SWC75
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I did "The Blind Side" with Brent Axe this afternoon. It's a daily feature where Brent gets asked 10 questions he hasn't been given in advance. Every Friday it's done by a listenter instead of his producer and I got the gig this week. I’ll post this on the football, basketball and pro sports boards because different questions applied to all of them.
1) Regarding all the stories of football concussions and their aftermath. Has this always been the problem it is now but it just being reported now. Or is it, as Bud Poliquin says, the result of players getting bigger and thus producing more violent collisions? Or is the game being played differently than it used to be?
Brent feels it’s primarily the first choice: it’s always been a problem and is now being recognized an reported. He also thinks the feeling of “machismo” has lessened and ex-players are more willing to admit they are vulnerable to this problem.
2) If the game is being played differently, is that because it’s being coached differently or are players simply deciding to go for the big hit to get on the highlight films?
He felt that it is being coached differently by some coaches as demonstrated by what happened in New Orleans. He didn’t want to indict coaches across the board.
3) Coaches can’t recruit unless the players think the coach will be here if they decide to come here. Doug Marrone is in the fourth year of a five year contract. What does he need to accomplish this year to get a contract extension so the kids will know he will be here?
He thinks it’s possible that Doug could get an extension without going to a bowl but thinks a bowl is necessary to ensure it. (I had made the point that both Pasqualoni and Robinson were “left hanging” late in their career and their recruiting slowed or stopped and it really hit their successors in about the third year, when the last good recruits from the previous regime had graduated and the new guy had to go with his own very young recruits. It could be a vicious circle if Doug can‘t get an extension.)
4) Will the major conferences split from the NCAA at some point in the future, create their own ruling body and run their own championships?
He believes this will happen but is not sure when. He thinks it might happen “twenty years from now”.
5) We are one of seven schools to have won both an NCAA football and basketball title. We have high hopes of winning another basketball title but our football title was won in another era- that of one platoon football. With the move to the ACC and the additional money and a conference with it’s footprint in so many prime recruiting areas, is it reasonable for SU football fans to think their team could win a second national football championship someday?
He still thinks a football title is extremely unlikely, especially with the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 12 looking like the dominant conferences in the future.
6) We view Syracuse as a top national power in basketball. We’ve got one championship. Connecticut and Kansas have three, Duke 4, UNC 5, Kentucky 8 and UCLA 11. What is there about those schools vs. SU that allow them to get to so many more Final Fours and win more championships? Why can’t we be like them?
He doesn’t really know the answer to this. “We do all the things they do”. He thinks it’s just worked out that we’ve have a tougher road in the tournament and that’s the way it’s played out. I mentioned that we might do better if we still had our centers.
7) Syracuse had produced two NBA superstars: Dave Bing and Carmelo Anthony. With all our success over the years, why haven’t we had more NBA stars?
He “can’t figure out” this one, either. “It’s Jim Boeheim’s job to win at Syracuse. WE have an uptempo system and that should prepare kids for the NBA but the zone and other personality traits Syracuse has may hold them back”. He also said that we may be more willing to take a chance on developing less than 5 or 4 star prospects than other schools.
8) The Syracuse Chiefs haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years, haven’t won a pennant in 23 years and haven’t won the Governor’s Cup in 36 years. Why haven’t they had more success and is there anything different about their current situation that suggests this will change?
He said that it’s all about the Blue Jays whose emphasis was on developing prospects, not winning in the minor leagues. He feels that things have definitely changed with Washington and that they want to win on all levels, as shown by the winning records “and almost winning records” that the Chiefs have had since they switched.
9) The Indianapolis Colts have a history of drafting Syracuse players, creating interest among Syracuse fans. Why haven’t the Buffalo Bills had more former Syracuse players on their roster over the years?
He said it was from no lack of effort by him. He asks the Bills all the time why they don’t draft Syracuse players. The Colts have a scout at every SU game. The Bills occasionally send a scout but not for every game. He’s hopeful that Russ Brandon can change this, even though he’s more on the business side. The guys who have been running the Bills have no connection with and no interest in SU. I pointed out that the Colts like our guys because they like players who have played in a Dome. Maybe if we played out doors the Bills would have more interest.
10) Science Fiction: Years a go Freeman Dyson, a “futurist” said that the ultimate achievement of an intelligent life form would be to surround it’s star with a sphere capable of collecting and using all the energy produced by it’s star. Soccer is a sport that had constructed it’s own “Dyson Sphere” around the world. It draws it’s talent from everywhere. If there’s a great goalie in Mongolia, a great attack man in Zaire or a great midfielder in Chile, he’s been exposed to the sport and is likely playing it. Basketball has increasingly constructed it‘s own Dyson Sphere and the NBA is getting players from all over the world.. What other American sports have the potential to become popular around the world and draw their talent from the entire human race?
Brent is hopeful lacrosse could be a big international sport someday. He mentioned that baseball has made a few beachheads. American football has not. I suggested that expense was a problem. Our football and hockey require a lot of equipment. Brent thought that might be a problem for lacrosse, too but I didn’t feel that way. The Indians who invented it didn’t have a lot of money. You just have to construct a stick and a goal out of something. The level of violence might be a factor holding back football and hockey, too. Hockey will also probably be limited to the northern hemisphere as it’s a winter sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere
1) Regarding all the stories of football concussions and their aftermath. Has this always been the problem it is now but it just being reported now. Or is it, as Bud Poliquin says, the result of players getting bigger and thus producing more violent collisions? Or is the game being played differently than it used to be?
Brent feels it’s primarily the first choice: it’s always been a problem and is now being recognized an reported. He also thinks the feeling of “machismo” has lessened and ex-players are more willing to admit they are vulnerable to this problem.
2) If the game is being played differently, is that because it’s being coached differently or are players simply deciding to go for the big hit to get on the highlight films?
He felt that it is being coached differently by some coaches as demonstrated by what happened in New Orleans. He didn’t want to indict coaches across the board.
3) Coaches can’t recruit unless the players think the coach will be here if they decide to come here. Doug Marrone is in the fourth year of a five year contract. What does he need to accomplish this year to get a contract extension so the kids will know he will be here?
He thinks it’s possible that Doug could get an extension without going to a bowl but thinks a bowl is necessary to ensure it. (I had made the point that both Pasqualoni and Robinson were “left hanging” late in their career and their recruiting slowed or stopped and it really hit their successors in about the third year, when the last good recruits from the previous regime had graduated and the new guy had to go with his own very young recruits. It could be a vicious circle if Doug can‘t get an extension.)
4) Will the major conferences split from the NCAA at some point in the future, create their own ruling body and run their own championships?
He believes this will happen but is not sure when. He thinks it might happen “twenty years from now”.
5) We are one of seven schools to have won both an NCAA football and basketball title. We have high hopes of winning another basketball title but our football title was won in another era- that of one platoon football. With the move to the ACC and the additional money and a conference with it’s footprint in so many prime recruiting areas, is it reasonable for SU football fans to think their team could win a second national football championship someday?
He still thinks a football title is extremely unlikely, especially with the SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 12 looking like the dominant conferences in the future.
6) We view Syracuse as a top national power in basketball. We’ve got one championship. Connecticut and Kansas have three, Duke 4, UNC 5, Kentucky 8 and UCLA 11. What is there about those schools vs. SU that allow them to get to so many more Final Fours and win more championships? Why can’t we be like them?
He doesn’t really know the answer to this. “We do all the things they do”. He thinks it’s just worked out that we’ve have a tougher road in the tournament and that’s the way it’s played out. I mentioned that we might do better if we still had our centers.
7) Syracuse had produced two NBA superstars: Dave Bing and Carmelo Anthony. With all our success over the years, why haven’t we had more NBA stars?
He “can’t figure out” this one, either. “It’s Jim Boeheim’s job to win at Syracuse. WE have an uptempo system and that should prepare kids for the NBA but the zone and other personality traits Syracuse has may hold them back”. He also said that we may be more willing to take a chance on developing less than 5 or 4 star prospects than other schools.
8) The Syracuse Chiefs haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years, haven’t won a pennant in 23 years and haven’t won the Governor’s Cup in 36 years. Why haven’t they had more success and is there anything different about their current situation that suggests this will change?
He said that it’s all about the Blue Jays whose emphasis was on developing prospects, not winning in the minor leagues. He feels that things have definitely changed with Washington and that they want to win on all levels, as shown by the winning records “and almost winning records” that the Chiefs have had since they switched.
9) The Indianapolis Colts have a history of drafting Syracuse players, creating interest among Syracuse fans. Why haven’t the Buffalo Bills had more former Syracuse players on their roster over the years?
He said it was from no lack of effort by him. He asks the Bills all the time why they don’t draft Syracuse players. The Colts have a scout at every SU game. The Bills occasionally send a scout but not for every game. He’s hopeful that Russ Brandon can change this, even though he’s more on the business side. The guys who have been running the Bills have no connection with and no interest in SU. I pointed out that the Colts like our guys because they like players who have played in a Dome. Maybe if we played out doors the Bills would have more interest.
10) Science Fiction: Years a go Freeman Dyson, a “futurist” said that the ultimate achievement of an intelligent life form would be to surround it’s star with a sphere capable of collecting and using all the energy produced by it’s star. Soccer is a sport that had constructed it’s own “Dyson Sphere” around the world. It draws it’s talent from everywhere. If there’s a great goalie in Mongolia, a great attack man in Zaire or a great midfielder in Chile, he’s been exposed to the sport and is likely playing it. Basketball has increasingly constructed it‘s own Dyson Sphere and the NBA is getting players from all over the world.. What other American sports have the potential to become popular around the world and draw their talent from the entire human race?
Brent is hopeful lacrosse could be a big international sport someday. He mentioned that baseball has made a few beachheads. American football has not. I suggested that expense was a problem. Our football and hockey require a lot of equipment. Brent thought that might be a problem for lacrosse, too but I didn’t feel that way. The Indians who invented it didn’t have a lot of money. You just have to construct a stick and a goal out of something. The level of violence might be a factor holding back football and hockey, too. Hockey will also probably be limited to the northern hemisphere as it’s a winter sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere
