December 9, 2022
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TODAY’S COLUMN:
I discuss Coach Prime, the Saints not being ready for prime-time and more… Please scroll down to see FINE IDEAS below.
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FINE IDEAS
He’s coming.
My initial reaction to Deion Sanders leaving Jackson State for Colorado was disappointment and surprise. In retrospect this was idealistic and unrealistic.
Coach Prime took Jackson State to 2 straight SWAC championships, compiling 8-0 conference records in 2021 and 2022. The Tigers had won one SWAC title (in 2007) in the prior 24 seasons. He brought national coverage to JSU rivaled only by Sweetness. —All-time rb great Walter Payton thrilled Tigers fans between 1971 and 1974. Of course, there was no social media, no Internet, no ESPN… … no Jon Fine Productions back then! So, the teletype coverage JSU Football received in the early 70s pales in comparison to Neon Deion’s telegenic 2020’s production.
At first blush, I thought that Sanders would/should stay at Jackson State, because his job there was not done. The thought was that Sanders could help uplift Jackson State, the SWAC and HBCU Football to a greater level of prominence. Sanders did this, but in meteoric fashion. Name coaches such as Eddie George (Tennessee State), Hue Jackson (Grambling), Fred McNair (Alcorn State) and Bubba McDowell (Prairie View) have brought some further creditability to HBCU Football. With Sanders leading the way, the thought was that maybe Black College Football could make somewhat of a revival. With Sanders doing a Horace Greeley (Go West, Young Man), the momentum HBCU’s have recently picked up should prove to be ephemeral.
There was a time—1940’s through 1960’s--when the HBCU’s played terrific football. Legendary coaches like Eddie Robinson (Grambling), AW Mumford (Southern), John Merritt (Jackson State, then Tennessee State), Jake Gaither (Florida A&M) and others had outstanding ballclubs. All-time legends like Tank Younger (Grambling), Elvin Bethea (North Carolina A&T), Lem Barney (Jackson State), Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), LeRoy Kelly (Morgan State), Emmitt Thomas (Bishop State), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Charlie Joiner (Grambling), Roosevelt Brown (Morgan State), Willie Brown (Grambling), Willie Lanier (Morgan State), Art Shell (Maryland State), Ken Houston (Prairie View A&M), Willie Davis (Grambling), Buch Buchanan (Grambling), Mel Blount (Southern), Deacon Jones (Mississippi Valley State) and others all starred at HBCUs Back in the Day and are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Three of these luminaries I had the privilege of interviewing when I hosted a sports-talk show in Lake Charles in the 80’s, were Coach Rob numerous times, Joiner, and Houston—all major class acts.
How great were all these coaches, players, and their teams? Unfortunately, we will never really get a fair and accurate definitive assessment. It is truly a matter of conjecture. That is because HBCUs were never given the opportunity to play “White” teams, to compete at this level of college football. I believe their situation is analogous to the Negro League and its players in Baseball. Satchell Paige (pitcher), Josh Gibson (catcher) and Ray Dandridge (third baseman) might have been the best at their positions in Baseball history. And there were many others who could qualify as the GOAT for the 6 other positions. But most great Negro League players never got to play in the major league. Those that did were often past their prime.
HBCUs and the Negro League had quality teams and players, because “mainstream” college football and major league baseball for the longest time refused to integrate. Once Blacks were allowed to play in the Bigs and at the Alabamas, Texases and the Oklahomas of college football, the Negro League and the HBCU’s product dropped dramatically. This is a sad irony, if not the ultimate paradox. The inclusion of people of color in Baseball and college football led to the demise of HBCU’s and the Negro League.
The HBCU’s still produced some great players in the 70’s (Payton, Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley, Harold Carmichael of Southern, Jackie Slater of Jackson State and others). But, the quality of HBCU Football went downhill. So much so that today the SWAC is amongst the very bottom of the FCS (formerly Division I-AA).
I believe the SWAC is winless in the FCS (previously the I-AA) playoffs. I could not confirm all the schools’ records. Yet, Jackson State is 0-12 and Grambling is 0-3. And, there is a chance that the SWAC and the MEAC may never play in another FCS playoff game. That is because the top teams are ineligible. The SWAC Championship Game takes place during the FCS playoffs as does the Celebration Bowl (SWAC vs MEAC champion). So, that means that the first- and second-best teams in the SWAC and the best team in the MEAC could not play in the FCS playoffs, which is unlikely to invite the SWAC’s third best team or the MEAC’s second.
Having Coach Prime help usher the SWAC back to greater prominence, realistically, faced limits. HBCU’s were never going to recapture the play of their heyday. FBS—especially Power 5-- schools have 3 major advantages. They are Do, Rei and Mi. Via television contracts, ticket sales, sponsorships, booster club donations and some receiving supplements from their universities that often have astronomical endowments, the Power 5 of the BCS has an insurmountable advantage. There is no possible way that the HBCU’s, often bereft of many of these revenue streams, could ever realistically hope to approach this level of financial support of college football’s powerhouses. Power 5 conference schools often have Taj Mahal facilities, with numerous Football support people. Many Group of 5 schools, many FCS schools (including all HBCU schools) and even a few Power 5 schools are a lot closer to the Munster’s dwelling, with minimal support assistance. The Power 5 football players eat Filet Mignon. HBCU players Ground Chuck. The Power 5 schools are often in the best areas (like Boulder). HBCU’s are often in the worst (like Jackson). The Power 5 is often luxurious. The HBCUs are often at a subsistence level.
Where HBCU’s could compete with the big boys is by helping their athletes get compensated via their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights. Sanders got this started at Jackson State. His made for television/video initial press conference at Colorado gives a preview of the type of conventional media/social media extravaganza that should emanate from Boulder at unprecedented levels in years to come. —This is all geared to getting the exposure for CU that will, theoretically, help resurrect the Buffaloes’ moribund program, while funding its Collective that will very readily compensate its players, via NIL, at the highest level of college football. Had Sanders stayed at Jackson State, he likely would have had NILs for his players that outkicked Jackson’s State coverage, perhaps being in the league of Power 5 star programs. Maybe he already had accomplished this. NILs are the Wild West, with the few regulations that exist often not enforced, with schools not being required to report their players’ NIL earnings, so most of them do not. The ones that do are not subject to any verification for accuracy. The NCAA has issued a Roberto Duran like No Mas towards NIL. So, maybe Jackson State players have generated big-time dough via NIL already. Without coach Prime in Jackson to continue to organize and manage JSU’s NIL Collective, one would think their gravy train—if they had established such-- will likely come to a screeching halt.
Sanders had more hits in the first 15 minutes of his Colorado press conference than he had in his 14 season NFL career. “I’m coming” might be the most prevalent words in the whole social media world!… To his credit, Sanders will coach Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl. Many coaches would not be doing this, departing their present school for their new employer even while the present season is still in play. The most egregious example of this I can come up with was in 2021 when Brian Kelly departed Notre Dame for LSU when the Irish still had the possibility of making the playoffs… But I digress.
Sanders was well on his way in elevating JSU into a perennial HBCU power. The idea, then, would be for fellow HBCU’s to use the Jackson State model as a template, structuring their programs like Coach Prime’s. If enough of them had similar success, then, maybe they could be competitive on the FCS level. (For all Sanders did at Jackson State, the Tigers played only one game against non-HBCU competition, falling to (marginal) FBS Louisiana Monroe 12-7 in 2021.) To become relevant in the FCS, the SWAC and the MEAC would have to schedule and win against non-HBCU FCS teams, and cancel their post-season games, so they could become eligible for the FCS playoffs. Would they be willing to do that is another question. If they got good enough, one would hope that they would. But with JSU not on Prime Time any more, I believe this is a moot point now.
So, when I heard Sanders was leaving Jackson State, I unfairly placed the burden on him of being responsible for resurrecting SWAC (and HBCU) Football. And, by departing JSU, he was abandoning the cause. This is unfair to Coach Prime because he never signed up for this lofty goal, which was probably an unattainable one, propagated by idealists like yours truly.
Like George Jefferson, Sanders is moving on up (metaphorically to a deluxe apartment in the sky?). Now, Sanders is a lot bigger and more athletic than Sherman Hemsley, who, nevertheless probably could have tackled as well as Deion did as a player. He would have likely built a Dry Cleaning empire in Boulder… And if you were in a room with Neon Deion and George Jefferson, you’d be hard-pressed to get in a word edge-wise. It is even not inconceivable that there would be no shortage of bluster!
Wonder if Alabama will schedule Colorado in an annual Aflac Bowl! Or howsabout Colorado vs Florida State in the PRIME Bowl?
One way or another, college football get ready because… He’s coming.
There is only one team in the country that could defeat Georgia… the Philadelphia Eagles! Just kidding. Possibly the Cincinnati Bengals too!! (In actuality the second string of the NFL worst Houston Texans would demolish Georgia.) However, there are only 2 college teams that could defeat Georgia. And one of them is not even in the playoffs. Alabama should be in the playoffs as a #3 seed, ahead of Ohio State, with TCU sitting home. What I think a lot of people are missing is that not only did 10-2 Alabama lose on the last play of the game vs Tennessee and LSU, but they did this AT KNOXVILLE AND AT BATON ROUGE. Does anyone really think that if Alabama played TCU or Ohio State on a neutral field and both teams played their best games, the Tide would not prevail? Especially TCU? Really? Michigan and Alabama are the only 2 teams in the nation that could upset UGa.
My sports forecasting record does not conjure up memories of Jimmy The Greek, although I’m getting as obese as he once was. So, please do not use these predictions for betting purposes. Because if you do, I likely will not be the only poor person affiliated with this column!
Wondering if Sid From Jefferson belted out “I’ll be home for Christmas” late Monday night/early Tuesday morning.
The New Orleans Saints found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in blowing a 16-3 4th quarter lead to fall to the Tampa Bay Bucs 17-16 on Monday Night Football. For Saints fans over 35 (likely suffering from PTSD—Post Traumatic Saints Disorder), this was so reminiscent of the way the Saints blew games in the BDS (Before Drew and Sean) Era. In their first 20 playoff-less seasons… and a number thereafter BDS, the Saints seemingly found the most creative ways to lose football games. This past Monday night, they were at their imaginative worst.
Jeff Duncan, in his Advocate/Times Picayune column, gave a great recap of a number of plays in which the Saints bumbled/stumbled down the stretch in Monday night’s second half horror show that contributed to their monumental collapse. Duncan pointed out that in the last five seasons, NFL teams were 530-3 when leading by 13 points in the final 4 minutes of regulation. Make that 530-4.
The worst thing about the loss (besides the PTSD ulcers contracted by many in Who Dat Nation) is that the tiebreaker now goes to Tampa Bay in head-to-head competition with the Saints, as the Buccaneers have now swept the Saints. The Saints will not lose this weekend! Only, perhaps, because they have a Bye. If this was not a Family Friendly column, I could repeat the line that I had when hosting a sports talk show on WTIX—New Orleans in the early 00s, when the Saints were often woebegone. I wondered if the Saints could beat the Bye (not in those words). Family Friendly column.
If Tampa Bay loses at San Francisco this Sunday—likely, although you never know in the NFL—the Saints would trail the Bucs by 2 games in the NFC South. Atlanta and Carolina are in the fray too. Pew. (Fred G Sanford Sister-In Law) Esther Anderson Ugly. All four teams have losing records. Would the Georgia Bulldogs win the NFC South? Just kidding again!
So to make the playoffs, the Saints will have to defeat the Falcons and the Panthers (both at the Superdome) and win at Cleveland. Their other game is at the Eagles. Oh Boy. But, if the Saints go 3-1 and Tampa Bay goes 0-5—they play at San Francisco, vs Cincinnati, at Arizona, vs Carolina and at Atlanta—the Saints make the playoffs. (The same thing occurs if the Saints go 4-0 and SF goes 4-1). Now this only factors into a 2 way tie between NO and TB. Perhaps the more plausible (but still unlikely) route to the post-season, would be if the Saints are in a 3-way tie (with Tampa Bay and Atlanta), in which I think the Saints would own the tiebreaker with both clubs with NO having swept Atlanta and TB splitting with the Falcons. If it is NO, Tampa Bay and Carolina in a 3-way tie, I think TB is in, as the Bucs would have gone 3-1 in head-to-head and the Saints would be 2-2. These assumptions are if everything, as outlined above, goes according to Hoyle (Granger, onetime Saints running back?
Editor’s Note: Silly Jon).
One would think that if Jim Mora was reading the prior paragraphs his reaction would be to reprise his famous rant: PLAYOFFS?! Don’t talk about—playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs!?!
Back to Sid From Jefferson
I’ll always remember his early 00’s call to my WTIX show the Monday afternoon after the Saints had lost the day before and were eliminated from playoff contention in early December. He asked me if it was time for him to sing the Saints Theme Song. I gave him permission. In his inimitable fashion (possibly aided and abetted by the consumption of his beverage of choice before/during(?) the call), he croons, “I’ll be Home For Christmas… ”
39 Bowls (not including the semi-finals and national championship game). That means 78 teams are in Bowls. There are 131 FBS schools. I believe 3 of them—Jacksonville State, James Madison and Sam Houston—are not eligible for Bowls as they are in the transitional state of moving from FCS to FBS. Using upper-level calculus, that means that 78 of 131 teams are going Bowling… which equates to 61 percent of FBS teams are playing in Bowls. Talk about rewarding mediocrity.
Does anyone have spare tickets to the Bahamas Bowl matchup between Miami of Ohio and UAB. If so, do not send them to me… unless the offer includes round trip airline tickets, hotel room… and Bowl attendance is not compulsory!
In observing a number of World Cup games, there was so much flopping I thought I was watching an NBA game
The USA figuratively flopped in being eliminated in the Round of 16. The only thing worse than the USA’s performance was the positive spin that apologists had about the USA Team’s play and its promising future in World Cup competition. I don’t see it
At this point, I’d take the 1978 (NY) Valley Stream South HS Falcons Soccer team over the 2022 USA World Cup team with sweeper Billy Brown neutralizing Christian Pulisic
And I’d also have the 1979 Penn Sub-Varsity Soccer team prevailing, with Gary Sommers penalty kick save of Pulisic being the deciding play
Please indulge these personal references as I was a proud member of both these teams. And, I hate to pull rank on you, but it is my column so I get to write whatever I want, even if it has no pertinence to 99.99 percent of the population!
With Herschel Walker’s defeat in Georgia’s US Senate race, that makes the state of Georgia as the only one in the SEC that features 2 Democrats in the Senate, according to my friend, Tiger Rag owner Jim Engster. Jim says this means the SEC senatorial scoreboard is Red 22 Blue 2 Final
I guess that means when you hear SEC, SEC, SEC chants ringing out, it might be coming from Jordan Hare Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Florida Field or the US Senate chambers.
But Walker fans, take heart. There is bound to be another kid or 2 of his out there that is an athletic male. Could we see one of Herschel’s progenies suiting up for coach Prime in years to come?
Go Jackets!
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