Busy, Busy, Busy

Been too busy to actively post over last few days, and we're leaving town tomorrow before heading to Florida. The biggest news is that Falcon Hoops has picked up Nate Miller, of Springfield. Nate is transferring from UNC-Wilmington, and is described as an Anthony Stacy type guy, to be eligible next December. He was a freshmen at UNC, and got playing time in a decent program there. Reports from those who saw him in HS said he was a good player who is a welcome addition to the club.

We'll certainly take it.

Meanwhile, we have a real tough game coming up against NIU tonight. We absoutely cannot afford to lose at home, yet Saturday's debacle in KZoo doesn't instill much confidence. We gotta shoot a little and play D a lot. Nice win for BG would be great. We'll be there.

Ryan Freel Arrested

Again.

You don't see Tony Womack pulling this crap. Really. Or Rich Aurilia.

Reds Update

Forget about a free agent pitcher of any quality. John Fay has the story in today's Enquirer.

But they are finding it is increasingly difficult to sign players. That's going to be the case for a club coming off five straight losing seasons - players tend to find reasons to sign elsewhere when a team is so far removed from success.

Interesting projection on Redleg Nation, gathered from another site.

Here was my comment:

Well, the Reds only need average pitching to be a decent team, if the offense produces anything like it did last year. You’re right to shave off some of the peaks from last season, but even given that, the tragedy of the Reds is that average pitching would get it done for us.

Is Paul Wilson expected to go…123 innings at league average for him would make a major difference.

Falcons Destroyed @ WMU

BG was killed at WMU, 84-62. Given that we actually led 16-4, that means we were outscored 80-46 over a 35 minute stretch or so. Nothing else is going to tell the story better than that.

I was about to write an article that we had put together a new way to win--play tight D, and that it was proof of a resourceful coaching staff that knew we didn't have scorers.

Glad I didn't write that. Sheesh. WMU shot 52% in the first half and 57% in the second half, while we shot 40% for the game. We held ourselves to 19 fouls and 16 TOs, so that was better, but this game was a total disaster.

WMU was coming off a long road streak, and a losing streak, and I think they were hungry as hell. Hawkins is a damn good coach, and is retooling that program, though they don't have a great record this year. There was no doubt who the better team out there today was.

Floyd stepped up with 23, which he should not have to do. Mawel shouldn't have to hit 2 treys, either. Samarco had 14, and was 1-6 from beyond the arc.

We have the worst shooting big men in history. Marschall was 1-6 from the field and Lefeld was 1-4. We were killed (36-24) on the boards.

Let's hope we can bring some kind of effort Wednesday against NIU. Because their zone will eat us alive if we aren't ready to play.

Lions Coaching

The Lions have interviewed Maurice Carthon for the coaching job, with Haslett going today and Gary Kubiak tomorrow in Denver, since they are still in the playoffs.

I don't know what to think about Haslett. Is he a proven failure, or could he succeed? Oh, yeah, Dick Jauron was interviewed for most of a day, too.

Catching up to the Reds

A lot of news from Cincinnati, though none of it very substantive.

Rich Aurilia is expected to be back, per Marc Lancaster here at Reglegnation. Its considered strange in our land...he wants to start, but the Reds already acquired Tony Womack and have Ryan Freel on the bench. Redleg Nation feels it might have something to do with trading Freel--otherwise, we are using the Casey $ on Rich Aurilia. The Reds assessment is that Aurilia is undervalued---and he may well be--but its hard to see what we need with another guy like this on the roster, when we really needed the Casey $ to go on pitching. Red Reporter had much the same view.

The Reds also expect their new ownership to be in place in two weeks, according to Red Reporter. Like others, I am guardedly pessimistic. Things might turn around, but I don't really expect the new owner to be markedly better than the previous one. The key step is to hire a good GM. Its a GM's game today, and (as JD wonders in the link above), you have to wonder how long DOB has.

Marc Lancaster @ the Post writes on the byzantine issue of determining team salaries. Notwithstanding what is reported, the Reds spent $60M, not including the $$ thrown away on Graves and Jiminez. Lancaster (in my view) misses the point that this is the downside of guaranteed contracts.

The Reds' schedule is out with game times.

Its Turner-Time!

Omar Gone. Best of luck.

“We respect Omar’s decision and we support him,” BGSU head coach Gregg Brandon said in a statement. “Any coach would love to have an Omar Jacobs for another year, but we know his desire is to play professionally. We really appreciate his efforts in helping us re-establish a winning tradition at BGSU. He’s a great kid who can realize a dream and he wants to devote all of his energies towards making that a reality.”

Omar to Announce Intentions at 5 tomorrow

You want my prediction? He's going. After last year, we didn't expect him to ever have a senior season, and then the season came, and the injury, etc. And we thought maybe...but I think he will go.

Falcons win snoozer 66-44

Ouch. That was painful. CMU shoots under 30% for the game, goes 13:30 without a FG, and makes 28 turnovers, scoring only 44 points in the game tonight. I think I lost 20 IQ points watching the game along with about 1,200 other people at AA tonight.

For its part, BG shot only 45.5%, committed 32 fouls (ridiculous), etc. Lefeld, and Marshall both fouled out, with Soler, Wright, and Robinson each getting four.

Its a win, its a conference win on a night when the MAC East beat the MAC West in every game. I'm glad to have it. Its hard to tell if we are playing good D, or if CMU is that bad. (They have something like five Canadians on the team...Canada is a huge basketball power). They also have a 7'1 kid from Port Clinton who fell down running up the court.

My sense is, we have a long way to go yet. We play a rebuilding WMU team Saturday in K-Zoo. A win there would go a ways to convincing me we're climbing out of the hole.

Senior Season for Wright appears likely

Steven Wright has apparently earned his senior year, after not qualifying out of high school.

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon
Originally uploaded by Églantine.

Go Falcons....is this an awesome animal or what?

Goodbye Omar?

Reports on the web say that Fox36 (Fanning often gets BGSU scoops) said tonight that Omar has decided to enter the draft.

More power to him, and best wishes, if true. We were lucky to have him while we did, and our program should be able to continue to win without him.

Its not an easy call for him, but I guess its better to come out one year early than one year too late, because that can't be regained.

UPDATE: There's nothing in The Blade, and the report may have said that a decision is due next week. So, continue to stay tuned. Having said that, I don't expect him to stay, all things considered.

Falcon Seniors--A look back

The UT game marked the final home appearance for 19 seniors who have posted a MAC best 35-14 record in their four years. This is simply a great group of players. They say you cannot evaluate a recruiting class until senior day, this is an amazing group. Let's go down and look individually at each.

Those playing in their final home game include:

linebacker Tim Arnold (Clinton, Md.)

Tim Arnold was a DB for most of his time at BG who was expected to step forward when our Mike Malone and Jason Morton graduated a couple years ago, which he never really did. He only played in 8 games last season, for example. Our shortages at LB caused him to be moved to LB this season, where he seemed to do an admirable job. He was in on 58 tackles this year, with six for loss. In high school he was all-state.

linebacker Aaron Burkart (Columbus)

Never a factor. Played in two games this season, played in all of them a couple years ago. Given our lack of depth at LB, the fact he never got in shows where this ended up. (Walk On).

defensive back Mike Crumpler (Mitchellville, Md.)

Mike Crumpler was also supposed to be one of our new safeties when Morton and Malone graduated, but it never happened. In fact, they ended up moving Mayberry to S to try and shore up that position.

defensive lineman Monte Cooley (Cartersville, Georgia)

A strong performer who played every game for three seasons. Not a star, but a solid player.

offensive lineman Jon Culp (Mason)

Ended up starting this season, struggled a little, but still part of a strong Falcon Oline unit.

punter/kicker Nate Fry (Findlay)

Much maligned, but took blame for poor execution in our punt game. A quality punter who was forced into duty as a kicker, which was not his forte. Actually, he had a very good senior year punting.

linebacker Jamien Johnson (Ft. Washington, Md.)

Solid player, was projected to contribute during his senior season, but was not healthy near the end of the year.

defensive back Jelani Jordan (Atlanta)

Much malinged, stepped in and played as a True Fr. Really maligned during MACC debacle vs. Big Ben. Led the team in INTs his senior year. For my money, he was always underrated. CBs get burnt, you have to expect it, so you can't evaluate a player by pointing out the times he gets burnt. He may be making the play on dozens of other plays you don't notice. He always has a nose for the ball.

running back B.J. Lane (Ft. Washington, Md.)

Maybe the best backup RB we've had, but when PJ went down he showed he wasn't as good as PJ was. Nonetheless, a great recruit and Falcon who had an outstanding career.

wide receiver Derrick Lett (Pensacola, Fla.)

Many opportunities, passed on the depth chart many times.

defensive back Terrill Mayberry (Farmington Hills, Mich.)

Also a great performed who steadily improved over time. Also All-MAC academic. Moved to safety for his senior year and held his own.

defensive back John Nicholson (Bolingbrook, Ill.)

Another guy who never really broke into the regular lineup despite being at a need position.

linebacker Teddy Piepkow (Clark Lake, Mich.)

Excellent career in the Falcon Haneline/Hewitt LB mold. Made some big plays this year--made great INT vs. Marshall. First rate defensive player.

running back P.J. Pope (Fairfield, Ohio)

Injuries marred senior season, but PJ had a great career. One of our best RBs ever, and quite possibly our best dual-threat RB. Had he been healthy this year, things would have been very different. A first rate recruit and player.

wide receiver Steve Sanders (Cleveland)

What can you say? Great receiver, red zone threat, emotional leader. A great recruit for the Falcons.

wide receiver Charles Sharon (Palatka, Fla.)

Even more of what can you say? Team MVP his senior year, go to guy, tough as nails, circus acrobat in the air. A great recruit for our program.

defensive lineman Mike Thaler (Cincinnati)

Also a major contributor, academic All-MAC, and a great Falcon.

kicker Joe Timchenko (Glendora, Calif.)

This isn't really fair. Joe wasn't the guy

offensive lineman Rob Warren (Mentor)

Another great performer, All-MAC, anchor of a good line. Great recruit and player.

Its been five weeks since the season ended, and doing this has been all the more depressing. This team had too much senior talent to be 6-5. An absolute tragedy.

Lions to Pick Ninth

Its too early to tell what that means until you know what underclassmen are coming out. I would love to see defense or line picked.

Don't expect a coach announcement today. ESPN and Killer are both pointing toward a longer search.

5-11

Its over. We've had more humiliating efforts than we had today, but that's small consolation. I think Joey might be coming around, and would love to see us pit this Canadian dude against him next summer with Orlovsky in the dry dock.

More to come.

Let's see if we get Al Saunders tomorrow.

Enquirer on Reds Budget

John Fay notes that our Reds have all of the Sean Casey money still left to spend, since the Morris deal never went through....

The point here isn't that the Reds should throw money at any starter with a healthy arm.

But if the Chicago White Sox are serious about dealing Jose Contreras, his $8.5 million salary shouldn't prevent the Reds from trying to land him.

After all, that's what Morris turned down.

I always worry about Contreras. He has been very inconsistent. On the other hand, if he has turned the corner, then he'd be exactly what we need.

Finally...

Word is new ownership wants to put its stamp on the club quickly, so payroll, roster and front-office changes could be coming.

Update. Redleg Nation has this thought, with which I very much agree.

I just see no real way this team puts a competitive rotation on the field this year, without eating a large amount of contract money (i.e. Milton). Without dramatic improvement over last year’s rotation, I don’t see how this team can even finish above .500.

Could this be the QB who saves us?

The Detroit News reports that Casey Printers, CFL MVP, QB of the BC Lions, is looking to come to the NFL. The Lions are one of five teams to work him out. Says here he is mobile with a downfield arm. He went to TCU, and QB'd for LT.

I think it has potential. Its very difficult in the NFL to get a quality QB if you don't draft him, and we would prefer not to completely reboot the system this year. Interesting.