Dan On The Street - Sports and More from Dan Sheldon

Bobby Bowden on making less than Steve Spurrier and cheating death twice

Dan Sheldon — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:23:45 +0000

"I remember saying, 'Look, he's making twice what I made. It don't look good."...

Bobby Bowden's radio tour promoting his book has involved a lot of the repetitive questions you'd expect and at least one relevant question that has not been raised. You know that little ol' academic cheating scandal that resulted in the NCAA taking away a dozen of Bowden's victories. Bowden has alluded to it various times, but I've yet to hear an interviewer ask Bowden about his role in it, what he should have known at the time, or what he thought the proper penalty should have been since he and the university fought the forfeiture of the victories.

While reminiscing about other topics previously covered, it certainly deserves a follow up.

In any case, the Dan Patrick show managed to do what it often does: cover ground that other radio programs somehow can't manage.

The conversation landed, at one point, on salary and whether that was a problem with keeping Bowden on board for one more season. Bowden slightly shifted the topic to his long time rivalry with the Florida Gators.

"I made 2 and a half million dollars. How can I complain? I couldn't. Now, the Florida guy always made double what I made."

Asked if it bothered him, Bowden joked:

"Not Urban (Meyer) because Urban whipped me every year. Hey, I was sending a check to Urban but Steve I was beating some so I talked to our A.D. I remember saying, 'Look, he's making twice what I made. It don't look good. We're out there recruiting. They're paying that guy double me.'"

"I said, 'Get me up there with him. I'll donate it back to the university.' But we never did."

Bowden later talked about his early coaching years and how he turned down head coaching jobs at two universities that likely saved his life. The two coaches who would fill those roles, Rick Tolley at Marshall and Bo Rein at LSU, would both go on to die in plane crashes.

The Marshall job came open when he was still the offensive coordinator at West Virginia in 1968:

"We were thinking I could get a bigger job if I stayed here. So I turned it down. The guy that took the job. ...He took the job. That plane crashed in 1970 and everyone got killed. You know, I dodged that twice."

"I turned down the LSU job in 1980. I was offered it. I turned it down. Bo Rein took the job and he was recruiting, probably in January. He got killed in a plane crash so I feel like I dodged that a couple times."

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Bobby Bowden: “I began to lose my power… they were pulling it away from me.”

Dan Sheldon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:28:19 +0000

"If I'd have been winning 10 games, I could've told them what to do. I could've told them where to put it"...

As Bobby Bowden embarks on a media tour promoting his new book, he's holding little back about his less than amicable departure from Florida State. Talking to the Jorge Sedano Show on 790 AM in Miami:

"I didn't want to say y'all are not doing me fair. I didn't want to do anything like that. And I wasn't in a position, If I'd have been winning 10 games, I could've told them what to do. I could've told them where to put it."

"I was disappointed that the head of our trustees... I think he headed up everything. I hated that our president, he always supported me until then. I hated that."

Bowden also talks about how, a couple years prior, he wasn't the one who named the "coach in waiting.":

"When our president came to talk to me with the athletic director... he said I want to name a coach in waiting. I began to lose my power, by the way, the last 2 to 3 years. It was slipping away. I could tell it. They were pulling it away from me.

I told the president I always said I would recommend Mickey Andrews because he's been with us so long.

He said, 'No, I want somebody younger. I want somebody younger.' Well, the guy that it all pointed to was Jimbo (Fisher). That's who he named coach in waiting."

Earlier on the Tim Brando radio show, he detailed the final meeting after the Florida loss this way:

"I did want to coach another year. That's what I had asked for. When the president came out to see me and said, 'This isn't going to be pretty,' I still didn't think it would be fatal. And then he said what the trustees wanted to do is they want you to stay as an ambassador coach. And I said, 'What is an ambassador coach?' He said, 'Well, you just do the good things but you don't go out onto the field.' I said, 'You mean, I don't even go out onto the field?' I said, 'That's out. Forget that. That'd be stealing.' And then I said, 'What''s the other option?' 'The other option is they're not going to renew your contract.'
That didn't leave me any room, you know."

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Max Hall Loves the “Max Hall Hates Me” T-Shirts

Dan Sheldon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:44:47 +0000

"I just wish I would've thought of the idea earlier so I could've gotten some of the money from it"...

After defeating Utah in his last regular season game as a college football player, Max Hall was ready to blow off some steam that had been building inside him after three years of active participation in the Mountain West's most heated rivalry.

His rant in the post-game press conference room at LaVell Edwards Stadium was one for the ages:

"I don't like Utah, in fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program. I hate their fans. I hate everything. So it felt really good to send those guys home. They didn't deserve it. It was our time. It was our time to win. We deserved it."

"I think the whole university and their fans is classless. They threw beer at my family and stuff last year. Did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don't respect them."

What spawns from such an outburst these days? The requisite apology and a new line of t-shirts for the rival, of course.

So when asked by the "Bickley and MJ" radio show in Phoenix about the new line of rivalry gear he created, Hall just wished he could've seen some of the profits:

"It really is just funny to me. I did say those comments after the game and if that bugs people so much that they want to make a t-shirt about it and put it on their back then, hey man, that's fine with me. I think it's funny."

"I just wish I would've thought of the idea earlier so I could've gotten some of the money from it. I don't know why I didn't think about that."

"Utah fans don't like me but I think, for the most part, most of the BYU fans like me so I had a great experience in Utah. I don't really have any complaints. But it is funny that they made the t-shirts and people are actually wearing them around."

Instead of heading straight to the trademark office, Hall has a few bigger concerns in front of him at the moment. Like making the Arizona Cardinals roster. Judging by the performances of Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson so far in the preseason, life is looking up in the desert for the former Cougar.

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South Carolina Gamecocks Ready for the 2001 Season!

Dan Sheldon — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:50:49 +0000

Hopefully, Steve Spurrier has his i's dotted, t's crossed, and... numerals sequenced in finer fashion than the graphic sign operator.

Spotted on my brother's trip through South Carolina. They should know better than to allow Florida grads to freely roam the premises.

UPDATE: Oh, the pie on my face is very real and yet very tasty. It turns out, the football team enters Williams-Brice Stadium to the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Their opponent always enters the field to "Real American" by Rick Derringer and a 20 man Battle Royal precedes the opening coin flip.

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Ryan Newman Bashes Joey Logano

Dan Sheldon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:24:38 +0000

"I don't have much use for him."...

Ryan Newman was supposed to be on an Atlanta radio show to promote NASCAR's upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Instead, it was five minutes spent mostly goofing on fellow racer Joey Logano, a driver Newman has been verbally sparring with since a crash August 15th in Michigan. Newman on "Mayhem in the AM" on 790 AM:

"Crashing me is not cool and then not even saying sorry. Blaming it on me because he crashed me is pretty disrespectful. That being said, I don't have much use for him."

The hosts asked Newman if Logano's father, Tom, was in the vicinity when the 20 year old came close to getting into a post-race shoving match.

"I didn't see Daddy Daycare, no.
Let me say this, it's good to be passionate. It's good to have family around you but it's also important to have things happen the right way at the right time and the right place. I haven't seen that with his group there."

As for the next step in this rivalry:

"I don't know yet for sure honestly. We'll see what happens."

Both finished on all four wheels at the night race in Bristol, Newman finishing 6th and Logano 18th.

Here was their battle during and after the race in Michigan.

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Former Vol Quarterback Bashes Kiffin and Wants Fulmer Back

Nick Saban Convinced the Jets to Sign Jason Taylor

Dan Sheldon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:17:18 +0000

"In 30 plus years of coaching, Jason Taylor was one of his 5 favorite players"...

The offseason signing of Jason Taylor by the New York Jets tweaked more than a few Miami Dolphins fans and it turns out a not so popular former 'Phins coach had a big hand in the process.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum relates the story to 790 AM in Miami:

"What did it for us was Nick Saban spent a day with us. I think it actually says a lot about Nick Saban. He won 14 games in a row at the University of Alabama and he wanted to spend the day with Rex (Ryan) to learn more about Rex's blitz package.
With that said, when he was in our building knowing that Jason Taylor was on our radar screen, I asked Coach Saban about him and he said in 30 plus years of coaching, Jason Taylor was one of his 5 favorite players and he told us a story.
There was a game where he got hurt in the first half and the trainers came over to Saban and said, 'Hey, look, he's going to be out a minimum of six weeks.' And Jason came back and played the second half.
And when someone of Nick Saban's caliber recommends Jason and, again, he has no vested interest in the transaction. That was, after watching him for as long as I have and hearing what Saban said about him, it was an easy decision for us."

Another delayed shot to the blowhole courtesy of the Nick-tator.

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BYU tries to flee, the Mountain West sets Fire to the Exits

Dan Sheldon — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:34:23 +0000

The high stakes game being played by Craig Thompson, Tom Holmoe, Bronco Mendenhall, and company...

What's the Endgame?

Two-fold: Keep BYU from leaving the conference, Achieve automatic qualifier status within the BCS

BYU's attempt to leave has hastened the Mountain West's BCS efforts.

The problem: in attempting to burn BYU's exit roads, have they also scorched their own long-term goals?

Fresno State and Nevada offer nothing toward the BCS

The MWC brought the Bulldogs and Wolf Pack on board to make the WAC an untenable landing spot for BYU's non-football sports.

From a BCS statistical standpoint, Fresno St. and Nevada are the perfect picture of mediocrity. The Mountain West's BCS profile is not raised one iota with them on board.

But now that Craig Thompson has committed to them, he has 11 teams for the 2011 season. He seems to believe he has to get to 12 to finish off the WAC and prove to BYU that there is a reason to stick around. Weekend rumors persist that Utah State could be that 12th team, despite initial rejection.

Does BYU want to share conference ties in the MWC with Utah State?

The Cougars have always said the right things when it comes to the Aggies but their scheduling practices suggest that they don't believe Utah State is, or should be, on their level. BYU has done its best in recent years to get better than a "home and home" in football and basketball with USU whenever it can. They would have made it work in the WAC as long as BYU football was independent but:

Thompson's move to include Utah State in the Mountain West may only strengthen BYU's resolve to leave.

There's also the matter of what do with 12 teams?

The only reason for the Mountain West to stage a conference title game is if an automatic BCS berth comes along with it.

The MWC would never want to risk derailing a BCS payday by having its top team upset in the conference title game. The title game would not generate enough money to make up for the loss of the BCS game.

There's also the logistical problem of where to stage that game. Las Vegas would make the most sense except, with current bowl alignments, one of those two teams would be virtually guaranteed to be playing again in that same venue a couple weeks later.

Which brings us back to the top.

Thompson's 12 team Mountain West with a conference title game is not going to be guaranteed a BCS slot. That's why you're hearing about meetings with Conference USA that involve a joint title game that would lead to an automatic BCS berth.

But why would the current AQ conferences want to bring CUSA into the fold? No team in that conference has gone undefeated in the BCS era.

That's what Thompson has to figure out between now and whenever BYU makes its final decision. He has to come up with a solution that not only benefits the Mountain West, but creates an additional financial benefit for the 6 conferences that already have automatic inclusion.

Don't forget that taking a shank to the WAC isn't good enough. He'll have 12 mouths to feed instead of 9. Where's the extra money going to come from to make 1/12th of the pie more valuable than 1/9th?

Good luck with that.

BYU's Problem

They've been hammered by their supporters since Utah's Pac-10 announcement. The Cougars seem compelled to come up with an answer to the Utes' big move. They can't afford to fall behind from an economic or image standpoint.

Football independence is logical but without a soft landing spot for the rest of their sports, they'd be trading one set of headaches for another.

BYU knows it still has to do something as tangible proof to recruits that it's "different."

That's why Notre Dame still clings to its independent status. Financially, they're now no better off than SEC or Big Ten schools from a television money standpoint.

But if the Fighting Irish finally give in and join the Big Ten, they're officially no different or better than Northwestern.

Sure, they can point to the trophies collecting dust in the case. But there isn't a kid in the fertile recruiting grounds of the South who is going to care one way or the other. To them, Lou Holtz is that goofy, old man on ESPN. Knute Rockne? Please.

That's why independence still matters and why BYU seeks some of the same elixir.

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Bill Romanowski: Tim Tebow will start before season’s end

Dan Sheldon — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:55:43 +0000

"He is really the only excitement they have to look forward to..."

Bill Romanowski spends his post-NFL playing days fronting his nutritional supplement company and providing Oakland Raiders analysis on Bay area television but he also keeps a close eye on another of his former teams.

After just one preseason game, Romanowski believes Tim Tebow will be the Denver Broncos starting quarterback before the end of the year. As told to the Tony Bruno radio show:

"This town, if you watch the Denver Broncos now, he is really the only excitement they have to look forward to."

"Otherwise, what really is there to look forward to? The sackmaster (Elvis) Dumervil got hurt and is out for the season. It's kind of a no name team. It really is."

"And, I tell you what, I think he'll be out playing before the end of the season. He'll be the starter."

Tebow certainly had a better Broncos debut than Brady Quinn but still appears to be well behind Kyle Orton at the top of the depth chart.

That being said, it seemed like the easiest money in the world when bodog.com came out with it's post-draft prop bet of 1.5 rushing touchdowns for Tebow in his rookie season.

Then he missed practice on Wednesday with a rib injury... and reminded the world why prop bets are for suckers.

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Dwight Howard Can Punch his Coach in the Face and Play that Night

Dan Sheldon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:19:09 +0000

"I certainly wouldn't be conscious but, if by some chance I were, yes he would play that night."...

Apropos of nothing, the Dan LeBatard radio show wanted to know, hypothetically, if Dwight Howard punched Stan Van Gundy in the face prior to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, would Howard still start the game that night?

Most coaches wouldn't answer that type of question. Most coaches aren't Stan Van Gundy:

"If Dwight Howard hit me in the face, I don't think I'd be around to make that decision. I certainly wouldn't be conscious but, if by some chance I were, yes he would play that night."
"Hopefully Dwight Howard won't decide to punch me. Just yell at me, that would be fine. He's a big man. I don't need him punching me."
"If he wanted to destroy me, he could. Let's be honest here. My chances against Dwight in any kind of physical confrontation would not be very good."

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Potential Pac-10 Player of the Year says SEC is Better

Dan Sheldon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:18:37 +0000

"Hands down, I say that..."

Jacquizz Rodgers, who is among a handful of candidates considered to be the Pac-10's top football player, doesn't think he plays in the best league. In fact, he's not even sure the conference is the 2nd best in the country.

Talking to WJOX in Birmingham, Alabama, Rodgers was asked where the Pac-10 ranks nationally:

"I say between 2 and 3. Somewhere in there."

Asked then if he considered the SEC to be college football's best conference, the streaky running back known as "Quizz" didn't hesitate in his response:

"Hands down I say that. I'm from the South."

Actually, he's from Texas which from a strict geographical perspective is in the southern portion of the country.

But try asking for sweet tea at a restaurant there and you're likely to hear back from the waitress, "This ain't the South. This is Texas."

The hosts didn't follow up with which conference he thought might be 2nd to the SEC if it's not the Pac-10. They were likely still stunned that their softball of a question had been handled so candidly.

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