Stanford University. A world class school and with a degree from the Cardinal you can do just about anything. A degree from Stanford carries some weight and their head football coach David Shaw is trying to impress upon that to recruits of his....
For the entire column go to www.cfbroundtable.com
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Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Mercy, Mercy... Jerome Kersey
Growing up in the Northwest there were not many selections in terms of professional teams. My home state of Oregon only had one team. That team was and still is the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers are a team that really has been a "community" team for the city of Portland and a source of pride for the entire state.
I have rooted for the Blazers, have always wanted them to do well, but have always been a fan of certain players in the history of the franchise. One of those players was Jerome Kersey.
Unfortunately, the franchise lost Jerome yesterday in a sudden fashion that has shocked the Portland community, his former teammates, and anybody that came into contact with Jerome Kersey. When I heard the news it shocked me as well, but saddened me on even greater level. Young athletes grow up idolizing professional athletes and I was no different.
Jerome Kersey was my favorite Blazer player, he played with a reckless abandon that struck me very quickly. I remember watching him in the Blazer Rookie Game that the franchise used to hold after the NBA Draft when the draft was seven rounds long. Kersey was selected in the second round with the 46th overall pick. I remember when they selected him, my mind was like "who is this guy? He went to what school? What are the Blazers thinking with this guy?" When I watched him in the rookie game, it was clearly evident that he had the raw talent to do well in the NBA and that he would make the team with his hustle and relentlessness. He was a tough nosed player, not afraid of playing physical, wasn't going to back down from anything or anyone. I immediately told myself to watch this guy when the regular season rolled around. I was not disappointed with Kersey.
In the end, he became an important cog on the Blazer teams that went to Conference Finals and then went to two NBA Finals. He was on the teams that had Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams, and the late Kevin Duckworth. He fit in so well with that team, he created turnovers, ran down loose balls, played tough defense, and my personal favorite, got the crowd going with his thunderous dunks. He was a physical dunker.
Bill Schonley, the original announcer and the Hall of Fame of announcer for the Blazers says that after Jerome had finished a fast break with a thunderous two handed dunk, he naturally said "Mercy, mercy, Jerome Kersey..." It stuck with the fans and Schonley. I remember when I would see Jerome make a play or slam one home, in my head I was saying "Mercy, mercy..." I am almost positive that my friends were also saying the same thing when Kersey would make a play in a game.
The measure of an athlete comes when the bright lights are not on and what they do for the community. Kersey was a fixture in the Portland community since he was a player for the Blazers, when he playing for other teams, and when his playing days were over. He was working for the Blazers when he died. He was working in community relations type of roll for Portland. He would go to schools, work with kids, and promote the team. Kersey loved doing what he doing. He was always smiling, shaking peoples hands, taking pictures with everybody, and making himself extremely available to the public. He was a people person and the public was drawn to him. Jerome would not want it any other way.
My initial reaction was "What? No way. He's to young." He was young. Kersey was only 52 years old at the time of his passing. A blood clot got into his lungs from his calf after he had a routine knee surgery.
Anybody that wants to know how his teammates felt about him, go to the Blazer home page to see how Terry Porter and Bill Schonley feel about Kersey. With his passing, there is a part of my childhood that died with him. He made an indelible impression on me and showed me that it's how you treat people that matters and not what you have. It is something that I am trying to show my kids so they can pass it on when they are older. Jerome, may you find peace, and continue to thrown down thunder dunks in heaven. Mercy, mercy.... Jerome Kersey.
I have rooted for the Blazers, have always wanted them to do well, but have always been a fan of certain players in the history of the franchise. One of those players was Jerome Kersey.
Unfortunately, the franchise lost Jerome yesterday in a sudden fashion that has shocked the Portland community, his former teammates, and anybody that came into contact with Jerome Kersey. When I heard the news it shocked me as well, but saddened me on even greater level. Young athletes grow up idolizing professional athletes and I was no different.
Jerome Kersey was my favorite Blazer player, he played with a reckless abandon that struck me very quickly. I remember watching him in the Blazer Rookie Game that the franchise used to hold after the NBA Draft when the draft was seven rounds long. Kersey was selected in the second round with the 46th overall pick. I remember when they selected him, my mind was like "who is this guy? He went to what school? What are the Blazers thinking with this guy?" When I watched him in the rookie game, it was clearly evident that he had the raw talent to do well in the NBA and that he would make the team with his hustle and relentlessness. He was a tough nosed player, not afraid of playing physical, wasn't going to back down from anything or anyone. I immediately told myself to watch this guy when the regular season rolled around. I was not disappointed with Kersey.
In the end, he became an important cog on the Blazer teams that went to Conference Finals and then went to two NBA Finals. He was on the teams that had Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams, and the late Kevin Duckworth. He fit in so well with that team, he created turnovers, ran down loose balls, played tough defense, and my personal favorite, got the crowd going with his thunderous dunks. He was a physical dunker.
Bill Schonley, the original announcer and the Hall of Fame of announcer for the Blazers says that after Jerome had finished a fast break with a thunderous two handed dunk, he naturally said "Mercy, mercy, Jerome Kersey..." It stuck with the fans and Schonley. I remember when I would see Jerome make a play or slam one home, in my head I was saying "Mercy, mercy..." I am almost positive that my friends were also saying the same thing when Kersey would make a play in a game.
The measure of an athlete comes when the bright lights are not on and what they do for the community. Kersey was a fixture in the Portland community since he was a player for the Blazers, when he playing for other teams, and when his playing days were over. He was working for the Blazers when he died. He was working in community relations type of roll for Portland. He would go to schools, work with kids, and promote the team. Kersey loved doing what he doing. He was always smiling, shaking peoples hands, taking pictures with everybody, and making himself extremely available to the public. He was a people person and the public was drawn to him. Jerome would not want it any other way.
My initial reaction was "What? No way. He's to young." He was young. Kersey was only 52 years old at the time of his passing. A blood clot got into his lungs from his calf after he had a routine knee surgery.
Anybody that wants to know how his teammates felt about him, go to the Blazer home page to see how Terry Porter and Bill Schonley feel about Kersey. With his passing, there is a part of my childhood that died with him. He made an indelible impression on me and showed me that it's how you treat people that matters and not what you have. It is something that I am trying to show my kids so they can pass it on when they are older. Jerome, may you find peace, and continue to thrown down thunder dunks in heaven. Mercy, mercy.... Jerome Kersey.
Pressure at USC?
Working in L.A is pressured filled. Try being the USC Head Coach. Steve Sarkisian is living that pressured filled dream. He's been at USC for the good times with Pete Carroll, watched from Washington as the program was hammered by sanctions, and is now at the helm of the Trojans to help return the team to the great times. Can he do it?
For the entire column, go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinon
Email me at mike.wilson@cfbroundtable.com
For the entire column, go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinon
Email me at mike.wilson
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Can Another Neuheisel Lead UCLA?
It's early, really early to start speculating on quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and whether or not they will be able to lead their team to success in the 2015 season. However, football is a 365 day a year sport and people want to talk about, so why not?! One of the most interesting new quarterback situations in football is going to take place at UCLA. The Bruins have to replace All-American and potential high round draft pick Brett Hundley.
By all accounts, the job of UCLA quarterback may just fall into the hands of Jerry Neuheisel who has come a long way since coming onto the Westwood campus. He certainly had the name by coming to UCLA, the looks, and even the mannerisms of his famous Bruin quarterback dad Rick Neuheisel. Rick was a walk-on at UCLA when he showed up and was best known for holding the kicks of All-American kicker John Lee until he lead the Bruins to a Rose Bowl victory. His son, Jerry, is not a walk on for the Bruins, but there has never been a lot of talk about Jerry being the guy to take over for Hundley.
Some people may think that the job is his based on what the public saw when he came in and relieved Brett Hundley against Texas and helped UCLA defeat the Longhorns in a very competitive game, but that thought may be somewhat of a dream considering that a big Bruin recruit may just come in and steal Jerry's thunder. The recruit, Josh Rosen, has shown up in time for spring practices, and evidently looks like a quarterback straight out of a casting agency in Hollywood. This begs the question, does Neuheisel have a shot at the quarterback position in Bruin country?
The answer to that is yes. Everybody has a shot at a position, but how big of a shot does he REALLY have? According to Jerry Neuheisel, he thinks that in the end it comes down to the best player to lead the team. "I know at the end of the day that it won't be about who's who but who is the best guy to lead the team. And I wouldn't want it any other way."
All a player on any team ever wants is a shot at the position. Neuheisel knows what he is up against, but he knows that he is a competitive guy and won't give up the position without a fight. He has shown that he is a fighter and counting him out of the quarterback job at UCLA is the last thing that people want to do. In that Texas moment, he showed some serious moxie. He threw for 178 yards, on 23-30 passes, with two touchdowns, and more importantly, no interceptions.
"It showed what I could do." said Neuheisel. It certainly did. He also added that he dreamed of a moment like that when he was a young kid, growing up in the household of a Bruin quarterback, and making a play to win the game for UCLA.
Jerry Neuheisel is a confident, junior quarterback who talks about going through his progressions a lot slower than he did last year in his limited playing time. He looks at film, studies himself very closely and will try and translate those study habits to practice field this spring and summer. To Neuheisel, if he does those things, he will be able to put himself into a situation where he WILL be the best guy to lead the team. He certainly does not want to leave any doubt with his coaches.
I, for one, will not doubt him.
By all accounts, the job of UCLA quarterback may just fall into the hands of Jerry Neuheisel who has come a long way since coming onto the Westwood campus. He certainly had the name by coming to UCLA, the looks, and even the mannerisms of his famous Bruin quarterback dad Rick Neuheisel. Rick was a walk-on at UCLA when he showed up and was best known for holding the kicks of All-American kicker John Lee until he lead the Bruins to a Rose Bowl victory. His son, Jerry, is not a walk on for the Bruins, but there has never been a lot of talk about Jerry being the guy to take over for Hundley.
Some people may think that the job is his based on what the public saw when he came in and relieved Brett Hundley against Texas and helped UCLA defeat the Longhorns in a very competitive game, but that thought may be somewhat of a dream considering that a big Bruin recruit may just come in and steal Jerry's thunder. The recruit, Josh Rosen, has shown up in time for spring practices, and evidently looks like a quarterback straight out of a casting agency in Hollywood. This begs the question, does Neuheisel have a shot at the quarterback position in Bruin country?
The answer to that is yes. Everybody has a shot at a position, but how big of a shot does he REALLY have? According to Jerry Neuheisel, he thinks that in the end it comes down to the best player to lead the team. "I know at the end of the day that it won't be about who's who but who is the best guy to lead the team. And I wouldn't want it any other way."
All a player on any team ever wants is a shot at the position. Neuheisel knows what he is up against, but he knows that he is a competitive guy and won't give up the position without a fight. He has shown that he is a fighter and counting him out of the quarterback job at UCLA is the last thing that people want to do. In that Texas moment, he showed some serious moxie. He threw for 178 yards, on 23-30 passes, with two touchdowns, and more importantly, no interceptions.
"It showed what I could do." said Neuheisel. It certainly did. He also added that he dreamed of a moment like that when he was a young kid, growing up in the household of a Bruin quarterback, and making a play to win the game for UCLA.
Jerry Neuheisel is a confident, junior quarterback who talks about going through his progressions a lot slower than he did last year in his limited playing time. He looks at film, studies himself very closely and will try and translate those study habits to practice field this spring and summer. To Neuheisel, if he does those things, he will be able to put himself into a situation where he WILL be the best guy to lead the team. He certainly does not want to leave any doubt with his coaches.
I, for one, will not doubt him.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Arizona and the Pac-12 Trophy
Arizona is still the class of the Pac-12 in basketball. They have had some slip ups, but that is bound to happen to teams not named Kentucky. They should go into the Pac-12 tourney as the favorites to win, with only Utah really standing in their way. They are not a perfect team at all, but they are the most complete team in the conference. Let's hope their free throw percentage does not come back to bite them in crunch time....
For the complete article, go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Email me: mike.wilson@cfbroundtable.com
For the complete article, go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Email me: mike.wilson@cfbroundtable.com
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