Goodbye to Gary

Gary Williams resigned yesterday after 22 seasons as the head of the Maryland basketball program and it seems to be the beginning of the end of an era in college hoops, a game that is suffering from decreased interest except for March Madness.

Many disliked the profane Williams for his combative sideline demeanor in which Williams screamed at everyone in sight from his assistants, players, opponents, occasionally fans, and certainly referees, but Williams saved Maryland basketball from the basement-dwelling period after the death of Len Bias and guided it through the ridiculous NCAA probation, making the difference in saving Maryland as a basketball school instead of a faded has been.
Maryland's only national title came under Williams and it didn't come with the rent a star either, it came with overachievers and team play.
What made Gary Williams successful was what made him a dinosaur in the current age-the refusal to play the recruiting game that currently ails college hoops.
I respect Williams for passing on the short-term player, but it certainly hindered the Terrapins when most of your opponents are taking those players.
Williams was never going to be an elite recruiter, but it seems to have gotten worse over the last five years.
So many young players are used to having coaches tell them how wonderful they are and when a coach prefers honesty, most players are going to pass on being yelled at for their college career.
Call it the Bob Knight syndrome, as Knight struggled in his waning years at Indiana and at Texas Tech in being able to recruit top players.
Williams excelled with the sleeper recruit who needed time to mature and that meant multiple years.
That is the sign of an excellent teacher and sometimes these players developed too early such as Chris Wilcox and now Jordan Williams with Maryland losing them before they truly hit their collegiate prime.

Ironically,  Williams's success might have hurt his program as far as interest goes when the new Comcast Center opened in place of Cole Field House.
The new arena had all the amenities of the modern era, but the atmosphere that Cole had never been approached by the CC, and games against anyone other than Duke or North Carolina brought to mind the anti-septic atmosphere of the "Dean Dome".
When you add all of those things up in the present day, it is pretty easy to figure out why Maryland has struggled over the last few seasons, but Williams was what he was, he wasn't going to be someone he was not.

I once listed Maryland basketball as a passion that matched any of mine in sports, the ACC expansion ruined that for me, but I still have a soft spot for the Terps, who need to make a great hire, preferably someone who can tap the Baltimore/Washington players better than Williams did. Success there can quickly return Maryland to an elite school in not just the ACC, but the nation.
Gary Williams took over a program that was on life support after the Bob Wade tenure and returned it to its glory as one of the top 15 basketball jobs in the country.
Thanks to Gary for that.

Honestly, the names I am hearing for the job don't do much for me.
Jamie Dixon of Pitt and Jay Wright of Villanova? Neither has done much for me.
Sean Miller of Arizona? Maybe, but he just left Xavier for Arizona, is Maryland a final stop for him?
I doubt it.
Mike Brey of Notre Dame? Pass.
Rick Barnes of Texas would be nice and he was a Williams assistant long ago, but I doubt he leaves Austin.
Butler's Brad Stevens would be a home run hire, but I don't see Stevens leaving the Midwest, and VCU's Shaka Smart has not proven himself totally to me that he is more than a one-year run.

In any event, here is hoping the new hire adds to the Maryland basketball tradition that Lefty Driesell started and Gary Williams added onto and maybe I can get some of the fire for Terrapin basketball back...

Cleveland Browns Draft-Day Three

The Cleveland Browns were active on the final day of the draft with a pair of picks in round four,after a trade that saw the Browns trade both of their sixth round picks to add an extra fifth and a compensation pick near the bottom of the final round.
Cleveland added five players on the day and on the last day, no player comes without questions to begin with,but some of these have,well,questions.

The Browns used their own fourth round pick on USC tight end Jordan Cameron,which seems to me to be a huge gamble.
Cameron transferred to USC from BYU,where he played basketball and in two years as a Trojan,Cameron caught just 16 passes.
Cameron looks to be the latest craze of teams picking basketball forwards and attempting to turn them into tight ends.

Jimmy Graham of the Saints was the latest to be successful from this mode,but this is always a risk when you reach for an untested player.
Cameron looks the part right off the template,but I would have preferred a player that was less of a risk early in the fourth round.
Cameron could be a huge success,but this is far from a guarantee.

Cleveland used their pick that was obtained from Atlanta on Stanford fullback Owen Marecic.Marecic played both ways at Stanford,but the Browns will be using him at fullback.
Marecic seems to be the type of fullback that the Browns want for their offense as he looks to be able to block and catch the swing pass.
This likely means the end of Lawrence Vickers as a Brown.
Vickers was a tremendous blocker,but his hands were questionable and he makes more money than the Browns really want to pay for a fullback.
Marecic should also be a hit on special teams with his experience as a linebacker,giving him an even further dimension.

The Browns used their fifth rounder on a player that I really like in Chattanooga corner Buster Skrine.
Skrine was the second fastest corner in the draft and was a high school running back.
His 5'9 frame will work against him as a full time corner,but he should be able to help in multiple DB schemes and Skrine returns kicks,which might be a help for the Browns in resting Josh Cribbs.
With the new kickoff rules,I can see Cleveland keeping Cribbs off some kickoffs in favor of Skrine to keep Cribbs more in the offensive game and more rested for punts...

Cleveland traded both of their sixth rounders to Minnesota for Pittsburgh tackle Jason Pinkston
Pinkston was all-Big East at left tackle,but projects to be a right tackle in the pros.
Right tackle seems to be a need,but the Browns say they want him at guard,which makes me wonder about their feelings about 2010 draftee Shaun Lavuao.
Considering the health questions with Tony Pashos and Pork Chop Womack being a free agent,I would think tackle would be more of a need,but I did like them bringing in an offensive lineman here...

The Browns then finished the draft late in the seventh round with the pick of Nebraska safety Eric Hagg.
Hagg played the "peso' spot with the Cornhuskers,which is a linebacker/safety combination and looks to be strong against the run.
Hagg was worked at corner at the Senior Bowl and was reported to have not shown well there.
Hagg looks like a athlete that needs to build strength in order to make the team....

Overall,I give this draft a solid B.
I like Phil Taylor,although I still think he would have been there at the Browns pick, and I like both the second rounders in Jabaal Sheard and Greg Little.
Little could make or break this draft along with Jordan Cameron.
Both come with huge questions that only playing time can answer.
I like Buster Skrine and Jason Pinkston both as future contributors as well,which is all one can ask for from fifth rounders.
Good job by Tom Heckert for now,lets see how the results pan out....

Photo Credits
Logo-SPortslogos.net

Cameron:Photo/Jon SooHoo

Pirates split pair,take two of three in SD

The Pittsburgh Pirates used a grand slam homer by Ryan Doumit (2) to lead a six run third inning (all of them unearned for Padre starter Clayton Richard) and lift Pittsburgh to a 7-4 win of the game and three game series..
Kevin Correia pitched six innings and allowed two runs in his return to his former home.
Correia improved to 5-2 with the win.
Pittsburgh just missed a sweep as they dropped the middle game 6-5 as the bullpen lost a 5-3 lead over the final two innings.
Joe Beimel was the loser in his first decision of the season (0-1).

The Pirates are off today as they return home for a seven game homestand vs the Astros and Dodgers.
I will miss the first game of the series as I am going into work early,but the rest look like a good bet.
With the Pirates off today,it looks like an Indians day as I will be covering the surprising Wahoos in Oakland against the Athletics....

Pirate Hooks

1) I listened to the loss on XM,but it didn't take seeing the game to tell the difference in the loss.
You give up three home runs to players that had a combined ZERO homers entering the game,that makes it pretty clear that it isn't your night.

2) Many have bashed Brandon Wood for trying to advance from second to third in the ninth on a ball that was a short amount away from the catcher.
I can see their point,but look at it this way-you have a dominating closer on the hill in Heath Bell against the teams worst hitter Ronny Cedeno,Wood tried to make something happen,didn't work out-considering the situation I have a hard time being too tough on him...

3) Thus far with the season a bit over month into the term,I would have to say that I was wrong on Kevin Correia.
That doesn't mean things will remain that way,but Correia has pitched pretty well other than on one occasion and with some luck,he could be 6-1.
Last night,he did exactly what you expect from a veteran-keep your team in the game.
Quick outs and away from big innings-sounds simple,but not always executed....

4) A neat thing that some Padre fans do is hang a "Q' placard when a San Diego pitcher gets an out with three pitches or less.
Lacee Collins talked to these fans,in which was the first interesting feature I have seen her do all year) and it seems like these fans are real baseball fans as they explained their reasons for not just settling for the standard "K" for strikeouts.

5) Ryan Doumit's grand slam was a "noooooooooo Doubt about it" as the badly missed Lanny Frattare used to say.
Garrett Jones called it a "laser beam",I'll just call it crushed!

6) John Bowker cleared waivers and was assigned to AAA Indianapolis.
A good break for the Pirates as it keeps Bowker in play as an addition later on,but another blow to Bowker's chance of getting a real shot at a full time job.

7) High A Bradenton had to move a series to FSL rival Charlotte's stadium after "rust issues" with Mckechnie Field.
Serves them right for leaving the Carolina League.

Hope to be back later with the Browns Day Three....

Photo Credit-AP Photo

Pirates hold off Padres 4-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates shot to the lead early against Aaron Harang with a pair of first inning two run homers off the bats of Garrett Jones (6) and Chris Snyder (1),but the Bucs would score no more runs and watched the Padres chip closer,but fell short as the Pirates escaped with a 4-3 win in San Diego.
James McDonald allowed two runs in six innings to even his record at 2-2 with Joel Hanrahan earning his ninth save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
The series continues tonight at 10:05 at Petco Park..

Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh:Jeff Karstens (2-1 3.57 ERA) at San Diego: Mat Latos (0-4 4.98 ERA) 10:05

Pirate Hooks

1) Keep in mind that I didn't see the game,but listened on XM,but the biggest play of the game didn't seem so big at the time as Garrett Jones threw Brad Hawpe out at the plate to finish the fifth inning.
At the time,the score was 4-0 and didn't seem to be a huge deal.
It would prove to be the difference in the game.

2) Garrett Jones is not a terrific outfielder defensively,but teams need to respect his arm.
Jones has proven more than capable of gunning runners down and that evens out some of his defensive deficiencies.

3) James McDonald threw his second good game in a row and other than the two run homer down the left field line that he allowed Jorge Cantu,McDonald seemed to be on his game.
And kudos to Clint Hurdle for allowing McDonald to finish the inning.
Too often young pitchers aren't allowed to develop confidence with dealing with middle/late inning adversity.
Being pulled at the first sign of trouble doesn't help that confidence grow.

4) Hurdle loses points though for not taking advantage of the Padre pitchers being unable to throw strikes.
Hurdle called a hit and run for cement footed Lyle Overbay on first and Chris Snyder,who might be the teams least likely batter to pull off a H and R.
Snyder missed and Overbay was thrown out.
Had Hurdle allowed things to take their course,the Pirates would have used the walks for an insurance run.

5) San Diego wore their camouflage jerseys to pay tribute to the Armed Forces for their role in the Osama Bin Laden death.
Those things are ugly,but the sentiment is applauded.

6) I'll be commenting more tomorrow on the Padres radio crew,but suffice it to say that I was not impressed.

Back either later or tomorrow with the Browns draft review-I haven't forgotten,it is just time permitting.

Photo Credit-AP Photo

Routing the Rockies!

The Pittsburgh Pirates used a pair of four run innings in the second and fifth to cruise to an 8-4 win over the Colorado Rockies and take the series win in Denver.
Charlie Morton moved to 3-1 with the victory.
Pittsburgh starts a three game series in San Diego tonight against the Padres,which I will attempt cover via the Padre radio network bounced off the XM radio satellite....

Pitching Matchup
Pittsburgh: James McDonald (1-2 7.66 ERA) at San Diego: Aaron Harang (4-1 3.90 ERA) 10:05

Pirate Hooks

1) Charlie Morton got the win,but walked five more batters in less than six innings to so.
Morton's publicized changes have been effective for the most part thus far,but I suppose that I am still a non-believer.
Morton just strikes me as someone that will struggle on his second tour through the league.
Hope I am wrong.

2) Xavier Paul started his first game as a Pirate and finished with two hits,two RBI and a steal.
Paul's second inning triple that scored two runs was a bullet off the right field wall that was hit hard enough to be a homer,just a bit too low.

3) Paul still needs to show me that he will be better than John Bowker,but I will say this-I can see Paul being pretty valuable as a late inning pinch runner.
Paul is not as fast as Andrew McCutchen,but looks to be the second fastest Pirate and on a team that does not exactly loaded with speed burners should help in that role.

4) I have never been a fan of Joe Beimel and was decidedly non-plussed on his return to the Pirates after a forgettable previous stint,but he sure was devastating yesterday in Denver.
I watched the Rockies broadcast (They are one of the three former FSN's that are now ROOT Sports and they do not beat you over the head with the change either) and they attributed Beimel's success to knowing how to pitch in Coors Field.
Makes sense to me as most of the crowd wore knit caps and gloves throughout the game,so experience with that weather in that altitude has to be at a premium for a visiting pitcher.

5) I am not sure how accurate the Coors Field radar gun is,but they had Joel Hanrahan clocked at over 100 twice in the ninth inning.
That is called movin' it,my friends.
Hanrahan is about the only major part of the trade with the Nationals in 2009 still on either team.
No,Sean Burnett doesn't quite count.
Ask Washington fans,if they want to make that trade again!

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Got him!

I'll try to squeeze in the Pirates win over Colorado later today,but advance apologies if I do not.
I'll be in Frederick with the Winston-Salem Dash in town and I need to sleep before hand.
If I am unable to sleep well,I'll get my thoughts on the game down then.
The Browns draft stuff will be delayed a day or so as well,as I thought this post was more important.

The death of Osama Bin Laden yesterday comes as a long awaited day of reckoning for the leader of Al Qaida,but we need to keep things in perspective as well.
Our war against these zealots that want to damage and hinder our country is far from over.
The successor as the head of the organization Ayman al-Zawahiri may be even more effective than Bin Laden was.
Al-Zawahiri may not be the world-wide face that Bin Laden was,but I have watched a few interviews with him and he strikes me as a person that may have been pulling the strings all along.
Do not think this is over,although a striking blow has been thrown.
This will not be the final blow in this battle .

Thanks to our brave men and women that not only finished the job,but to everyone that continued on this project for the last nine plus years.
Without your hard work and sacrifice,none of this would have happened.
Thank you all.

I am hoping that for at least one day that we can celebrate this as a country without political considerations and keep politics out of this.
This could not have happened without the work done by both the Bush and Obama administrations and both need to be commended for the work that has been done.
I hate to see either side take too much credit for something that took too long to be finished to begin with.
Let's try to be united for a day and enjoy this for what it is-A huge win,but not the final win.

I would also like to add this-as morbid as this sounds,a video proving the death and showing the body needs to be aired ASAP.
Preface it for small children and the weak of stomach to leave the room and show it.
Blow any possible conspiracy theories right out of the water before the crazy talk can be started.
Do what Bolivia did with Che' Guevara and eliminate any doubt from anyone.
Granted,Guevara became a underground hero to many to this day,but Guevara was not a mass murderer on the level of Bin Laden either.
The longer that you wait,the sooner the nuts will come out,give Glenn Beck a day and he'll be ready to give all the theories that you could dream about....

The greatest villain of the last 60 years has finally been brought down.
However,I wince when I hear that "justice has been served".
One can never balance one life against three thousand and say that,but what has been done is this-a man paid for his crimes with his life.
That is the highest price that one can pay.

We have yet another chance to unite as a country and do what we did not almost ten years ago-put left and right wings aside and work together for the things that our country needs.
From financial issues to gas prices,the environment-you name it.
We are all Americans and would it not be the ultimate loss for Osama Bin Laden for his death to be the impetus that brought our country back to what it needs to be and the opposite of what he wanted.....

Photo Credit-unknown

Pirates debut Daniel Moskos and more

I have seen one inning of Pirate baseball over the last three days and by watching that,I did get to see the only run Pittsburgh scored in a 4-1 loss to Colorado yesterday.
Andrew McCutchen's homer (5) to the deepest part of Coors Field was a line drive bullet that was absolutely hammered.

I have missed Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Giants ( Draft stuff) and both games in Denver due to the late MST time start.
I will be able to see today's game,but I have committed to work six day weeks for the next three weeks,so I will not see the first two games in San Diego.
However,since those games start at 10:05,I'll be bringing the XM to work and covering the game from there.
I don't mind lugging the bulky BB for games that I will be able to listen to entirely,but it just isn't worth bringing it for a just an inning or two.

I pull for the Giants,when not playing the Bucs,but I was really hoping the Pirates would hammer Ryan Vogelsong on Thursday.
Of course as usually happens when less than stellar Pirate pitchers return to Pittsburgh,Vogelsong turned into a star as he not only won the game,he set an all time career high in strikeouts with eight.
This is not unfamiliar territory for the Pirates.

Jose Tabata injured his hamstring in the inning that I saw as well and his replacement was Matt Diaz not new arrival Xavier Paul.
Diaz doesn't hit righthanders well and normally isn't a left fielder,yet he got the call over Paul?
That one doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
Only word that I have heard about Tabata is that he may not play today.

The Pirates did offer Josh Rodriguez back to Cleveland for $25,000 and the Indians wrote the check,which returned the shortstop to their organization.
Rodriguez was assigned to AAA Columbus.

We thought something was wrong with Evan Meek and turns out we were right as Meek has been placed on the disabled list.
Meek is taking a week off to rest his shoulder tendinitis.
Sometimes,rest is all this type of injury needs and toughening out the issue usually just creates an ineffective player and an injury that never heals.

Meek's replacement was 2007 first round pick Daniel Moskos,who made his big league debut in the loss to the Rockies with a scoreless eighth inning.
We blasted the pick at the time,but note we didn't even mention the player that might turn out best of all the "coulda hads" with that pick-Atlanta's Jason Heyward.
Moskos has handled the press/bloggers with class and the handful of times that I met him seems like a great guy.
We wish Moskos nothing but the best in the big time....

I hope to be back later with a look at the Cleveland Browns day three draft haul,if not I'll try to do two posts tomorrow

Photo Credit-Peter Diana Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.