Stephen Smith

Key Play

2009-09-05T01:21:31Z

Trailing 21-14 midway through the 2nd quarter, WFHS failed to convert on 4th-and-1 and whatever was plugging the dam gave way. It's halftime and the Coyotes are down 41-14, having already surrendered 369 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in the first half.

The coin-toss

2009-09-05T00:23:48Z

Everman wins the toss, but defers to the second half. Coyotes will receive to start the game.

Everybody gets dunked on...

2009-07-23T23:16:13Z

Now that the deep, dark secret footage of Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on LeBron James has hit the internet...I must say, it really wasn't that big a deal.
The sky didn't fall and the world didn't end.
The only thing that really happened was that Chosen One's help defense against a player someone else was covering came a little late.
That's it.
Why he was afraid -- or seemingly afraid -- of this footage getting out is beyond me.
If you want to see similar plays then all you need do is watch a basketball game at the high school, college or professional level because it's a rather common occurrence.
And I've seen a lot worse.
Vince Carter broad jumping over 7-2 Frederic Weis at the 2000 Summer Olympics? -- now that's getting dunked on.
Michael Jordan abusing Patrick Ewing in the 1991 NBA Playoffs? -- now that's getting dunked on.
John Starks posterizing both Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals? -- now that's getting dunked on.
Crawford/James just doesn't make the list for me -- and that's a Top 10 or Top 25 list, by the way.
Like I said, play basketball long enough and everybody gets dunked on.
Some are just less spectacular than others.

Martellus Bennett: Professional Moron

2009-07-17T05:46:02Z

Dallas Cowboys back-up tight end hasn't been selected All-Pro just yet due to his playing ability, but his off-field antics on You Tube's Marty B-TV might soon earn him All-World Idiot honors.
Already reprimanded by team officials for comments made on You Tube against African-Americans and gays, Bennett and his brother Michael (a Seattle Seahawks rookie) hit a new low this time with their Black Olympics.
The events included fried chicken and watermelon-eating contests along with a Kool-Aid drinking contest with both of the aforementioned idiots mugging for the camera.
A college-educated athlete couldn't possibly be this ignorant of the struggle it took for African-American athletes to reach their present status, could they?
Well, if his current behavior is any indication, whatever level of education (outside of football) Bennett received down in College Station was largely wasted on him.
In a perfect world, if he's ignored long enough, Bennett would pack up his video camera and concentrate on being a better football player instead of a sucky comedian.
Sadly though, the lack of attention would probably just cause him to act out more since he's just seeking publicity in the first place.
I would never cheer for a professional athlete to be injured. But I hope there's a very clean, yet still vicious, bell-ringing, snot-bubble inducing hit out there with Bennett's name on it once the season starts.
Maybe it's the only thing that can finally knock some sense into him.

Bennett in front of a camera as usual - always the wrong place and always at the wrong time

South Beach not so infamous after all

2009-07-08T12:12:32Z

Right before the wife and I decided to go sightseeing along South Beach, my new relatives warned me about "infamous" South Beach and to grab a pair of wraparound sunglasses so I wouldn't get caught taking in the sights -- if you know what I mean.
"It'll be just like what you see on CSI: Miami," they said.
Not so much.
Seeing is believing and to be perfectly honest, there really wasn't a whole lot out of the ordinary to see.
Sure, there were bikinis, but nothing incredibly unusual.
In fact, the two most infamous things I experienced was the $50 one restaurant wanted to charge for a margarita (2-for-1 they said) or the $450 they wanted at a tattoo parlor for some ink that would have cost me half as much back in the Lone Star State.
Now maybe Sunday just wasn't the day for South Beach freakiness.
Or maybe, like a lot of things, the hype is usually bigger than the actual event.
So in the final analysis, the natural scenery won out over that other scenery.
Oh well...

Who the heck are the LandSharks?

2009-07-07T12:09:20Z

I've found that seeing a stadium on television is one thing, but up close and personal is quite another.
That's the feeling I got when pilling up to the former Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium, which is now known as LandShark Stadium...for the moment.
Already not much to look at on the outside - with a really unfinished quality - it also has that new name to deal with.
After all, who are these LandSharks?
Is this a take on that old Saturday Night Live skit?
Will Chevy Chase be involved in some capacity?
The name change itself is so new that the sign outside the stadium remains unchanged:

But there's a reason for that. And it's not because the new team on the lease folded or moved.

According to Wikipedia: The Miami Dolphins have a new naming rights deal with Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and Anheuser-Busch InBev's joint brewing project, Land Shark Lager, which renamed the facility "LandShark Stadium." The sponsorship deal is reportedly for eight months and the name will revert to Dolphin Stadium in time for the Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl, possibly to be replaced by another sponsor name if a deal can be secured before that time.

It would be really easy to bemoan how nothing is sacred anymore or how far people - even professional sports franchises - will stoop for a buck.
But I won't do it - especially in this economy.
So, Parrotheads rejoice!
Your leader and #1 Dolphins fan has his own stadium...for eight months.

Steve McNair: RIP

2009-07-07T03:42:44Z

Most media outlets are maintaining a respectful distance from the Steve McNair story -- at least as far as his life off the field is concerned.
After all, it is a sad story.
McNair was a great quarterback and an absolute terror to anyone in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. Air McNair was 12-5 all-time versus the Steelers with five season sweeps (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2006) with a well-deserved reputation as one of the toughest quarterback to ever take the field.
Is he a Hall of Famer?
No.
He just doesn't have the numbers to be in Canton despite his toughness and status as a pioneer at the quarterback position.
About a week from now, the aforementioned restraint being shown by the national media should have just about dissipated and all the ugly details about the 20-year-old girlfriend and exactly what McNair's marital status was at the time of his death will overcome today's feelings of respect.
And then the story will be even sadder.

Football Paradise

2009-07-03T12:18:18Z

In Texas, football is king.
But, in Florida, it's something more.
When you hear about the constant stream of blue-chippers coming out of Florida every year that surpasses Texas, it's somewhat confusing when you consider the sheer size of the Lone Star State.
But, all you have to do is go to an Optimist Football League practice to see the difference.
I won't ruin it here -- because I plan to use it for my next column -- but there's something to the weather and the level of instruction they receive from age four that gives them a definite edge.
After seeing that, it's easy to understand how Florida surpasses both Texas and California in the quality of their players.
It also makes understandable how Florida, Florida State and Miami have stayed at or near the elite level of college football for so long by simply keeping the best of the state's players at home.

Here's a shot of some of those future blue-chippers after practice Thursday at Bunche Park in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Miami Wet, Days 1 & 2

2009-07-02T18:48:35Z

While the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain, the rain in Miami falls everywhere.
Two days into a little getaway with the wife, the rain has been relentless. Every day at around 2 p.m., the skies open up and Mother Nature lets Miami-Dade County have it with both barrels.
But, all hope isn't lost.
The humidity here is so intense that even after a good concentrated rain, the humidity soaks up all the moisture like a sponge.
So, besides the mandatory tourist stops, I'm planning to go see where the Orange Bowl was and where Pro Player/Dolphin/Landshark Stadium is now.
Also, for your humor needs, I'm attaching a photo of me in my "I'm obviously a tourist" hat. Laugh if you feel the need to do so...

Peace, Out to The Thriller: RIP

2009-06-26T19:01:46Z

Back in December of 1983, a group of U.S. Air Force basic trainees and a Training Instructor sat together in the lounge at the 3707th Basic Military Training Squadron.
But there was no shouting or standing at attention that night, just a group of people watching a relatively new television station, MTV, for the premiere of Michael Jackson's new music video,"Thriller."
We all sat riveted as the King of Pop escorted vivacious former Playboy Playmate Ola Ray (who would later sue Jackson in a dispute over royalties) from the movies and through the world's best-choreographed graveyard before Vincent Price dropped in for a cameo.
To this day, I still wonder how they convinced Price to use the phrase, "yall's neighborhood" in what Wikipedia later described as his "sinister rap," but it made for a good night and an oasis of calm in a sea of military discipline.
And even though Jackson lived to become a sad parody of himself, he was great once.
Especially that night in December 1983.
RIP MJ.

Blazing Heat

2009-06-23T22:02:45Z

In light of all the allegations of steroid use in Major League Baseball, there's just not a whole lot of sympathy left for its players.
But, if you ever feel like softening your approach, just stand outside for a second around noon. Now, imagine having to be out in that heat for two or three hours, running and sweating.
Sure, it's easy enough to say that they certainly make enough money to be inconvienced a bit. But, take heart in the fact that on 100-degree days, the heat makes them earn every penny of those extravagant salaries.

Oil Bowl Blues

2009-06-14T20:21:01Z

It would have been a good game, but now we'll never know.
Halfway in-between Dallas and Wichita Falls, the sky began to darken Saturday evening as a storm system rolled into the Texoma area and sat down seemingly directly over Memorial Stadium.
The lightning crackling all over the sky made it abundantly clear that it was far too dangerous to play the game, so for the only the second time in 72 years, there was no Oil Bowl.
A game with so much promise is now doomed to be a footnote in Oil Bowl history.
What happens years from now when one of the players on the Oklahoma or Texas roster tastes success in the NFL or in some other endeavor?
Can they become part of the Oil Bowl Hall of Fame based on their selection for a game Mother Nature took away?
Perhaps the coaches - Mike Chaney of Alvord and Greg Gothard of Velma-Alma - put it best after the after the game when each talked about getting to work with the kids and building new friendships with the players and coaches.
That's the best legacy of any All-Star game and the one tangible thing you can take away with you - even if there is no game.

Federer and Graf

2009-06-08T16:48:01Z

Back in the early 90's, Steffi Graf had the same kind of problem with Monica Seles that Roger Federer recently experienced with Rafael Nadal.
Seles appeared to eclipse Graf, especially when it came to Grand Slams. From 1990-1993, Seles posted a 3-1 record against the German and her frustration -- much like Federer's as of late -- was palpable.
Then, Seles' career changed forever after an on-court attack by a crazed fan wielding a 10-inch-long knife.
Seles was never able to return to her pre-1993 form and Graf reclaimed her position as the dominant women's player in the world.
Federer was able to achieve the career Grand Slam this past weekend by winning the French Open, which he had never been able to do because of Nadal. But, since Robin Soderling upset Nadal in the fourth round, Federer's road became somewhat easier.
Ironically, it was Soderling who Federer dispatched to win the open title, so perhaps (to some) the point is moot.
Unlike Seles, Nadal will be back at full strength for Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
But, for now, Federer can breathe easy.

State-Bound

2009-06-06T19:04:50Z

Windthorst wins 11-1 over Blue Ridge and heads off to next week's state tournament.

Region II-A Final Update, Game 3, 7th inning

2009-06-06T18:51:04Z

Windthorst leads 11-1 in the top of the seventh and unless Blue Ridge has an 10-run comeback in them (and they don't appear to), the Trojans are headed to the state tournament.