Bleacher Report - Articles by mpesky

Dr. Lou Holtz Delivers Wisdom on ESPN

mpesky — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:06:27 -0500

STRIKE TWO; Is Charlie Weis really one of footballs most underated coaches? This is of course like asking Nick Saban if he likes this years Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team. 09-16-2009.

Dr. Lou is a very good motivational speaker. His words of wisdom do inspire.

Was he really a great football coach? Should we "bet the house" on his every word about college football? We all love the numbers, so let us take a look at some of these precious jewels.

Dr. Lou Record 249-132-7

Joe Paterno Record 383-126-3

Bobby Bowden Record 380-121-4

Paul Bryant Record 323-85-17

Coach Lou has one national title, 22 bowl games, and a winning percentage of .65077.

Joe Paterno has two national titles, 34 bowl games, and a winning percentage of .747.

Bobby Bowden has two national titles, 31 bowl games, and a winning percentage of .75605.

Coach Bryant has six national titles, 31 bowl games, and a winning percentage of .78. (percentages as of 2007)

These numbers come from The College Football Data Base. I do not often like to look at statistics. Statistics don't win ball games, people do. Unfortunately, the bottom line is always expressed in numbers and numbers can be very cold.

That means that Dr. Lou's teams lost approximately 35 percentage of the time. Would you go to a MD that lost 35 percentage of his/her patients? Of course that is an absurd analysis but so is this whole Dr. Lou "thing."

Coach Holtz seems to be a very good man. I know that this man is respected by many and I am sure that he deserves this respect. ESPN just needs to find another way to showcase this man of great words.

Let Coach Holtz display his wit and allow him to speak his wise words. Please just stop this Dr. Lou as football guru format.

PS As Of 09-16-2009 THE BEAT GOES ON AND ONLY GETS LOUDER.

Tommy Tuberville Was Fired, a $5.1 Million Reason

mpesky — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:37:30 -0500

Who believes that Auburn University will pay Tommy Tuberville $5.1 million out of the goodness of its heart?

If we can believe the press, Coach Tuberville's contract says that he would get zero if he quit. He would get the $5.1 million only if he was fired.

The powers at Auburn have been trying to rid themselves of Coach Tuberville for some time. Now, they are so sad that he is gone, they will pay him all these millions. Hog wash...the eagle has not landed. It has crashed.

I resent Coach Tubville's seven fingered antics. It was a classless act. It was a insult to Alabama and all its fans, but I think Auburn will regret this "parting of the ways."

I understand that they want Coach Tuberville to remain part of the Auburn Family. Hog Wash...again. Tuberville is to join Coach Pat Dye?

On what grounds did Coach Pat Dye exit the Auburn Program?

Pat Dye Field? Maybe there will be a Tuberville Locker Room.

Beware Florida of This Alabama Team That Wears the Crimson and White

mpesky — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:28:12 -0500

We Bama fans are not looking ahead to any game after Auburn. Beating the six-fingered Tigers is number one on our list. Beating Auburn may be the most important game of this 2008 season.

Pardon us if we cannot get winning the SEC out of our minds too. We can do this. We are the fans and not the players.

After all, it appears that Alabama has already lost the SEC Championship to the Gators, and the game is still a few weeks away.

Tim Tebow is the best of the best (on and off of the field), and his Florida teammates are not far behind him.

I remember another game that the Tide lost before the opening whistle blew. It happened at the 1993 Sugar Bowl.

Very few people other than the Alabama fans, the Alabama players, and coach Gene Stallings believed the Tide should even be on the same field as the number one-ranked Miami Hurricanes.

Alabama did not just beat Miami 34-13. They made the job of naming a National Champion easy. Nobody needed a computer to decide who the number one team was.

Yes, 1992 seems like a long time ago, but to Tide fans it is only yesterday.

1992 was Alabama's last national title, and it was not long after that Alabama began a downward slide.

Whether or not Alabama's punishment for the infractions of a coach and a booster fit the crime is old history to many—old history unless it had happened to the team that you hold dear.

There is no question, however, that these infractions cost the Alabama program dearly.

This brings me full circle to Auburn. I hope that the lesson of the 1993 Sugar Bowl is not lost on this year's Alabama team. There is not a team that cannot be beaten.

"The Rest of This Story" is for this Alabama team to write.

In Alabama, "The Sting" Is not Just a Movie

mpesky — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:58:20 -0500

The sting in Crimson Tide Country is six losses in a row to Auburn.

The sting is more hurtful because a coach decided to rub salt in the wound by simply holding his fingers up in triumph. We Tide fans have looked at those fingers all the way past "the thumb."

Isn't taunting suppose to be an infraction? I guess that call can only be made against a player on the field and not on a coach. If coaches were subject to that rule than the refs made another bad non-call.

Tommy Tuberville opened a gate that could slam shut on those fingers.

Maybe Coach Saban and the team will remember the insult.

I hope Bama does beat Auburn in 2008, and I hope that Coach Saban does not play gentlemanly football.

I want the score to end up Alabama 200 Auburn 0. If Bama is ahead by 199 points with 30 seconds left on the clock, I hope they go for another score. Do not take a knee; do not go for the throat; go for the fingers.

Do not try to injure anyone. Knock 'um down and help 'um up. Then knock 'um down again.

Shake hands after the game and be friends

I have no hate for Tommy T, Auburn, or its players. I just do not like coaches who show no class.

Obnoxious Alabama Football May Be, But "Convinced" Is a Better Word

mpesky — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:40:01 -0500

In response to a FoxSports.com article listing Alabama as the eighth most obnoxious fan base in college football, I present some statistics: 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992—Alabama Crimson Tide national champions.

Besides the above 12 National Championship Teams, the Tide was also named No. 1 by at least one poll in 1945, 1962, 1966, and 1977.

A whopping 21 SEC Titles (some were shared with other SEC teams).

Before the BCS, there was its forerunner, the Bowl Alliance. Alabama won the first Bowl Alliance by defeating the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes, 34-13, in the 1993 Sugar Bowl.

True Alabama Crimson Tide fans know that there are other storied college football teams in America. We appreciate good football and other great schools.

So, please, pardon the Bama fans. We do not want to seem arrogant.

We are just so proud to wear Crimson and White that sometimes we forget. That is not hard to do when Alabama has these kind of records.

Credit Markets Seize Up ?...Liar, Liar Pants On Fire

mpesky — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:13:17 -0500

Just what is going on?

The New York Times : " Stocks Drop Sharply And Credit Markets Seize Up...As a new bout of fear gripped the financial markets, (what happened to the old bout ?) stocks fell sharply again on Thursday, continuing (see...I was correct, it is still here...) a months-long plunge that has wiped out the gains of the last decade..."

Enough of this hog wash...The credit market is alive and well.

I will use my Double Gold, Cash Back, Fur Lined, I Am The King Of The World, "Fiasco Card"...(even spell check doesn't now if that is correct..sorry computer)...I'll get me a new one and throw this one out.

My math is still good, $799.00 for two. That is not even a mortgage payment.

Who cares that my furniture will be on the sidewalk when I get back.

Uncle Sam will help me out. Won't he? He still owns that real big store down the street that says "always."

Never mind. I'll just use my Fiasco card one more time. You can't beat cash back.

Anybody know what maxed out means?

My Uncle doesn't, just look at all he can do.

After all this is football we are talking about.

Maybe "The Times" thinks that there are a few things that are more important than football. Poor misguided people in New York City...That is what Hank Jr thinks too.

Rich Rodriguez to Michigan Fans: "Get a Life"; Bama Fans to Rodriguez: "Thanks"

mpesky — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:55:12 -0500

Michigan's loss is Alabama's gain. No, not your losing season, but your choosing Rich Rodriguez as head football coach.

Just how close did the Tide come to having Rodriguez as the head football coach at Bama? The news would have us believe that he had made a deal with Coach Mal Moore to come to Alabama. The news would also lead us to believe that he backed out of this deal. The powers that be at Alabama only knew of his choosing to stay at West Virginia by seeing it on TV.

Getting a life at Alabama means having Nick Saban as the head football coach. What a favor Coach Rodriguez did for Alabama.

Thank you coach. Your decision not to come to Alabama made it possible for Alabama to get the best coach in college football. Sorry, Michigan—you will have to live with your choice for how long? Michigan is a great and powerful force in college football. You hold the record as having the most wins in college football, but this time...the Crimson Tide won.

Roy Holsomback, Old No. 68 of the Alabama Crimson Tide: A American Family Hero

mpesky — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:05:54 -0500

You are a Alabama Crimson Tide fan and you don't know who Roy Holsomback is? Shame on you.

You need to go back and read more history about Alabama football. If you go as far back as February 11, 1938 you will find that a Roy L. Holsomback was born in Coleanor, Alabama.

If you do not see Coleanor, Alabama on the state map don't fret. Coleanor, Alabama no longer exists. All that is left of this coal mining town is a sign that tells a little about the place and simply says "Nothing Remains."

Fast forward to 1958 and you will see a Roy Holsomback He was on the Alabama Team when a man named Paul Bryant came "home to Momma".

1959 finds Roy Holsomback playing for Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in Coach Bryant's first year as Head Coach. Now you are learning a little history of Tide football.

Now on to 1960 and you may remember some of Roy's teammates...Bill Battle, Charles Pell, Jack Rutledge, Lee Roy Jordan, Billy Neighbors, Pat Trammell, and Mal Moore. Roy is a Alabama All Time Letterman 1959-1960. http://bryant.ua.edu/

Okay, so now you know why Roy Holsomback, the Alabama letterman, is famous.

It is not all because of the Alabama greats he played beside.

It is not all because of his playing record at Alabama where it written * "A tough, loyal and determined football player...should see a lot of action...a letterman last year...his experience will help. All-State pick at West Blockton High...School of Education."

His fame is indeed all of that but it is also because of the man...Roy Holsomback, and his heart.

Roy (I can call him Roy...you who don't personally know him should call him Mr. or more appropriately Coach) came from a very poor but also a very loving family. Roy knows the grip of poverty, yet he didn't even realize that his family was poor.

He is a family hero of both the Pickett and Holsomback family. He shattered the boundries that the rest of us only dream about. His joy is sharing his success with his family.

I have looked into and been inside the room at Alabama where the all time greats gather. My entrance to this place was only because I was Roy's guest.

I am proud to say that Roy Holsomback is my number one sports hero and ranks way "up there" on my list of favorite people. He and I are double second cousins. Some people from the south will know what a double second cousin is, but many others of you will not.

I will let you find out just how a person can have a double second cousin on your own. I will only tell you that it was a common thing in southern families and no incest is involved.

Roy Holsomback is a man of great character. He is a Alabama Letterman, a high school principal, and a high school football coach. Maybe some of you reading this have been a pupil of his. I continue to learn from THE MAN.

"Southern Born and Southern Bred" by the Grace Of God. My place is behind THE MAN...a cheerleader, a proud FAMILY member...I am very happy in MY PLACE.

* 1960 University Of Alabama Varsity Football Roster.

Alabama and Texas Will Meet In The National Championship Game

mpesky — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:25:01 -0400

Coach Saban has warned Crimson Tide football fans not to "drink the Kool Aide" but we cannot help but gulp in down.

Bama's last National Title was way back in 1992. Bama beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl. Almost no one thought that Alabama could even play on the same field with Miami.

Gene Stallings and the team would buy no part of that thinking. They knew that Alabama could and would win. The fans have waited a very long time for Alabama to return to "the glory days." I believe that the "glory days" are here.

This team is very young and it lacks depth in vital places, but this team has heart. If Coach Saban stays at Bama you will see the return of the Tide to national prominence.

I predict that Alabama will meet Florida in the SEC championship Game in Atlanta. Alabama will win this game.

Roy Holsomback Meets The Bear

mpesky — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:51:21 -0400

Roy Holsomback Right guard 6'3" 201 lbs played football for Coach Bryant 1959-1960 and was a letterman. One day Roy received word that Coach Byrant wanted to see him in the coaches office.

Roy asked his friends, "I wonder what the coach wants with me?" Upon entering the coach's office he was directed to sit down. Coach Bryant started the conversation by telling Roy what he needed to do to improve on his game. Then the Bear ask Roy why he had not been home and why he had not written his momma.

Roy states that he was too stupid to be afraid of the Coach and he figured that it was time for him to make a joke with the coach. Roy answered, "I just don't like to be around poor folks." Wrong answer!

Coach Bryant slammed his fist down on his desk and Roy knew that he was in deep voodoo. The coach then began, in his deep growling voice, to tell Roy that poor folks were just as good as anyone else. The coach went on to shout at Roy that he had better go see his momma. Roy became very convinced that Coach Bryant meant what he said. Roy left this meeting with his tail between his legs and did go see his momma.

Its seems that Roy did not know that his mother had written Coach Bryant and had asked why Roy never came home. Most of us older people remember Coach Bryant's many comments about his momma on his old TV show. It appears that the coach was very serious when he made these comments as Roy found out the hard way. Roy began having regular visits home with his momma.

The Number One Reason That Alabama Can Beat Georgia in Its Own House

mpesky — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:41:53 -0400

You can forget about statistics—they are for losers. Except for the uniforms, this team does not even look like the same team than went 7-6 last year.

John Parker Wilson may lack the talent of UGA's quarterback, but he will play this game with a lot of help. JPW no longer has to try to win the game by himself. He has a host of talent to call upon.

Make no mistake, this team is for real.

Bama coaches and players should not have made public statements about the Dawgs (score one for the home boys). These statements sounds much too much like something someone from Tennessee would have said.

On an ordinary day I would be pulling for the Dawgs.

THE REASON

Georgia, beware of youngsters wearing the Crimson and White looking to begin a new era of championships at T-Town. These guys are hungry, and they are an underdog TEAM coached by Nick Saban.

Alabama-Georgia: Tide Will Ride Underdog Status to Victory

mpesky — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:50:25 -0400

This Bama team has heart...and being the underdog gives them an advantage.

The Tide must not make the mistakes that it made against Arkansas, or they will leave the field 4-1 and not 5-0.

John Parker Wilson is a good and capable quarterback, and his records prove it. If he can learn to hit the long pass, he will go down in Bama history as another great. He has missed several sure touchdown passes this year by overthrowing each.

JP is playing with others of great talent and he does not now have to win each game by himself. Of course the game should not and does not rest on one man's shoulders.

Bama must come to play their best game, and I believe they will.

Bama 34, UGA 14