Baylor Bears Football

You don't have to make the best things up in life. No, they simply happen, and you stand out of the way and let them present themselves. Take the case of Scituate, Massachusetts soccer coach Michael Kinahan, who took Kicking & Screaming as not a comedy but an instruction manual for how to run a youth soccer team. Kinahan actually did and said the following: -- Called his team of six and seven year old girls by the name of "Green Death." -- Allegedly chewed out a 12-year-old ref so badly... she quit officiating. -- Advised his players to eat "undercooked red meat." -- Told them to take the field "like a Michael Vick pit bull." -- Informed parents that this was not "two hours of free babysitting," and that he was not going to tolerate them sitting on the sidelines “in their LL Bean chairs sipping mocha-latte-half-caf-chinos” and not cheering. Kinehan -- who thinks "winning is fun, and losing is for losers” -- has been removed as coach, but still stands by his statements. In large part, he's right: he's there to teach them soccer, not to baby-sit. I wasn't aware teaching soccer involved some kind of Spartan survival training akin to what the cast of 300 went through, but I'm not a coach. If he says it means running seven year olds until they pass out and vomit, and if he says parents should throw road flares onto the field like they're Italian soccer hooligans ... well, he would know best. more>>

Normally, these types of highlight reel posts are saved for the LeBrons and Howards of the world, but sometimes you run across something that’s just so cool, you can’t help but sharing. Yes, the dunk in the lead video is a nice one with plenty of authority, but for me, the reason it’s so [...]A post from the Intentional Foul Sports Blog, sponsored by Ticket Solutions. Can Your Pops Dunk Like This?

Last night, I went to Madison Square Garden for the first time since I caught the circus there at age four, and one thing was immediately clear—Ranger fans love Sean Avery. The crowd was...

Angel McCoughtry had 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 77-60 dismissal of top-seeded Maryland in the women's Elite Eight last night, sending Louisville to the Final Four for the first time. A formidable accomplishment, that -- so much so that Angel demands an audience with the President. Immediately. As in right now. "Where are you President Obama?!" Take that to the court when you meet your buddies for some three-on-three, and watch them laugh with recognition. Or not, because as... desperate as they are for sports content, they're still not watching the women's tourney in all likelihood. I know this because I'm a real man, and I most definitely did not spend two hours watching The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency last night with my wife. No, I was hanging sheet rock in between sets of body weight bench presses and sparring sessions in the stone circle with my live-in manservant and training partner, Glondor. That's just how I do.more>>

Detroit has dumped their $14 million DH with 499 career home runs. Oh, don't worry ... he gets to keep the money! [MLB; But The Game Is On]

After Shawn Johnson spent last week worried about a deranged stalker, she returns to "Dancing With The Stars" only to be greeted by what appears to be a deranged boner in her partner's pants. (NSFW?)...

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin With Texas' spring scrimmage approaching on Sunday, Vondrell McGee has emerged as the leader in the Longhorns' tight battle at running back.     Brian Bahr/Getty Images   Vondrell McGee has taken the lead in the race to be the Longhorns' starter. Earlier in the spring, redshirt freshman Cody Johnson appeared to have taken a step forward to claim the starting position. But the bullish, 255-pound Johnson tweaked his hamstring last week... and has been kept out of the lineup. Since then, McGee has been the best player at the position, Texas coach Mack Brown said Monday. McGee has been challenged by sophomore Fozzy Whittaker and redshirt freshman Tre' Newton since Johnson has been idled. "Vondrell has been the experienced guy who has practiced every day," Brown said. "The other guys have had some little something wrong with them throughout the spring. Vondrell's been the most consistent and the most healthy. If we lined up to play today, Vondrell would be our starting tailback." McGee, a junior who has made three starts earlier in his career, has shown flashes of potential throughout his time with the Longhorns. But his running skills have been negated by blocking difficulties and inconsistency. He is the leading returning rusher among the Texas running backs after rushing for 376 yards and four touchdowns last season. Texas will play on a 90-yard field at its Sunday scrimmage because of construction at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. But the short field will enable Brown and his program to honor the military for its contributions. "We'll work on a 90-yard field, but we're going to take out the 40-yard line in honor of the 40 percent of our reserves and current active military that are deployed right now," Brown said. "We're inviting our military back from across the state back in their honor."more>>

It's a good thing that Virginia-Maryland lacrosse game ended after seven overtimes, because this poor college radio announcer might not be with us today if it hadn't. [YouTube]

Lost in a Monday full of staring at doors was the man without whom none of this circus would be possible: Billy Gillispie. After being chased down by the local Lexington paparazzi over the weekend, you can’t blame the guy for laying low. But sometime yesterday, Gillispie did take time to speak one-on-one with Jimmy Dykes in an undisclosed location. Billy was all smiles throughout the interview -- to the extent that it became creepy about halfway through. The two best Q and A’s to... emerge: Dykes: Do you think not signing a 30-page contract is gonna affect what you feel is fair to you at this point? Gillispie: Oh, I have no idea. I mean, I think it’s all gonna work out fine, and I’ve never been involved with too many things that didn’t. Dykes: What advice would you give to John Calipari if the deal goes down? Gillispie: I’m not an advice-giver. I heard a long time ago, “The worst advice is bad advice … or giving advice.” And so, I don’t really have a whole lot of advice. It’s not even worth pointing out the irony in the first response -- the bit about everything always working out just fine. As for the second answer, if the worst advice is bad advice, well then why not give, you know, good advice to Calipari? Something along the lines of, “only take this job if you can handle a rabid fanbase with unrealistic, soul-crushing expectations” might work. Unless Gillispie’s make-believe saying actually is meant to go: “The worst advice is giving advice.” Although refusing to ever give any advice seems like a bad quality for someone who coaches young men. Actually, that’s pretty telling. As for his future, Gillispie says he plans on coaching somewhere next season. Right now, job openings are slim pickins, not to mention Billy’s stock isn’t exactly sky-high. Sitting a year out may end up being his best option. more>>

• Mr. Chill. Depending on who you ask, either early-enrolling freshman Matt Barkley was "the star" of Southern Cal's first practice Saturday, or no one stood out at all in the three-way race to replace Mark Sanchez as the Trojans' quarterback/automatic Heisman candidate/babe magnet. Whatever his chances of passing Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp, though, you have to give Barkley this: He's not overwhelmed out there. Buried amid longer answers in Barkley's Q&A with the Orange County Register... is an 18-year-old just getting off another day at work: Were you nervous? "Not really." Did you struggle with anything? "Not really." Is it harder being a freshman when the other guys have been in the system for a few years now? "I don’t find it that hard at all." Was there a big difference in speed? "It’s not that bad." Was practice what you expected? "I’ve been here, watching spring practice last year and years before. It’s the same thing." The Register, especially, was suspiciously enthusiastic over Barkley's debut, in contrast to the ho-hum reaction by the rest of the SC media, which does not seems as impressed by the freshman's "innate confidence" -- maybe they're just waiting for, you know, a second practice for confirmation. They get their chance today after taking Monday off. Quarterback battling aside, all we can ask of USC practices is this: Even though last year's video had to be removed, please, please bring back Brennan Carroll's walk-on tryouts on YouTube. That's all we ask. • Bellotti is back! Well, in a sense, for a limited time, in a greatly reduced role: The just-retired Oregon coach/soon-to-be Oregon athletic director will hang around to coach the quarterbacks during spring practice, assuming the as-yet unfilled spot on staff created by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's promotion to Bellotti's old chair. Most of Bellotti's career was spent molding passers, including Joey Harrington, Akili Smith, et al, making him one of the most overqualified quarterbacks coaches in the country. Just remember who's boss, now, boss. As an aside, I first saw this news announced the news on its Twitter page but sounds instead like Bellotti would be conveying his wisdom to players in 140 characters or less. That would be a cutting edge move. • By the hand of Nassib, we shall be resurrected. Amid the irony of a snowy spring practice Monday, Syracuse became the first team to "officially" settle its quarterback quandary: Redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib took every snap with the first offense and received a vote of confidence from coach Doug Marrone, who said "it's his job to lose." This is something of an upset: Nassib was a completely anonymous recruit last year and opened the spring behind last year's starter, senior Cameron Dantley, who dutifully reassumes the backup role. In the meantime, poor Andrew Robinson, full-time starter for the Orange in 2007, part-time starter last year and beleaguered subject of a thousand "kwaddaback must go down" shots, feels "a sense of rejuvenation" at tight end. Quickly ... Chris Forcier, apparently on the outside of UCLA's quarterback derby, has been given his release from the Bruins. No word on his next stop. ... Notre Dame's defense shined during the team's first scrimmage, but still doesn't know where it will fit Manti Te'o. ... On the heels of some Bobcat fans, the Cleveland Plain Dealer calls out Ohio U. for weak scheduling. ... Mike Gundy can already tell Oklahoma State's defense will be improved. Glad that's settled. ... SMU is switching to the 3-4 defense for the spread offenses of C-USA. ... The Orlando Sentinel somehow thinks Percy Harvin can be replaced. ... And would you pay $300 to watch Texas A&M play Arkansas?more>>

• Mr. Chill. Depending on who you ask, either early-enrolling freshman Matt Barkley was "the star" of Southern Cal's first practice Saturday, or no one stood out at all in the three-way race to replace Mark Sanchez as the Trojans' quarterback/automatic Heisman candidate/babe magnet. Whatever his chances of passing Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp, though, you have to give Barkley this: He's not overwhelmed out there. Buried amid longer answers in Barkley's Q&A with the Orange County Register is... an 18-year-old just getting off another day at work:Were you nervous? "Not really."Did you struggle with anything? "Not really."Is it harder being a freshman when the other guys have been in the system for a few years now? "I don’t find it that hard at all."Was there a big difference in speed? "It’s not that bad."Was practice what you expected? "I’ve been here, watching spring practice last year and years before. It’s the same thing."The Register, especially, was suspiciously enthusiastic over Barkley's debut, in contrast to the ho-hum reaction by the rest of the SC media, which does not seems as impressed by the freshman's "innate confidence" -- maybe they're just waiting for, you know, a second practice for confirmation. They get their chance today after taking Monday off.Quarterback battling aside, all we can ask of USC practices is this: Even though last year's video had to be removed, please, please bring back Brennan Carroll's walk-on tryouts on YouTube. That's all we ask.• But the rest of the SEC thought it looked great, coach. Florida's new I-formation package, which made some minor news last week for daring to take the Tebow Child out of the shotgun, isn't rubbing Urban Meyer the right way just yet "That I-package, I'm not sure how long that will be sticking around here," Meyer said. "You want to have it in, but like I said four years ago when I walked on this campus, we don't really have an offense. It's an offense based on what we have, so we can run [the I-formation] all we want, but if the players struggle ... we won't run [it]."(For the ellipses, I just assume you can insert profanity.) The problem is personnel, not surprising for a team that used one player, Aaron Hernandez, for all its tight end and fullback needs after Cornelius Ingram's injury last year. There are no real fullbacks on the roster, and as for freshman tight end Dez Parks? "[He] has no idea which way right or left is," according to Meyer. "It's not looking very good."• Bellotti is back! Well, in a sense, for a limited time, in a greatly reduced role: The just-retired Oregon coach/soon-to-be Oregon athletic director will hang around to coach the quarterbacks during spring practice, assuming the as-yet unfilled spot on staff created by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's promotion to Bellotti's old chair. Most of Bellotti's career was spent molding passers, including Joey Harrington, Akili Smith, et al, making him one of the most overqualified quarterbacks coaches in the country. Just remember who's boss, now, boss.As an aside, I first saw this news announced the news on its Twitter page but sounds instead like Bellotti would be conveying his wisdom to players in 140 characters or less. That would be a cutting edge move. • By the hand of Nassib, we shall be resurrected. Amid the irony of a snowy spring practice Monday, Syracuse became the first team to "officially" settle its quarterback quandary: Redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib took every snap with the first offense and received a vote of confidence from coach Doug Marrone, who said "it's his job to lose." This is something of an upset: Nassib was a completely anonymous recruit last year and opened the spring behind last year's starter, senior Cameron Dantley, who dutifully reassumes the backup role. In the meantime, poor Andrew Robinson, full-time starter for the Orange in 2007, part-time starter last year and beleaguered subject of a thousand "kwaddaback must go down" shots, feels "a sense of rejuvenation" at tight end.Quickly ... Chris Forcier, apparently on the outside of UCLA's quarterback derby, has been given his release from the Bruins. No word on his next stop. ... Notre Dame's defense shined during the team's first scrimmage, but still doesn't know where it will fit Manti Te'o. ... On the heels of some Bobcat fans, the Cleveland Plain Dealer calls out Ohio U. for weak scheduling. ... Mike Gundy can already tell Oklahoma State's defense will be improved. Glad that's settled. ... SMU is switching to the 3-4 defense for the spread offenses of C-USA. ... The Orlando Sentinel somehow thinks Percy Harvin can be replaced. ... And would you pay $300 to watch Texas A&M play Arkansas?more>>