TicketsHope everybody had a great Memorial Day weekend. It's easy through all the festivals and pool parties to forget why we celebrate the annual opening of summer, but I'd be remiss not to open up the blog today thanking all the military members that have fought and continue to do so. They fight so I don't have to. And nobody wants to see me fight. I'd likely be deported for my effort.
Let's eat...
--- Doc wrote this column about the future of the Big East and included a conversation with AD Whit Babcock. The unified, optimistic stance coming out of the spring meetings paints a rosy picture, but as Whit spoke about in our podcast more than a month ago and has reiterated many times since, nothing will paint a rosier picture than a big win in the TV negotiations.
Until then, all schools stand back and wait to see what the financial gain/loss will be in the conference going forward. Anything between now and then is pure speculation. As Whit said to Doc, the Big East has "the potential to be" the best conference for UC going forward. In this realignment era, however, things can become better or worse in a hurry. It's a bit like weather in this town -- you don't like it, wait a minute.
--- The closest thing to inside information on the whole process will come from Brett McMurphy who has been two steps ahead of every move over and over again for CBSsports.com. Here's a segment he did on Friday with Tim Brando. Listen, you'll forever be more informed.
--- Back to the reason we care about any of that -- the actual players and games -- Andrea Adelson broached two quotes from Butch Jones about the potential of Walter Stewart. Jones had this to say on the ESPN blog:
"At this stage of the game, he's probably the most focused individual I've been around in a long time from all aspects, from off the field and his leadership qualities, to on the field the demands of his teammates, demands of himself," Jones said. "He's turned into a dynamic leader. Seeing the maturity level and the success that Derek Wolfe and John Hughes had last year has really propelled him to another level from his work ethic to his attitude to his conditioning to expectations, not only of himself but to his teammates. He's really leading this football team right now."
And more from Butch:
"We need to have an edge presence to our defense," Jones said. "Walter has worked himself into that spot. But also depth is going to play a role. We like to rotate as many as eight to 10 defensive linemen. We had that luxury last year. Right now, we don't have that luxury. We have a lot of individuals who have to take account for themselves, and really work themselves into being able to give us some quality snaps."
No, the rotation won't be as deep on the front line, but Stewart will still have help. He appears primed to lead the team in sacks and be the best player on a unit that should already be relatively strong.
As I've pointed out before, you need only to look at his final eight games of 2012 to see what a dedicated Stewart can produce. He had six sacks in the final eight games after going sackless the first five weeks of the season.
The guy began to grow into the player everyone hoped he could be following his breakout freshman season.
If you were to extrapolate out his final eight games of the season into a full campaign, you'd see his .75 sacks per game leave him among the best in the country.
Here's where he'd stand:
1. Whitney Marcelius, Illinois - 1.23
2. Trevardo Williams, UConn - 1.04
3. Brandon Joiner, Ark. St. - 1.00
4. Jake Bequette, Ark. - 1.00
5. Jarvis Jones, Georgia - 0.96
------
12. Melvin Ingram, South Carolina - 0.77
13. Walter Stewart, Cincinnati - 0.75
14. Sean Porter, Texas A&M - 0.73
Consider none of his output came against a few of the lesser schools that fill the early part of everyone's schedule and a full, focused year from Stewart could easily place him among the top 10 sack artists in the country based on last year's conclusion.
Other questions will ultimately decide if this happens. Will the limited rotation diminish his returns? How much impact will it have that attention previously focused on Derek Wolfe/John Hughes shifts to Stewart? Can he sustain his play from the back end of last year over a full season?
--- Late to the party on this one, but Jones held Butch and Barb's Blue Jean Ball last week for the 1200 Club. Appears to have been a good time. Also appears Barb's famous cookies the players are always talking about were in attendance as well. My jealousy starts there.
--- More analysis on the reported move of the Crosstown Shootout to a neutral site. This time Bill Koch explores the popularity of the neutral site in the Illinois-Missouri basketball rivalry.
--- Tim Higgins is retiring. But what will become of in-season Twitter vitriol? Jim Burr, your move.
--- Mike DeCourcy has some advice to make Peyton Siva a better player. I think UC fans everywhere prefer he didn't follow this link.
--- Big congrats to good friend of this blog Rob Dauster, who toured through here and did a podcast with me with the Ballin' is a Habit hoops journey. He's now writing for SI.com.
--- The UC track and field team officially sent four student-athletes to the national meet following regional qualifying this weekend.
Michelle Eby (pole vault), Kathy Klump (800 meters) and Emelie Larsson (javelin) all posted good enough numbers this weekend to receive an invite while Jasmine Cotton (heptathalon) moves on by virtue of her in-season numbers.
The Outdoor Championships will take place in Des Moines, Iowa June 6-9.
--- Also, the 4x400 team of Shanay Portis, Jalisa Jarrett, Aricka Rhodes and Klump set a school record with a time of 3:37.62. It broke the record set last year of 3:37.93. Unfortunately, the time wasn't good enough to qualify for nationals.
--- There is still time to RSVP for the Football Open House, which will be held next Tuesday. Should be a cool event with a chance to chat with Jones, Babcock, players and others. Here's your info.
--- Randomness...
--- Honestly, with marriage proposals like this, the rest of us don't stand a chance.
--- I think Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix is working. Here are some photos.
--- Outside of recipes, what else could be in a Colonel Sanders biography? Chapter 1: Came up with chicken recipe. Chapter 2: Made tons of money. Chapter 3: The art of popularizing your facial hair.
--- Matt Forte saw a report that said his knees weren't healthy. So he made a video that completely proves the report wrong. Awesome.
--- Dave Matthews Band at Riverbend tonight. They take some heat, particularly because the fan base can be a bit yuppy, but they produce a pretty incredible live show and have been doing so as well for as long as almost anybody out there. Enjoy the day, everybody.
Let's eat...
--- Doc wrote this column about the future of the Big East and included a conversation with AD Whit Babcock. The unified, optimistic stance coming out of the spring meetings paints a rosy picture, but as Whit spoke about in our podcast more than a month ago and has reiterated many times since, nothing will paint a rosier picture than a big win in the TV negotiations.
Until then, all schools stand back and wait to see what the financial gain/loss will be in the conference going forward. Anything between now and then is pure speculation. As Whit said to Doc, the Big East has "the potential to be" the best conference for UC going forward. In this realignment era, however, things can become better or worse in a hurry. It's a bit like weather in this town -- you don't like it, wait a minute.
--- The closest thing to inside information on the whole process will come from Brett McMurphy who has been two steps ahead of every move over and over again for CBSsports.com. Here's a segment he did on Friday with Tim Brando. Listen, you'll forever be more informed.
--- Back to the reason we care about any of that -- the actual players and games -- Andrea Adelson broached two quotes from Butch Jones about the potential of Walter Stewart. Jones had this to say on the ESPN blog:
"At this stage of the game, he's probably the most focused individual I've been around in a long time from all aspects, from off the field and his leadership qualities, to on the field the demands of his teammates, demands of himself," Jones said. "He's turned into a dynamic leader. Seeing the maturity level and the success that Derek Wolfe and John Hughes had last year has really propelled him to another level from his work ethic to his attitude to his conditioning to expectations, not only of himself but to his teammates. He's really leading this football team right now."
And more from Butch:
"We need to have an edge presence to our defense," Jones said. "Walter has worked himself into that spot. But also depth is going to play a role. We like to rotate as many as eight to 10 defensive linemen. We had that luxury last year. Right now, we don't have that luxury. We have a lot of individuals who have to take account for themselves, and really work themselves into being able to give us some quality snaps."
No, the rotation won't be as deep on the front line, but Stewart will still have help. He appears primed to lead the team in sacks and be the best player on a unit that should already be relatively strong.
As I've pointed out before, you need only to look at his final eight games of 2012 to see what a dedicated Stewart can produce. He had six sacks in the final eight games after going sackless the first five weeks of the season.
The guy began to grow into the player everyone hoped he could be following his breakout freshman season.
If you were to extrapolate out his final eight games of the season into a full campaign, you'd see his .75 sacks per game leave him among the best in the country.
Here's where he'd stand:
1. Whitney Marcelius, Illinois - 1.23
2. Trevardo Williams, UConn - 1.04
3. Brandon Joiner, Ark. St. - 1.00
4. Jake Bequette, Ark. - 1.00
5. Jarvis Jones, Georgia - 0.96
------
12. Melvin Ingram, South Carolina - 0.77
13. Walter Stewart, Cincinnati - 0.75
14. Sean Porter, Texas A&M - 0.73
Consider none of his output came against a few of the lesser schools that fill the early part of everyone's schedule and a full, focused year from Stewart could easily place him among the top 10 sack artists in the country based on last year's conclusion.
Other questions will ultimately decide if this happens. Will the limited rotation diminish his returns? How much impact will it have that attention previously focused on Derek Wolfe/John Hughes shifts to Stewart? Can he sustain his play from the back end of last year over a full season?
--- Late to the party on this one, but Jones held Butch and Barb's Blue Jean Ball last week for the 1200 Club. Appears to have been a good time. Also appears Barb's famous cookies the players are always talking about were in attendance as well. My jealousy starts there.
--- More analysis on the reported move of the Crosstown Shootout to a neutral site. This time Bill Koch explores the popularity of the neutral site in the Illinois-Missouri basketball rivalry.
--- Tim Higgins is retiring. But what will become of in-season Twitter vitriol? Jim Burr, your move.
--- Mike DeCourcy has some advice to make Peyton Siva a better player. I think UC fans everywhere prefer he didn't follow this link.
--- Big congrats to good friend of this blog Rob Dauster, who toured through here and did a podcast with me with the Ballin' is a Habit hoops journey. He's now writing for SI.com.
--- The UC track and field team officially sent four student-athletes to the national meet following regional qualifying this weekend.
Michelle Eby (pole vault), Kathy Klump (800 meters) and Emelie Larsson (javelin) all posted good enough numbers this weekend to receive an invite while Jasmine Cotton (heptathalon) moves on by virtue of her in-season numbers.
The Outdoor Championships will take place in Des Moines, Iowa June 6-9.
--- Also, the 4x400 team of Shanay Portis, Jalisa Jarrett, Aricka Rhodes and Klump set a school record with a time of 3:37.62. It broke the record set last year of 3:37.93. Unfortunately, the time wasn't good enough to qualify for nationals.
--- There is still time to RSVP for the Football Open House, which will be held next Tuesday. Should be a cool event with a chance to chat with Jones, Babcock, players and others. Here's your info.
--- Randomness...
--- Honestly, with marriage proposals like this, the rest of us don't stand a chance.
--- I think Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix is working. Here are some photos.
--- Outside of recipes, what else could be in a Colonel Sanders biography? Chapter 1: Came up with chicken recipe. Chapter 2: Made tons of money. Chapter 3: The art of popularizing your facial hair.
--- Matt Forte saw a report that said his knees weren't healthy. So he made a video that completely proves the report wrong. Awesome.
--- Dave Matthews Band at Riverbend tonight. They take some heat, particularly because the fan base can be a bit yuppy, but they produce a pretty incredible live show and have been doing so as well for as long as almost anybody out there. Enjoy the day, everybody.