Cal Bears...ready for the Holiday Bowl?

This post is for my nephew, Danny, who is a junior at University of California-Berkeley (Cal). We’ve spent the past three years trash talking…more like him giving me a hard time…because I have been cheering for that college football team up the road apiece who wears cardinal (who shall remain nameless)…and not his team. And, given that it is his rival, he has every right to feel this way. Of course, for the record, I must just say that I own my share of Cal t-shirts, went to the Oregon-Cal game last season (Cal should’ve won that game) all decked out in my Cal gear and cheered for Cal, and one of my best memories over these past three years came in Danny’s freshman year. We both attended the Big Game (yes, it is actually called that), he was wearing blue, I was wearing that other color, and when his team won…Danny was so excited he, along with other Cal students, rushed the field. That definitely made the highlight reel. It was a great moment for any fan and I am happy that my nephew was able to experience that.

Zach Maynard

This season has been up and down for the Cal Bears. It was one of those seasons, that until you took a look back, you might not have noticed all the good things they did. (Especially, if you were paying attention to the best two-loss team in the country, Wisconsin!)

The low point for Cal was a loss to UCLA, when their junior quarterback Zach Maynard threw four interceptions. A combination of things helped turn the season around for the Bears. Maynard, a transfer from Buffalo, who sat out last year, said he finally got his timing back and understood the speed of the game in the Pac-12. For him going back and refocusing, spending more time on film helped tremendously. Maynard only threw one interception in the final four games. In addition, the strategy changed a bit. A little more balanced attack, as their rushing yards increased from an average of 135 yards per game to 230 yards per game. Tailback Isi Sofele was the beneficiary of this change carrying the ball at least 21 times in each game and rushing for more than 100 yards in their three wins, including a career high 190 yards against Oregon St.

When Maynard is on, he can be explosive. He just needs just 168 yards in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl to surpass 3,000 yards passing this year. He will be one of only three quarterbacks in recent Cal history to do this. And, do you believe this? Aaron Rodgers is not one of the other QBs on the list! He missed the list in the 2003 season by a mere 97 yards. (The other two are: Pat Barnes in 1996 and Nate Longshore in 2006) Maynard’s favorite target is his brother, Keenan Allen, who has 89 receptions for 1,261 yards.

Keenan Allen

The matchup against Texas in the Holiday Bowl will be a close game. Both teams are 7-5. However, Cal won three out of their last four games and Texas lost three of out their last four. So, Cal has a little momentum coming into this game.

Although, most folks are favoring Texas…a little surprising. Yes, Texas Coach Mack Brown does have a good record in bowl games (8-4), but so does Cal Coach Jeff Tedford (5-2). The Longhorns faced some injuries at the end of the season, which could be one reason for their losing—that, and facing Baylor and Heisman trophy winner, Robert Griffin III. And, they still have not figured out their quarterback situation. It looks like they will be going with both Case McCoy and David Ash, as they have all year (each started five games). Starting two quarterbacks is never a good ingredient for winning.

While I usually don’t make predictions, I think if Maynard has truly turned the corner, and it looks like he has, Cal has a good shot at winning this game. I saw him play in the Big Game, their only loss in the last month of the season, and he looked good. He completed 20 of 29 passes, no interceptions, threw for two touchdowns and 280 yards. And, he just looked in rhythm. He looked completely different from the guy who was behind center during their three consecutive losses.

And, while Tedford is the winningest coach in Cal history, the real question is, if Cal falls behind, can they make the needed adjustments to overcome? This season I saw a lack of urgency from the team and coaches at the end of the Big Game. They just seemed to walk through the two-minute drill and didn’t quite seem to grasp that time was ticking away. When the game is on the line, will they step up?

Let’s hope they do. I’d like to see Cal head into their new Memorial Stadium with a nice finish to this season (Yes, we will finally be able to sit on full benches and not get splinters!).

And, who wants to see a Mack Brown team win, especially after his open lobbying to knock Cal out of the 2004 Rose Bowl.

Yes, Danny, I will be wearing blue tomorrow and cheering for the Bears. And, after Jan. 2, no more trash talking on the rivalry…so, what’s next?

West Coast Conference, YouTube team up to innovate

The typical college basketball media day looks like this: A press conference with coaches from each school and a few players.

I’ve sat through quite a few of these and believe me, they aren’t fun.

On October 27, 2011, the West Coast Conference (WCC) took the traditional media day and turned it upside down.

By teaming with YouTube, they engaged their fans in the men’s basketball tip-off event. A new focus…the fans…and they definitely made an impact.

For driving their message directly to the fans through social media, and raising the bar in creativity in the digital space, the WCC has earned the distinction of being the first social media innovation post on this blog.

During this cool event, the WCC engaged their fans in different sessions:

·         A live 10-minute video interview, with each basketball coach answering questions posted by fans on Twitter and Facebook (conducted by Barry Tompkins)

·         A live blog chat with coaches answering questions from fans

·         A live five-minute interview with each basketball coach previewing the season (conducted by Jeff Lampe, host of the WCC Live Internet talk show)

·         A roundtable conversation with three coaches on various topics (these chats will be shown on a future episode on The Road to Las Vegas during the season)

In addition, the media had one-on-one interviews with the coaches.

Highlights from the day can be seen here  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qukoy42Lh4c&feature=channel_video_title

And for those of you wondering, here is the current roster of schools in the WCC: BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara.

Recently, I spent a few minutes with Jeff Tourial, director of communications & new media at the WCC, who managed the basketball tip-off event.

PJ: How did you come up with the idea to change media day?

Jeff: We had not done a media day in several years. We meet annually with the coaches in April and they said they were interested in doing a media day to promote the season. We thought about what we could do to be innovative and get the most bang for the buck. What could we do to be different and have impact?

We decided to take the focus away from the media and put it on the fans. Let the fans ask questions through Facebook and Twitter.

PJ: How did YouTube get involved?

Jeff: YouTube’s headquarters is a two minute walk from our offices. We were talking to them about productions and them getting into college sports—getting into the live events. However, they need to get the rights and most of those are locked up in long-term deals. Our men’s basketball contract with ESPN is for eight years. The other sports we own and had talked about showing a soccer, baseball, or softball game each week…and, about hosting an event at YouTube.

PJ: How did you promote the tip-off event?

Jeff: This is interesting, as we didn’t have an agreement with YouTube until the week before. It might have fallen through. A lot was up in the air and we couldn’t say anything publicly until the Monday before [the event was on Thursday]. We had a few tweets…coming soon. But, we had to be careful not to overplay our hand as the deal wasn’t worked out yet. If we did this again, we’d do better promoting because we’d have more time.

PJ: Were you worried that you wouldn’t get fans to post enough questions in just a few days of knowing about the event?

Jeff: We weren’t worried. With Barry Tompkins hosting we didn’t even think…is this going to work? Barry is a pro and he could’ve done 10 minutes without questions. And, with so many our schools having such a passionate fan base, we knew we’d get a response. How often do you get to ask your coach a question? Turns out, we had so many questions we didn’t get to, because we didn’t have time.

PJ: What’s next with YouTube?

Jeff: Two days after the event, we streamed the cross-country championships on YouTube. 6,600 people watched LIVE! Technology in the field at cross-country event—to pull this off is impressive. It was neat and we got great feedback.

We will have live coverage at and around the men’s and women’s basketball championships in March. We will also cover tennis, golf, and rowing. The men’s basketball championship in Las Vegas will be Wednesday through Monday, and Sunday they don’t play. What can we do on Sunday to make an impact? Maybe something around practices—a modified media day with the team captain and coach, get involved with the fans and have them ask questions the day before the championship.

PJ: Did the tip-off event reach your expectations?

Jeff: Absolutely! We are ecstatic about how things turned out and the fan interaction. A few coaches raved and Tweeted on how innovative and different we are from other conferences. It’s a good feeling. In the future, this will be more normal. Anyone who has a smartphone can be involved.

It’s fun to be in front of the wave.

For more on WCC, check out their website http://www.wccsports.com

Andrew Luck, One of the Best...Ever

For the past three years I’ve watched Andrew Luck, Stanford quarterback, play…game in and game out. From the first game I watched in person at Stanford Stadium…in fact, his first few snaps, I knew he had “it.” What is “it”? A combination of poise, leadership, arm strength (he can throw a ball 70 yards just with little effort), ability to read the defense quickly and adjust, toughness, athleticism, mobility, accuracy (both short and deep), intelligence, etc.

Andrew Luck

Now, I’ve watched plenty of high school and college athletes. And, some were “can’t miss” (Kevin Garnett, Donovan McNabb, Al Toon, Grant Hill) and others I thought were “can’t miss”, but didn’t quite get there (Jamie Brandon, Ronnie Fields). But, with Andrew, I knew I was seeing the real thing. And, it wasn’t just the hype of coming out of Stratford High School in Houston (he was rated the No. 4 quarterback in the nation by Scout.com) and the anticipation of his starting throughout his redshirt year. There was something I saw in those first few snaps against Washington…I knew Andrew was special. And, this was with Toby Gerhart in the backfield and an offense geared to that Heisman runner-up, who amassed 1,871 yards in his last season at Stanford.

In each game throughout his college career, he has that moment or two that just makes you think…“Wow, that was amazing.” From the passes he’s thrown in tight windows to his tight ends this year to the one-handed catch against Colorado, he never disappointed. I know, I know…all the high expectations this year. Kirk Herbstreit from ESPN said that the bar kept getting raised for Andrew; every time he did something good it wasn’t good enough. It’s hard to live up to all of that. However, if you really watched him play you’d see how great he’s been.

Just look at the numbers, this year:

·         98% red zone efficiency (No. 1 in the nation)

·         35 touchdowns (a Stanford record)

·         28 touchdowns in the red zone, with no turnovers in the red zone

·         3,170 yards passing

·         11-1 (Stanford is currently No. 4 in the nation)

Over his career:

·         9,083 yards passing (third in Stanford history)

·         3.9-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio

·         .838 winning percentage (31-6)

·         80 career passing touchdowns

·         Seven four touchdown games

And, remember, he’s done this in three years, not four, as most QBs who put up numbers like this.

But, with Andrew it goes beyond the numbers. He is a coach on the field and a true leader. Going into the huddle Andrew is given a few plays by the coaches and when he gets to the line, reads the defense and calls what they run. No looking to the sideline for the play while the clock ticks down like others. He is the only quarterback in college football that does this or has done it. On top of this, each week Andrew learns nearly 270 new plays based on the opponent in basically one day…and perfects them the rest of the week. Other teams in college football run 70 to 100 plays each week. Not Stanford. I don’t know about you, but this just adds to my amazement.

I’m not the only one who thinks he’s great. ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay just completed The Ultimate Scouting Report on Andrew, comparing him to other top QBs and said he has NO glaring weaknesses.

The two games this season that really cemented his legacy for me were the Arizona and USC games. At Arizona, the game was close in the first half and Chris Owusu (receiver) and Coby Fleener (tight end) went down and the team lost the heart and soul of their defense Shayne Skov for the season. Losing three impact players could have turned anyone’s game and season upside down, but Andrew stepped right up and basically told the team they could carry on and win. And, they did…somehow coming up with a 37-10 victory.

And, who could forget the USC game—it was a classic. A tough, back-and-forth game that went into 3 OTs before Stanford pulled it out. Seconds after throwing an interception that went for a touchdown, Andrew walked up and down the sideline and told his teammates that they would win the game. He was focused, and they came back to force overtime. They stepped up as a team, with A.J. Tarpley recovering a fumble to seal the victory.

These past three years watching Andrew play has been an amazing ride. One more game left, the Fiesta Bowl. As usual, no expectations…just watching the best college football player of this generation and one of the best of all-time.

The Ryan Braun Question

My friend, Marge from Milwaukee, asked me to share my insights on the Ryan Braun situation. For those of you who haven’t heard, Ryan is an outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers and this year’s National League MVP. He tested positive for high testosterone levels, which means there was some form of performance-enhancing drug (PED) in his system. This result could land him with a 50-game suspension. He is appealing this at a hearing in January. The only thing we’ve heard from Ryan’s camp is that he didn’t do this. And, that as soon as he heard of the positive result, he took another test at an independent lab, which came up negative.

Ryan Braun

For those of us who are baseball fans, we have become de-sensitized to hearing someone has taken PEDs. However, with Ryan, it’s different. Marge said the mood in Milwaukee is sad. And, I think the entire baseball world is sad, as well. You see, Ryan is one of the good guys—even Commissioner Bud Selig (who used to own the Brewers) has mentioned him as one of the standouts for being clean. Ryan plays the game all out and with integrity. So, this news has come as a shock to all.

I could list all the numbers. However, Ryan’s stats have not seen a huge bump. Not like Barry Bonds or Manny Ramirez. He’s been fairly consistent during his career—he’s won the Silver Slugger Award each year since 2008 and was Rookie of the Year in 2007. Ryan is one of the best players in the league.

Some have already tried Ryan in the court of public opinion and want baseball to make an example of him—making him give back the MVP. To those folks I say, let Ryan have his day in court. Let him prove his innocence. And, once again shame on baseball.

Shame on baseball for allowing this information to leak prior to Ryan’s hearing. Shame on baseball for making Ryan wait so long to state his case. Shame on baseball for allowing one of the best players in baseball face this scrutiny of being called out as guilty before having all the facts. And, shame on baseball especially if they got this one wrong. Which, as you can tell, I think they did. We’ll see once we can all hear Ryan’s story.

And, one more thing, I think if baseball really wants to send a message, they should start in the right place. In my book Hank Aaron is the all-time home run king, not Barry Bonds. Bud Selig, stand up and do the right thing.  

Brandon Marshall...and the Two-Minute Drill

Brandon Marshall. Remember that name. He is a 16-year-old Olympic wrestling hopeful from Florida.

Here are the facts:

Brandon in action

·        Since last March he has 79 wins, 21 losses, and 38 pins and is ranked in the top 21% in the United States.

·        He was a member of the Cadet National Team-Florida for Greco and Freestyle (152 lbs.) in June of 2011.

·        He was a member of the All-American Team and took third place at the Disney Scholastic Duals/Folkstyle (152 lbs.) in June 2011.

·        1st Place Marine Corps Iron man/Folkstyle & Greco (152 lbs.) in April 2011.

·        1^st Place Southeast Regional Championships (145 lbs.) in March 2011.

And, the list goes on.

Off the mat, he is ranked No. 1 in his sophomore class with a 4.65 (weighted) GPA, is on student council, and runs cross-country. Besides the dream of wrestling in the Olympics, Brandon would like to become a doctor.

His journey has been interrupted by an injury that is typically reserved for pitchers in baseball, because they use a repetitive motion. Brandon has a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and a partial tear of the common flexor tendon in his elbow. If the rehab doesn’t take, he will need to have surgery and will be out for a much longer period of time (up to 18 months in rehab after surgery). The surgery has been called Tommy John surgery and is a reconstruction of the ligament, usually with by grafting a tendon from the patient’s wrist and forearm.

He is currently missing the Folkstyle season and his Freestyle/Greco season is uncertain.

Here’s hoping the rehab takes and we’ll all be hearing his name being called as a competitor at the Olympics one day.

I talked to Brandon recently and here’s what he shared.

PJ: What were your goals for this year prior to the injury?

Brandon: I wanted to wrestle on varsity and get a lot of mat time. At the end of the season I wanted to make State and the Cadet Tourney and place well. In the summer, the goals were to make the Junior Duals and go to the Individual National Championships in Freestyle and Greco.

With the injury, my goals have stayed pretty much the same, as long as I don’t have surgery. Hopefully, I will make the Duals at the end of May and the tourney this summer.

Taking a break

PJ: What is your favorite style to wrestle and why?

Brandon: I like Greco because it’s all upper body. You can’t use your legs. I have long arms and not worrying about my legs is good. Using only my upper body is fun.

PJ: Tell me about you injury. How did it happen?

Brandon: At practice my partner pressed my shoulder, the back of my elbow and pulled. I heard three loud pops. The ligament separated on the inside in all three spots. For me, one move completely tore it out. Typically, in baseball pitchers throw it out.

PJ: What are you doing in rehab and how is it going?

Brandon: The best case scenario I will be back late January or early February. I warm up with a hand bike, which has hand grips instead of pedals. I do lot of reps with little weight to strengthen it and wrist flexs for the muscles around the tendon. Now, I am starting more dynamic moves like tossing a ball. This is to see how it does with more than just one control movement.

PJ: I noticed you also run cross-country. How does your wrestling help your cross-country or is it your cross-country that helps with your wrestling?

Cross-country helps with my stamina. I can run three-and-a-half to seven miles without stopping and I’m in good shape. Wrestling helps with shorter bursts and gives me quicker speed. So, each sport helps the other.

PJ: You are on student council, placed first in the Science Fair and were the alternate in the State qualifier, and hold the No. 1 ranking in your class…how do you do all this?

Brandon: It’s a lot of work. Any spare moment at school, I use to get my homework done. I do talk to my friends, but only in between classes. Then, at home I do as little as possible, so I’m not so overwhelmed and have some time to relax.

PJ: How has your injury changed your outlook on things?

Brandon: Sometimes it has been difficult when all my friends get to wrestle. However, I try to stay positive as much as I can.

Favorite Sports Team: Green Bay Packers (another member of the Packer Nation! Green and yellow, green and yellow.)

Favorite Movie: [A long pause]…I have lots of favorites, but these come to mind…The Mummy—I’ve seen this a lot--and Contagion was pretty good.

Can’t Miss TV Program: Pysch.

Favorite Musical Group: Aerosmith.

Top Destination on Travel List: Tibet, near Mount Everest.

Favorite Candy: Raisonettes.

Check out Brandon’s take on this interview and follow the rest of his journey...http://theclinch.weebly.com/training-blog.html

Fathers, Daughters, and Sports

My first post has to be about my dad, and after reading the book, Fathers & Daughters & Sports, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. This book is a collection of stories written by daughters and dads and their experiences. Most entries were written by former athletes and sports writers—from Rebecca Lobo and Chris Evert to Jim Craig, Sally Jenkins, and Bill Simmons.

My dad and me

I did share in my Why I Blog that I realized by calling was to write sports in third grade. However, I didn’t mention that originally I wanted to play first base for the Chicago Cubs. And, I didn’t talk my dad and the impact he had on me.

I went to my first Cubs and Brewers games the summer I turned seven. My dad said that he wouldn’t take me to a game until he was sure I could sit through the entire game—he wasn’t leaving early. (I guess there was a reason for this. I went to my first Racine Raiders football game with my brother, Tom, my Uncle Al, and some of my cousins. The Raiders were down big at the half and we were asked if we wanted to go home. I said yes and the Raiders came back to win the game. Let’s just say I will never live this one down!)

The Cubs were my favorite team, because they were my dad’s team. He was born in Chicago and lived on the West and North sides of town and was always a Cubs fan. His brother, my Uncle Manny, was a White Sox fan—and, if you are a Chicagoan, you know this isn’t an easy thing. I don’t know how they managed to stay so close. After all, if I switched allegiances Tom would disown me.

I remember my first Cubs game…well, I remember I got a Cubs baseball cap and I kept score—this was a ritual. My dad would buy me the scorecard and a golf pencil at the gate and he taught me how to keep score. I did this every game. Baseball was my favorite sport, just like my dad, and I decided that it would be cool to play first base for the Cubs. My dad never told me that girls don’t play professional baseball. He just let me figure this one out on my own.

Sports have always been a big thing in my family. I remember Saturdays in the fall watching college football games on TV and listening to the Wisconsin Badgers football game on the radio with my dad and Tom. That was the best! And, one of the reasons I became a sports writer. They taught me everything I know about sports. And, both of them have been the greatest influences on my life.

When I decided to become a sports writer my dad always supported me—he never said it would be a tough road because I was a woman or that I would struggle to make a living. He always told me I could do anything I wanted and to reach for my dreams. And, he was always proud of me.

I know that he is with me now and smiling as I am living my dream once again by writing this blog.

So, who has been the biggest influence in your life? And, what was the gift they gave you?

Why I Blog

I'm a writer at my core. I have been since third grade when I interviewed children's author Betty Ren Wright. She wrote stories for Little Golden Books. She told me that to be a writer you have to write...a lot. That was the first great advice I received and it still holds true.

I didn't end up writing children’s stories, although my first story was about my dog, Farfel, and her travels. A good start in writing for kids, but in my heart I knew my calling was to become a sports writer.

In high school, I interviewed Duane Kuiper (who played second base for the Cleveland Indians and now is a broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants) and Greg “Grape Juice” Johnson (OJ Simpson's cousin), who played for the Racine Raiders semi-pro football team.

In college, I wrote for The Daily Cardinal, a student paper at the University of Wisconsin and The Capital Times, a Madison daily, covering college and high school sports.

After graduation, I was assistant sports editor at the City News Bureau covering more than 260 high schools in the Chicagoland area. I also freelanced for numerous papers (including The Chicago Tribune), interviewing Edwin Moses, Dave Duerson, John Paxson, among others.

At the Danville Register & Bee in Virginia, I spent a year covering high school and college sports. Highlights were following the Duke men's basketball team on their quest for a second consecutive championship and the Tunstall High School girls’ softball team that went 27-1, losing by one run in the state championship game.

Back in Chicago, I worked the sports desk and covered high school sports for the Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Herald.

I moved into the corporate world and took a hiatus from sports. I have spent more than 16 years coaching individuals and teams on how to tell their story. In addition, I have written proposals, website content, and sales materials; and developed messages and strategic marketing plans.

I’m back from hiatus now, committed to this new world of sports blogging, and focusing on getting back to my roots.

To contact me by email: p.j.brown2415@gmail.com