, Carthage should have a chance to challenge in the always tough COC.
The Short Corner:
Coaches, it would be cool if you could have one of your assistant coaches, parents, or manager put your scores and stats on Maxpreps. I love to brag on our kids and teams!!!
30 for 30. Megan Wilson (Diamond) scored 30 against Seneca last night. Not to be outdone, Seneca freshman Mirana Heath dropped 30 as well. Wow!!!
Carthage boys made a huge statement in the rematch (of the Carthage Invite finals) versus Joplin. Carthage won the first contest by one. This past Tuesday night: 21! 59-38. The defense was smothering for the Tigers. They held Joplin leading scorer Charlie Brown to 9 points.
The Diamond Lady Wildcats have certainly lost some players to injury, but they found one along the way: Cady Littlefield. Now don't get me wrong, I imagine Coach Brimacombe already knew she was good. But now we do too. Cady has had 18 and 12 in her two starts in place of the injured Stephani Thomas...her totals led the team both games.
Katie Skaggs scored 15 points to lead CJ in scoring last Tuesday night. If she becomes a consistent threat inside with her 6'1" frame, the conversation could really change.
The new Cardiac Cats. College Heights Cougars boys team (3-3)!!! 3 games this week that went down to the wire!
After Frontenac had hit huge 3 pointer to tie the game with less than 5 seconds, CHC Coach Eric Johnson drew up a play...
College Heights threw a full court length pass that senior Evan Belk jumped up and tipped. The tip ended up in a wide open Adam Lewis' hands for the winning bucket. Lewis had 8 points, Belk had 15 points and 7 assists, however...
The leading scorer on the night was Matt Wicklund with 21 points. He followed that up by leading the Cougars friday night with 11 points in another nail biter of a game versus Marionville. CHC came up on the losing end this time (39-36).
Oh but there's more. On last night, CHC won 62-60 in OT over New Covenant. Evan Belk hit the game-winning shot in the extra session. Wow what a week! Spencer Ming led the Cougar assault with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Belk had 12 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Kyle Heman (Diamond) took home MVP honors of the Seneca Tournament. He is also moving up the Corner MVP watch list. We'll take a look at that again in a few weeks.
Speaking of Corner MVP, Phoenix Johnson (Webb City) is looking like an emerging candidate after his first week of play.
I like the Carl Junction win over Nevada (boys). Nevada is a tough team to play with their up-tempo, 5 for 5 substitutions, pressure, etc...Nice win. Travis Vogt led the way with 21 points but CJ had good balance as Matt Magee added 14, Chase Marrs got 11 and Hunter McPherson contributed 10 points.
East Newton girls avenged a season opening loss to Pierce City on Monday night. The Lady Pats went on the road and played a wonderful game spearheaded by a terrific defensive effort. East Newton was up 21-6 at the half. Kourtney Brewster led the way with 16 points for East Newton.
Sarcoxie girls (2-3) got a nice win over Hurley 46-44. It's was the Megan (Meyer) and Megan (Leonard) Show, each had 15 points a piece in the win.
Stat of the week: 17 points. That's how many points Seneca boys (4-2) held Miami (OK) to in a 47-17 win.
Buzzer Beater from The Corner:
Sooooooo...
Underdogs.
I love 'em.
It's why I'm cheering for Tebow.
I love the one's people say will never make it.
I'm a Rocky Balboa fan!
I love the improbable story. I love the impossible comeback. I love the Cinderalla story.
I love the underdog.
Why?
Because I am one.
Cut from the basketball team in 8th, 9th and 10th grade.
Sat the bench all of my 11th grade year
Did everything I was asked to do then some. Surpassed everybody in summer workouts.
Still sat the bench all my 12th grade year...
Until the last 6 games (My coach finally gave me a chance as our team started to struggle).
In those 6 games the team went 5-1, made state playoffs.
College coaches started calling.
I received 14 scholarship offers...
And the rest is history.
When I look at my own basketball career and think about how I refused to give up even when cut 3 straight years, sitting the bench for 2 years...
It's the reason why I have no interest in running an "elite" traveling team program.
It's the reason why every kid will always be welcome in my program.
It's the reason why I'll never turn my back on any kid who wants to play.
...It's the reason I focus more on the teaching the game than winning them.
First of all, I am a Tim Tebow fan.
I wasn't a fan when he was in college because I didn't care for the University of Florida very much, well to be fair...it wasn't so much Florida I didn't care for...It was Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN's "kiss up" love affair with the Gators and the SEC.
It's funny, if you talk about a person or team long enough it'll make you start really disliking them.
I think the media does it on purpose.
Lebron James was shoved down everybody's throat 20 times a day before he ever played a game in NBA...experts were saying "he'll be the best ever". Shouldn't you have to play a few seasons first? Shouldn't he have to get one ring first before we start that kind of talk?
Tony Romo was anointed the next Brett Favre after just month and a half as a starter in the NFL. BTW, he's not there yet.
The 2005 USC Trojans were deemed the greatest college football team of all time...week in and week out. I got so tired of hearing it. I used to love USC but the media made me hope for their demise. BTW, they lost to Texas in the National Championship game.
The 2007 Patriots were already being considered the best team in NFL History before they even had the Lombardi trophy in hand. Again, I couldn't turn on ESPN without them comparing the Patriots to the 70's Steelers, 80's Niners, etc and why the '07 Pats were better than these teams...again all this was before they took a snap in the playoffs that year. BTW, they lost in Super Bowl.
The media just talks too much about certain teams or players that are "trending" at the time. Too much talk.
My friend Missy Little made the point that 24 hour sports networks and radio are to blame. They have to have something to talk about. I think that's true.
What Tebow is doing is great. And once a team starts believing; they can do anything. Anything!
But I think we're talking about him a little too much at this point. (Crap, now I'm talking about him...the irony is not lost on me...but 6 wins in a row is very note worthy).
Let's allow this to play out first. Let's look at Tebow's 7 wins.
Sunday they beat a Bears (7-6) team without their starting QB and RB. Chicago is 0-3 without Cutler. They lost to KC last week, no offense at all right now. Horrible time management, bad fumble with game in hand.
Last week, Denver beat a 2-11 Vikings team that's the king of losing games they should have won. Look it up.
They beat KC (5-8) in the game Cassel was lost for the year I think. No offense. Chiefs are 28th in total offense.
They beat the Jets (7-6). New York was on a short week (Thursday night game) after getting trounced by the Pats 37-16. They turned the ball over late in a sure win. Jets are 27th in total offense.
San Diego (6-7) had been a embarassment for the better part of 6 weeks and they missed a FG that could have won the game late. The Chargers had lost 5 straight games going into the Broncos game...and then lost that one.
They beat Oakland. Pretty good win, but I think Carson Palmer was making his first start since last year and threw 3 INT's. The Raiders also had 15 penalties and gave up a punt return TD.
Tebow's first win was against a winless Dolphins (0-6) team at the time.
Now before you say, "Isaac I thought you said you were a Tebow fan, you sound like just another Tebow hater".
No, no, no...I assure you I'm a fan.
Tebow put his team in position to win all those games. Give him the credit for all the 4th quarter comebacks. He gets better everyday.
And there's no doubt he's clutch. Big time clutch. If you keep it close, Tebow will win it.
And also, I've been waiting for a team to incorporate a Read Option offense. NFL personnel has always said it couldn't work. I've always believed it could if modified a little. With good defense, a good punter, place kicker...option football has a place. Field position and time of possession still wins games and option football with help you with good field position and will eat up a lot of clock.
I've seen NFL teams pass on guys for years that I know could have been good QB's. Again, it's like I talked about with basketball last week, coaches should adjust the systems to their talent.
Vince Young should have had the chance to do what Tebow's doing...all Vince Young does is win (ask the aforementioned USC). Mike Vick should have been able to do his thing also...but nobody took the chance the way John Fox and his staff have done. Vick has done well in traditional systems, but he would be on another level with read options sets.
Years ago, (the late) Bill Walsh had a QB who was accurate but not "big-armed" but he a like a bezillion comeback wins in college. Walsh developed an offense for the 3rd round pick from Notre Dame. All that guy did was become the greatest QB of all time. Joe Montana. The most clutch athlete of all time.
C'mon NFL teams, pick up a history lesson or two.
But I digress...the Broncos are the beneficiaries of the world's easiest schedule down the stretch.
Yes they have New England on the schedule next week. Tom Brady and company are not known for giving games away late. That will be a challenge.
But then the Broncos finish against the struggling Buffalo Bills (5-8) and the injured KC Chiefs (5-8). Why did they fire Haley? He's not my favorite coach all the time, but is it his fault that the whole team is on injured reserve (Moeaki is probably his fault, though...why in the world was he still in the game at the end of the 4th preseason game?).
So, the Broncos should finish as the AFC west winner it seems.
And once you get to the playoffs, anything could happen.
I like Tebow and I love what's going on with the Broncos...this is a fun story and it's fun to talk about around the water cooler.
It's deserve some air time. Some...
But please let's watch it play out.
A win next week against the Patriots?
If he gets a win or two in the playoffs?
Then...and only then...let's really start talking
The 4 Corners (rankings through Dec. 12)
Girls
4) Diamond (3-3)
The injuries finally caught up with the Lady Cats against a solid Lamar squad and Seneca.
3) Seneca (3-1)
Seneca got a nice win over Diamond on Monday night. There was a game listed on the schedule for last Friday night versus Logan-Rogersville, but it appears that it got canceled or something?
2) Webb City (4-2)
Second straight tournament, second straight runner-up finish. But don't think that's a bad thing. The young lady birds lost the two championship games by a combined 6 points. They beat the #1 seed (in the Joplin Lady Eagles tourney) Har-Ber (Springdale, AR) on route to their second place finish.
1) Carthage (4-2)
Sky's the limit for the Lady Tigers. A loss in a tough battle with Mt. Vernon doesn't change a thing. Kaylee Morgan made a move against East Newton last Monday that most of our boys couldn't make.
Boys
4) Webb City (2-1)
Solid first week of play for Webb. A second place finish in the Arvest Hoopfest down in Rogers, AR. Not bad for a team that's been practicing for 2 weeks.
3) Diamond (5-1)
Diamond went 3-0 on their way to the Seneca Tournament championship. The distance between TJ and Diamond is one inch.
2) Thomas Jefferson (4-1)
Went 1-1 on the week. The did lose to a competitive Riverton (KS) squad last week but that was without starting center Justin Brown. Not sure the extent of his ankle injury but it's something to keep an eye on. Considering the Brown injury and the head to head victory over them, I can't move Diamond above TJ at this time...but it's very close.
1) Carthage (4-1)
A 71-61 loss to Kickapoo on Saturday (on the road) doesn't do any harm to the Tigers standing. Carthage played them dead even the entire game. Based on what we've seen thus far, Carthage should have a chance to challenge in the always tough COC.
The Short Corner:
Coaches, it would be cool if you could have one of your assistant coaches, parents, or manager put your scores and stats on Maxpreps. I love to brag on our kids and teams!!!
30 for 30. Megan Wilson (Diamond) scored 30 against Seneca last night. Not to be outdone, Seneca freshman Mirana Heath dropped 30 as well. Wow!!!
Carthage boys made a huge statement in the rematch (of the Carthage Invite finals) versus Joplin. Carthage won the first contest by one. This past Tuesday night: 21! 59-38. The defense was smothering for the Tigers. They held Joplin leading scorer Charlie Brown to 9 points.
The Diamond Lady Wildcats have certainly lost some players to injury, but they found one along the way: Cady Littlefield. Now don't get me wrong, I imagine Coach Brimacombe already knew she was good. But now we do too. Cady has had 18 and 12 in her two starts in place of the injured Stephani Thomas...her totals led the team both games.
Katie Skaggs scored 15 points to lead CJ in scoring last Tuesday night. If she becomes a consistent threat inside with her 6'1" frame, the conversation could really change.
The new Cardiac Cats. College Heights Cougars boys team (3-3)!!! 3 games this week that went down to the wire!
After Frontenac had hit huge 3 pointer to tie the game with less than 5 seconds, CHC Coach Eric Johnson drew up a play...
College Heights threw a full court length pass that senior Evan Belk jumped up and tipped. The tip ended up in a wide open Adam Lewis' hands for the winning bucket. Lewis had 8 points, Belk had 15 points and 7 assists, however...
The leading scorer on the night was Matt Wicklund with 21 points. He followed that up by leading the Cougars friday night with 11 points in another nail biter of a game versus Marionville. CHC came up on the losing end this time (39-36).
Oh but there's more. On last night, CHC won 62-60 in OT over New Covenant. Evan Belk hit the game-winning shot in the extra session. Wow what a week! Spencer Ming led the Cougar assault with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Belk had 12 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Kyle Heman (Diamond) took home MVP honors of the Seneca Tournament. He is also moving up the Corner MVP watch list. We'll take a look at that again in a few weeks.
Speaking of Corner MVP, Phoenix Johnson (Webb City) is looking like an emerging candidate after his first week of play.
I like the Carl Junction win over Nevada (boys). Nevada is a tough team to play with their up-tempo, 5 for 5 substitutions, pressure, etc...Nice win. Travis Vogt led the way with 21 points but CJ had good balance as Matt Magee added 14, Chase Marrs got 11 and Hunter McPherson contributed 10 points.
East Newton girls avenged a season opening loss to Pierce City on Monday night. The Lady Pats went on the road and played a wonderful game spearheaded by a terrific defensive effort. East Newton was up 21-6 at the half. Kourtney Brewster led the way with 16 points for East Newton.
Sarcoxie girls (2-3) got a nice win over Hurley 46-44. It's was the Megan (Meyer) and Megan (Leonard) Show, each had 15 points a piece in the win.
Stat of the week: 17 points. That's how many points Seneca boys (4-2) held Miami (OK) to in a 47-17 win.
Buzzer Beater from The Corner:
Sooooooo...
Underdogs.
I love 'em.
It's why I'm cheering for Tebow.
I love the one's people say will never make it.
I'm a Rocky Balboa fan!
I love the improbable story. I love the impossible comeback. I love the Cinderalla story.
I love the underdog.
Why?
Because I am one.
Cut from the basketball team in 8th, 9th and 10th grade.
Sat the bench all of my 11th grade year
Did everything I was asked to do then some. Surpassed everybody in summer workouts.
Still sat the bench all my 12th grade year...
Until the last 6 games (My coach finally gave me a chance as our team started to struggle).
In those 6 games the team went 5-1, made state playoffs.
College coaches started calling.
I received 14 scholarship offers...
And the rest is history.
When I look at my own basketball career and think about how I refused to give up even when cut 3 straight years, sitting the bench for 2 years...
It's the reason why I have no interest in running an "elite" traveling team program.
It's the reason why every kid will always be welcome in my program.
It's the reason why I'll never turn my back on any kid who wants to play.
...It's the reason I focus more on the teaching the game than winning them.
