Coach of the Year

In my estimation, choosing the coach of the year in the National Football League should not be a difficult task. Mike Tomlin is right there after missing Big Ben the first four games, going 12 and 4 during regular season, and now playing in the Super Bowl. Also, Packers Mike McCarthy(Greenfield native)has done an excellent job, considering numerous players are on Injured Reserve(IR),and should be under heavy consideration. But even though they do not give assistant coaches many awards, I recommend Coach Sean Kugler to be assistant coach of the year in the NFL. What a job Sean Kugler has done. Losing OT Willie Colon prior to the season and then losing another OT Max Starks early in the season, Kugler has made some phenomenal adjustments in moving offensive linemen around to different positions and preparing them for each game. A player that has gone under everybody's radar is OG Ramon Foster. Foster was an undrafted free agent a few years ago from the Tennessee Vols and he has blossomed into a solid player. Veteran Flozell Adams has done a nice job filling in for Colon at the RT position. And of course, OC Maurkice Pouncey had a Pro Bowl season during his Rookie campaign. The players play the game, but very humble Coach Sean Kugler deserves a ton of credit.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Institute the "Mercy Rule." The Mercy Rule for what. I thought the mercy rule existed for high school football. When a team gets up by 35 or more points, then the clock runs at a high school football game in Pennsylvania. Do it for high school basketball. Recently at a Seton LaSalle vs Brentwood High School Girl's Basketball Game, the Seton LaSalle Girls beat the Brentwood Girls 113 to 14. The score at halftime was 68 to 4. The WPIAL Board of Control members discussed the game after a recent meeting and perceived a lack of sportsmanship for the Seton LaSalle Girl's Coach. Let's not look for excuses, let's not put a blame on anyone, but all those involved need to find a SOLUTION. Set up a Mercy Rule in basketball. Once a team gets up by more than 40 points at any point during the game, then let the clock run except during a time out or the end of a quarter. Do not stop the running clock until the score drops below the 40 point differential. With only 8 minute quarters, a high school basketball game can go REAL FAST with a running clock. Whether it is basketball, football, swimming, or any high school sport, the sporting events in high school or any level are going to be competitive but there also needs to be a sense of sportsmanship involved.

Again This and That

What is all this fuss about talented Michael Vick proclaiming that he should be the MVP. My answer to that is let other people determine that, Mr. Mike Vick. Oh, by the way, if you are an MVP candidate, then why was your last pass of the Green Bay playoff game thrown too short and consequently being intercepted instead of being over-thrown and incomplete......New Pitt Coach Todd Graham did a nice job solidifying his recruiting in this region by hiring former West Virginia DB coach and former Michigan DB and assistant head coach in Tony Gibson. Gibson recruited this Western Pennsylvania region for both the Mountaineers and the Wolverines, did a great job here, and has an excellent rapport with all the high school coaches in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.......Just think, if the NFL went to an 18 game schedule, this weekend of January 15 and January 16 would be the final weekend of the regular season which means the Super Bowl would be held on the third Sunday of February. Many think, including myself, that 18 games is too long of a season.......Pitt running back Dion Lewis may be entering the draft 1 year too early. Too many underclassmen in recent years are entering the NFL draft too early and subsequently some of these underclassmen bubbles are burst and do not even get drafted..........WOW, how times flies, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training in just about 35 days. Time goes so fast that I thought Y2K was last New Year's Day and it was 11 years ago.