Month: November 2011

Who’s next at QU?

Posted by dobrien – November 30, 2011

One of the things that every newspaper does when there is a job opening is speculate on who the next coach is going to be.

That’s much easier to do at the major college level than it at a small Division II school like Quincy University. Knowing Quincy University Athletic Director Marty Bell and what he’s looking for in a hire, I’ve made up a short list of people who could be running the show for the Hawks next fall.

Bell, a Pennsylvania native, loves to go back to his home roots to hire people. His top assistant for men’s basketball, Jon Perry, worked under Bell’s long-time boss, Kurt Kanaskie, at Penn State. He plucked QU’s women’s volleyball coach, Jen Constantino, from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Bell spent many years in the PSAC while at Lock Haven and Indiana (Pa.).

I have no insider knowledge about which way Bell is going to proceed. These are purely guesses. I will say that I will be shocked if the new coach doesn’t come from somewhere were Bell has been previously — the PSAC, with a heavy lean toward someone from Indiana (Pa.), or Drake, where he was an assistant coach before coming to QU. If he goes outside of that box, I’d be shocked.

The best guesses (with emphasis on guesses)

1. Roc Bellatoni

He was the defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois University until recently. He had hoped to be considered to replace the retiring Bob Spoo, but was denied that chance by the EIU AD. Going from EIU, a Football Championship Subdivision school, to a Division II school like Quincy would be a step back career-wise for Bellatoni, who played collegiately at Iona. Before going to EIU, he was the defensive coordinator at — wait for it — Drake. He lacks the Division II experience that Bell is seeking, but has the recruiting contacts that Bell seeks and knows the Midwest, another plus. He won’t get paid as much here as he did at EIU, but he also doesn’t have a job now either. He was at EIU for 11 years, so he seems to like stability. This would give him a chance to run a program for the first time.

2. Luke Getsy

Until I started formulating this list I had no idea who Luke Getsy was. Heck, he may not even know where Quincy is or that there’s a university here. But this is my Indiana (Pa.) guess. He has some Division II roots. He served as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia Wesleyan, transforming that Division II school’s offensive attack, and has most recently been the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Hawks of IUP. A prolific quarterback at Akron, Getsy’s boss is Curt Cignetti, whose father, Frank, was the head coach at IUP when Bell was an assistant basketball coach there.  The Crimson Hawks went 7-3 this season and averaged 27.7 points per game. Gesty is a young guy — he’s only 27 — who’s probably eager to run his own program. He doesn’t have the Midwestern roots that Bell seems to be seeking.

Off the board guesses

3. Jim Unruh

He’s done it all at the high school level, so taking over the Hawks’ program would certainly be a new challenge for him. Of course, he doesn’t have any of the college experience that Bell desires, but his five state titles should make his resume look good. He knows the area, but has never recruited before. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t put some recruiters around him. It would be interesting to see if he could win on the college level. And the chances of Unruh having any interest is probably somewhere between none and next-to none. Then again we’re not talking about Gerry Faust going from Cincinnati Moeller to Notre Dame either.

4. Derek Leonard

He’s the head coach of the back-to-back Class 4A state champs from Rochester, the team that has ended Quincy Notre Dame’s season each of the last three years. One of his former players, Dan Camp, was QU’s top defender this year as a true freshman. All he’d have to do is recruit the Central State Eight’s best players and you’d think QU would be competitive. He’s been able to develop several Division I players, including this year’s quarterback Wes Lunt who is headed for Oklahoma State. Leonard has indicated he’d like to coach at the college level. Again, no prior Division II experience Bell is seeking.

The absurd guess

5. Ron Zook

There’s always a chance that Bell could lure the former University of Ilinois coach to become the new head coach and in turn he hires Turner Gill as offensive coordinator and Jack Del Rio as defensive coordinator. None of those guys would have to worry about getting paid since they got plenty of money from their previous employers.

Mid-Week Grades for Nov. 30

Posted by dobrien – November 30, 2011

Welcome to the end of November. Make sure to change over those calendars tonight. Here’s the weekly look at the grade book. If you have anyone in the sports world you’d like to grade, send it into the WGEM SportsCenter program via text at 217-617-9437 or by email at sportscenter@wgem.com. Host Josh Houchins and I will go over these around 8:20 on Wednesday’s program.

A — Saint Louis University men’s basketball. The Billikens are off to their best start in ages. I can’t ever remember SLU being relevant since I moved to the area in 1997. There was the one season with Larry Hughes, but that’s about it.They’re ranked for the first time since 1994 after a 6-0 start. Rick Majerus is still the team’s head coach. He’s in his fifth season and the next NCAA Tournament game he coaches at SLU will be his first with the Billikens. They’re starting to get some national recognition for their fast start, which came to a halt on Tuesday night with a 75-68 loss to Loyola Marymount. We’ll have to see where they’re at when March rolls around.

B — South Shelby football. The Cardinals didn’t win a Class 1 state championship last weekend, but the fact they made the game is a heck of an accomplishment for a team that looked dead in the water midway through the season. Valle Catholic ran past the Cardinals 49-7 at the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday, but that shouldn’t diminish what the Cardinals accomplished. Credit South for not giving up when it was 2-4. They kept things together to get some momentum going into the postseason. They beat Westran and East Buchanan in playoff games that not a lot of people were giving them the chance to win. With a young offensive line, Rob Wilt’s crew seems destined for a return trip to the Gateway City in the not to distance future.

C — Quincy University women’s basketball. The Lady Hawks’ season started out good enough with three straight wins, including another QU/Subway Tip-Off Tournament title. However, the Lady Hawks slipped twice last week, losing by 10 at Truman State and by a point at Central Missouri. The Lady Hawks start Great Lakes Valley Conference play this week with winnable road games against William Jewell and Rockhurst. William Jewell is the newest member of the GLVC and is 4-0. The Cardinals have two wins over NAIA schools and another over a Division III, so QU will proved the newcomers their toughest test of the season so far. I think QU will be just fine in the long run, but the Lady Hawks have to turn it around this weekend.

D — Urban Meyer. So much for taking a step back for health and family reasons, huh? On Monday, Meyer was named the new head football coach at THE Ohio State University. Sure, the $4 million a year the school promised to pay him probably had something to do with him making a comeback after a whopping one year off. I can’t wait to see him whine about stuff in Columbus like he did when he was in Gainesville. Can’t believe I’ll actually have to root for Michigan at least once a year now.

F — Nick Novak. First, the San Diego Chargers quarterback kicker urinated on the sideline. Then he peed down his leg with the game on the line in overtime Sunday against Denver, missing a field goal attempt that could have saved us another week of people bowing down before Tebow. Novak laughed off being caught by the cameras when relieving himself late in Sunday’s game. Guess guys taking a bathroom break on the sideline happens more often that we think. The NFL doesn’t have a policy on people peeing on the sidelines. How about if they spring for a porta potty on each sideline. I’m sure they could find someone to sponsor it.

Two For Tuesday

Posted by dobrien – November 29, 2011

Two things on my mind this Tuesday as I try to figure out when to do my Christmas shopping:

1. Upon further review, Zook deserved the hook

On Sunday’s GamePlan page I had written I was in the minority and thought Ron Zook should stay as University of Illinois football coach. I’m not a big fan of schools changing coaches every few years. (I’m looking at you Notre Dame.) But the school’s move to replace Zook was the right one. It’s not like he was in the same situation as Turner Gill at Kansas and had been in town for about 15 minutes or so before getting fired. The Illini gave him seven years. Most of them were losing seasons, save the miracle 2007 Rose Bowl season. Yes, he won a bowl game after last season and has the Illini eligible to go to another this year, but that’s not good enough for the new athletic director, who wants more from the program. You can’t blame Mike Thomas for making the switch.

2. And here’s why we don’t do full-blown junior high coverage.

There are some out there who wonder why The Herald-Whig doesn’t cover youth sports to the extent we do the varsity high school and college teams in the area. Our main reason is that we ought to let kids be kids. There’s little need to write that Jane struck out with the bases loaded to cost Quincy Junior High School the game or that Johnny missed a free throw with a second left as QJHS lost in the regional tournament. Kids just aren’t ready for that kind of scrutiny. We welcome submissions from all youth teams. You send it in and we’ll get it in.  But you’re not going to see us out there with pad and pen. There’s a story brewing in Kentucky after a junior high school team beat a rival 100-2 in a game that it led 70-0 at halftime. After the game, there was talk of the team having to cancel the rest of the season, but it turned out to be false.

Slap of the Week — Nov. 25

Posted by dobrien – November 25, 2011

Somehow Detroit defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has suckered Madison Avenue. You see him on Subway and Chrysler commercials on a regular basis. If he keeps up what he did on Thursday, those gigs could be toast.

Suh was the biggest turkey on Thanksgiving day. He was kicked out of Lions’ game against Green Bay for stomping on a hapless Green Bay offensive lineman. The delusional Suh claims he didn’t stomp on anyone.

It’s expected that Suh will be suspended for his actions. There’s no denying Suh’s talent. He’s a beast on the defensive line, but he’s also seen as a dirty player. He hurt his team on Thursday and any absence will hurt the Lions’ chances of making the playoffs for the first time this century.

He’d better straighten up soon or else he’s going to become the NFL’s equivalent of Ron Artest or Milton Bradley.

Mid-Week Grades — Nov. 23

Posted by dobrien – November 23, 2011

We’re on the road for today’s edition of WGEM SportsCenter. Make sure to swing by the Subway at 10th and Broadway in Quincy between 7 and 9. I know host Josh Houchins has some goodies in store for those who stop by. If you can’t come by, make sure to listen in on ESPN 1440. Here’s this week’s grade book. If you have some grades, please text them to us at 217-617-9437.

A —Tony Stewart. I’m glad that he won the season-ending duel with Carl Edwards for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title. During the week leading up to the race, Stewart did a great sell job. He talked the talk and then walked the walk. He dominated the final race, making 118 passes — more than Houchins on a good night at his favorite bar — and looked dominant down the stretch. It’s his third Cup title, adding to ones he won in 2002 and 2005. I’m just really happy that it was someone other than Jimmie Johnson who won the darn thing.

B — Carl Edwards. He may not have won the NASCAR title, but the Columbia, Mo., driver won a lot of people over with how he handled himself after the race. He was eloquent while talking with ESPN as Stewart celebrated on the track. He was the first one to get to Stewart after the race to congratulate him. Known for doing back flips off of his car after his wins, I’m thinking that Edwards will do one of those in celebration of a series title pretty soon.

C — Kyle Orton. The bad news for him is that he’s unemployed. The good news is that his unemployment status shouldn’t last for long. Orton was cut loose by Denver on Tuesday, but will have suitors lining up at his door. He might go back to Chicago. He could wind up in Houston or maybe even Kansas City. “Neckbeard”  got out of a messy situation in Denver and should land on his feet. I’d certainly take a chance on him if I were Chicago, Houston or Kansas City.

D — Wayne Field III. The Chicagoan decided he wanted to get to know what it would be like to be White Sox GM Kenny Williams. He allegedly broke into Williams home earlier this month and made himself at home. He decided to put on some of Williams’ clothes and even sported his 2005 World Series ring for a while. He was defrosting a lobster when cops found him. Wonder whose home I’d want to break in and chill out in. I’m thinking a baseball GM wouldn’t be at the top of that list. Being Pete Myers is more my style. Sadly, he didn’t win any NBA titles with the Bulls.

F — Chris Olsen. The New Jersey football coach shouldn’t win any Coach of the Year honors. There’s quite a bit of drama surrounding his Wayne Hills program. Seems the coach strong armed the school board into reversing a punishment for nine of his players who allegedly assaulted two fellow classmates — leaving one unconscious. The kids got to play in the team’s state semifinal game last week and helped the team reach the state finals. Gotta love how some coaches put winning above everything else. A New Jersey columnist did a great job ripping the coach to shreds.

 

Two for Tuesday — Nov. 22

Posted by dobrien – November 22, 2011

Two sports-related thoughts on this dreary Tuesday.

1. The NFL gets a bonanza on Thanksgiving

For too long it seems, the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day offerings have been pretty mediocre. The Lions have been awful for years now, but they seemed to have figured things out. The Thursday opener between the Lions and NFC North rival Green Bay should be great. I don’t think the Lions are going to beat the Packers, but it should be a good game. Dallas, which features my EIU hero Tony Romo, meets Miami in the second game. This is the worst of the three matchups. However, Miami is on a little roll and people like tuning in to see what Romo’s going to mess up next. The final game on NFL Network, which most people don’t have, is a better-than-expected showdown of the Harbaugh brothers. I’ll take John’s Ravens over Jim’s 49ers. That’s a darn good slate of games though.

2. Should we just cancel the rest of the college football season and watch SEC games?

In case you didn’t did see it, the top three teams in the latest BCS poll are (in order) Louisiana State, Alabama and Arkansas. All are members of the Southeastern Conference, a league that Missouri will join next year and instantly flounder in. LSU and Arkansas play on Friday. Should LSU win, the Tigers will advance to the SEC title game where Georgia likely will be waiting for them. We’re headed toward an all-SEC showdown in the BCS Championship game Jan. 9 in New Orleans. I’m OK with that, just as long as the LSU and Alabama offenses figure some things out.

Slap of the Week — Nov. 18

Posted by dobrien – November 18, 2011

For the first time in a quarter of a century my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, is in the market for a head football coach.  Bob Spoo, who coached the Panthers to 144 victories and nine playoff appearances, is stepping aside.

Fortunately for fans, the school is conducting a pretty open search for his successor. The names of the four finalists for the post were released by the university and an open forum for the public is being held with each finalist. Quincy University has done this on a smaller scale with some of its recent hires, but more schools should do this. The football coach is one of the “faces” of any university. People should get to know who that person is going to be and let the administration know what they think.

Unfortunately, EIU is trying to deny the press the ability to do its job during these forums — a public gathering held on public grounds at a public school. The school doesn’t want any cameras or voice recorders to be used during the forums. It’s not like anyone around there is going to go all TMZ on the candidates. It’s really quite silly.

Of course, these rules have the student newspaper upset, and for good reason. The fourth estate doesn’t like to be told how it should do its job. For EIU to put these restrictions on the forums doesn’t make any sense.

Mid-Week Grades for Nov. 16

Posted by dobrien – November 16, 2011

Here’s this week’s grade book. As always, we’ll break these down on the award-winning WGEM SportsCenter program around 8:20 a.m. today. If you have grades that you’d like to submit, text them in to us at 217-617-9437.

A — Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team. In my near 15 years with the Herald-Whig, I can only think of one other team that was an unlikely of a state champion as the Lady Raiders team that snatched the Class 2A title over last weekend. The Nauvoo-Colusa boys basketball team in 1998 had a magical run to the Class A title when it had to knock off the top three teams in the state on its way to the title in Peoria. The Lady Raiders only brought in a new coach and lost five starters from last year. They had to play through a ton of injuries during the season before making their magical ride to the title over the weekend. Credit new coach Rich Meyer and his players on overcoming a lot to reach the top.

B — NASCAR. Their “new” Chase to the Championship playoff format has finally paid off. This week, it will be Carl Edwards vs. Tony Stewart for all of the marbles. Edwards holds a three-point lead on Stewart, which means both drivers will be racing hard to get to the front of the pack at Homestead this weekend. Here’s a look at how each can win the title. This race should be enough to at least draw a few eyeballs during the timeouts during Sunday’s football games.

C — UFC. The mixed martial arts group reached the big time with its first appearance on FOX last Saturday night. Unfortunately, the only match in the hour-long special — Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez — lasted all of 64 seconds before Dos Santos knocked out Velasquez. I don’t know that the bout won over many people, but I’m starting to become intrigued with the UFC. It was probably Dustin Jacoby’s involvement that drew me in. I’m not going to take the time to memorize all of the fighters and such, but the next time the UFC is on Fox, I’ll watch.

D — Mike Smith. The Atlanta Falcons’ head coach is being directly blamed for the team’s 26-23 overtime loss to NFC South rival New Orleans last weekend. Smith decided to have the Falcon’s go for a first down on fourth and inches from their own 29-yard line early in the OT period. Michael Turner got stuffed on the ensuing rushing attempt and the Saints wound up driving the short field for a short game-winning field goal. Smith would have looked like a genius had the Falcons made the first down and gone on to win the game. Instead, he’s the goat for the team’s failure to execute. It was a pretty suspect move.

F — NBA. I’m not siding with either the players or owners in this one. How they can’t come together and figure out how to split up their millions upon millions of dollars is beyond my comprehension. I don’t feel bad for the players, my thoughts are with all of the stadium workers and others whose living depends on those games being played. The little guy is going to take the brunt of this action, and that just isn’t right.

QU Review — QU men 75, HLGU 60

Posted by dobrien – November 15, 2011

It’s the first QU review of the season. A workman-like win for the Hawks in their traditional lidlifter against the Trojans at Pepsi Arena.

Here are the three stars from Tuesday’s action:

1. Justin Brock

The sixth-year senior looked solid in his return to the court in his first regular-season game in 19 months. He matched a career-high with 25 points as HLGU had no answer for him in the low block. He was 8 for 10 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and made 8 of 10 fouls shots. This much is evident — as Brock goes, so will the Hawks.

2. Chris Babbitt

The sophomore came off the bench to give QU a huge lift. The Hawks were down 23-14 and had Brock on the bench with two fouls when Babbitt took over. He scored nine straight points during an 11-0 Hawks spurt. He finished with a career-high 17 points. He’s the team’s sixth man right now, but did his best to get himself back into the team’s starting lineup.

3. Chris Smith

The Trojans’ center had trouble trying to guard Brock in the low block, but he did some nice things on the offensive end. He finished with a team-high 16 points. The lefty gave the Hawks fits going to the basket and played tough underneath. The game should give him a good confidence boost when the Trojans play teams on their level.

DOBservations

HLGU senior Gerrell Wells had the dunk of the night. He posterized QU freshman Scott Hahn on a fast-break dunk, slamming it over Hahn in a play that brought the crowd to its feet. Wells, a former JWCC player, had a nice night for the Trojans, scoring 12 points. … QU got the news it expected on Monday that senior Tyler Thompson will miss the season because of a knee injury. Thompson suffered the injury during the Hawks’ first exhibition game against Drake. He will use his redshirt this season and return next year. … The Hawks are wearing a black patch with “DE” written in white to remember the late David Edgerly, the school’s former faculty athletic representative. Edgerly died in July at age 58.

Two for Tuesday — Nov. 15

Posted by dobrien – November 15, 2011

Here are two things on my mind on this glorious Tuesday in November.

1. Jerry Sandusky, please shut up.

In case you missed it last night, former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky took the airwaves to put his spin on the child sex abuse charges that have been levied against him. In an interview with NBC he said he’s innocent of the charges, but admitted to “horsing around” with young boys in the shower. I wish there was a way to keep Sandusky quiet until he goes to trial on his charges because I don’t want to hear his lies.

2. Good-bye, NBA

I had held out hope that the NBA players and owners would get something done with their labor agreement for us to see games by Christmas. I’ve come to accept the fact that my stocking won’t include any NBA games this year. I’m not ready to say the entire season is gone quite yet. Maybe I’m too much of an optimist but the last time the NBA played a shortened season, the labor deal didn’t get done until late January. Here’s to hoping that the sides finally figure something out. I want to watch my Bulls.