Anonymous Sportaholic

Time to face the facts

2008-03-08T23:13:00.000-08:00

I was one of the few hundred that marched in front of Gibson Hall back in 2003 in the hopes of swaying the board members to keep athletics at Tulane in Division 1A. Baseball was two years removed from a College World Series appearance, the football team had three winning seasons and two bowl wins in six years and basketball...well, it still stunk, but at least we had football and baseball to back us up.

Fast forward nearly five years later and we've seen a glorious 2005 baseball season...and not much else. Football continued to disappoint and could do no better than five wins in a season. Basketball persisted on its downward spiral. Hurricane Katrina brought sweeping changes not only to athletics but to the university as a whole. The Scelfo and Finney eras have since been replaced by the Toledo and Dickerson eras.

But I must admit; I am growing more and more tired of seeing them lose. I can only imagine how some fans that have been following Tulane for five or six decades feel. And it's not only the losing part; it's the way they play that gets them to lose. I don't know if they're either not talented enough or that they are talented but can't play together.

At this point, I wouldn't necessarily mind it if Tulane considered dropping out of 1A athletics if the football and basketball programs continue on their mediocrity swing over the next, say 7-10 seasons; by that time, they'll be zero fans paying for a ticket and coming to the games and it won't matter anyway.

This is not to say I am giving up; what I am saying is that, given how Tulane likes to pride itself on excellence and being a top institution, I find it odd that athletics doesn't count in that equation.

I mean, if you're striving for excellence in all parts of your university, shouldn't this also extend to your athletics teams? Why would a university accept anything less than the best from it's sports teams?

Athletics has been a substandard extension of the university for nearly 60 years. Either Tulane makes a concerted financial investment in the program with the intent of making it one of the best in the country, or they should just cut everything and save everyone the anguish.

Miss ya dad.

2007-11-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's been 10 years to the day when my father died.

The sadness never goes away. The regrets never die out. I was 20 years old then, a scared college senior who frittered away his first three years and whose future was in doubt.

10 years later, I've since graduated from medical school, met and married the most wonderful woman in the world and looking forward to a future even brighter than any I could have ever imagined 10 years ago.

I hope I have made him and my mother who passed over 13 years ago proud. I hope I have made my brothers and sisters proud, all 7 of them. I hope that I continue to be driven every day to be the man my father thought, prayed and wished I could be. I hope to be half the man my father was, which would mean I would be twice the man I thought I could be 10 years ago. I hope.

I love you dad. I hope you and mom are having the kind of fun in Heaven that you never quite did here on earth.

Failure

2007-10-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Failure, of any sort, is tough to deal with.

Unfortunately for me, I failed at something that I had no business failing. But sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade, and I failed at something I thought I prepared fully for.

It's difficult to accept. It's embarrassing. It's depressing.

But in the end, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing.

It was just a test. 130 questions. I didn't answer enough of them correctly. I have to wait 11 months to take it again. I suspect that once I get over these feelings of disappointment/embarrassement/depression, that I will get mad/pissed off and I will prepare in a manner such that I will outright destroy it the next time around. I think my goal will be to tear it a new asshole.

Gotta return the favor, ya know.

For right now, however, my confidence has taken a shot in the guts. Maybe I need a year to get it back. I was riding a high horse for a while, but the good Lord always knows when to get me back down to Earth where I belong. Some harmless, but much needed, humble pie. I mean I failed a test, but no one died, no one got hurt, no limbs were lost. I can still run, jump and walk without a limp. My mind is still vital. I have a wonderful wife. My family and friends are awesome. My training isn't interrupted.

Sometimes it's innocuous things like this that remind you to count your blessings and to say your prayers, not just for yourself but for others. It's also a reminder of just how much harder you have to work just to stay where you are. Take nothing for granted. Looking back, the main reason why I failed is simple: I slacked off. And what happens when I slack off? I fail. Bottom line.

So for all of the good things you give thanks for, there are also times, in retrospect, where you give thanks for the "bad" stuff.

Just not right now.

Holy Toledo!

2006-12-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

Well, Tulane certainly could have fared much worse.

I have no problem with Bob Toledo as the head coach. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I felt that Tulane would choose a head coach based on one of three criteria; 1)hotshot, but inexperienced, assistant, 2) older, forgotten, formerly successful head coach and 3) a former head coach out of a job due to a dubious past.

Well, they ended up choosing option number 2, with the pick being former UCLA head coach Toledo. Yes, he's no spring chicken at 60, but judging from his press conference performance today, I think he's still got some spring in his step and fire in his belly. I'm also certain that he wants to prove again that he's a good coach with a sharp offensive mind. All of these things he'll be able to do at Tulane in CUSA.

I expect recruiting to pick up again at Tulane with Toledo; while at UCLA, Toledo posted two top-10 recruiting classes in his last four seasons at UCLA (1999 and 2002). It's telling that since Toledo left UCLA has not posted any better than 17th in the recruiting rankings. Yes, I realize that recruiting rankings don't necessarily correlate with actual wins, but this tells me that Toledo has a chance to lure his share of talented recruits. He obviously won't get all, or even most of them, but he will get Tulane's share.

The biggest thing about Toledo is that he seems to be a real salesman, a shortcoming of Scelfo that, in part, contributed to the drastic decline of real attendance during the games. Scelfo was a good enough guy, but I never really warmed up to him. He seemed so guarded in public, which seems odd since he's indigenous to this area and should have been better at working the rooms and getting to know his fans/boosters/media. Hopefully, Toledo will put in a sales job unlike any other at Tulane, but also put forth a product that is both watchable and, in the end, victorious.

Fare Thee Well, Chris

2006-11-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

Well, goes to show what I know.

I had a feeling that Tulane would give Scelfo one more season to produce, but at the end of it all, they went ahead and let him go. Am I surprised? Mildly. Do I understand? Absolutely.

After eight seasons, Scelfo could never seem to build on the momentum of the 2002 Hawaii Bowl season. You could blame it on the subsequent review, the rash of devastating injuries the next two seasons and, of course, the bitch Katrina. Believe me, there are few coaches who could overcome those obstacles and expect to win much of anything. Just look at the differences in records during the first half of his career compared to the second half:

First four seasons: 20-27, two winning seasons, Hawaii Bowl win.

Last four seasons (post review, Katrina): 16-30, no winning seasons; take away 2005, and it's 14-21.

Clearly, the Tulane program reached a steady state...not really improving, not really gaining any kind of momentum. And if you look closely at that 2005 season, one could argue that, again, given Scelfo's track record against winning teams and on the road, that Tulane could just as easily had a losing record even if Katrina never hit. They played six eventual bowl teams and Mississippi State.

It seems to me that Scelfo, especially after Losman and Moore graduated, tried to protect against getting blown out rather than operating the normal offense. Tulane tried to run more, tried to burn more clock, tried to keep his defense off the field. The offense suffered, and the defense couldn't stop anyone anyway, so Tulane still lost. Gone was the exciting, no-huddle, productive offense, and in was the staid, predictable, run-pass-run offense that got nobody excited.

Also, the last four seasons, Tulane lost each season opener...killing rare, precious momentum. And this season featured one cock-block after another; the home opener loss to SMU, which destroyed student interest; the loss to UTEP, which would have gone a long way in helping Tulane get to a bowl berth; the loss to Marshall.

Frankly, Scelfo couldn't be successful in his own conference, and it didn't improve even after Louisville, USF and Cincy left for the Big East. The average margin of victory by conference foes in the six losses Tulane suffered this season was by 24 points. 24 POINTS!

I thank Scelfo for being such a stand up guy, an obvious player's coach, someone many football players looked up to. But it seems though, in the end, he was never ready to take on a head football coaching job, and he never learned how to survive a job at Tulane.

I'm back.

2006-11-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, sorry it's been so long. Lotta stuff going on. Moved to Carolina. Started a new job. Got hitched...I guess that's about it.

Here's a few personal thoughts about the past four months in the world of sports and entertainment:

1. Scelfo gets one more season. The guy basically gets 2005 for free, so 2006 can be seen as sort of a regression from 2004. Should have beaten SMU, could have beaten UTEP...that puts Tulane in the 6-win range, but they're at 4 wins now and will likely lose to a decent Tulsa team on the road, and you know Scelfo and road wins don't go together.

But I honestly think, after 8 seasons, Scelfo will likely be fired or will resign after the 2007 season. I don't see him winning 7 games and going to a bowl. It's troubling, nine-out-of-10 times, that it seems like the other teams always wins the head-to-head battle when it comes to head coaches.

I don't have a particular name for a replacement, but Tulane should go either one of three ways: A young, upstart coordinator who'll be looking to leave after three seasons if Tulane has any success; an older, somewhat forgotten head coach who's had success in the past but hasn't gotten any offers of late; a guy with a checkered past (Rick Neuheisel?) who's looking for a second chance.

2. The ups and downs of JP Losman. He plays for a bad team with a bad offensive line and has played badly himself. However, I think he'll have a longer and better career than his most recent Tulane-to-NFL quarterback predecessors simply because he's operating in an environment where the expectations are low and he's allowed to grow into the position. Shaun and Patrick were in vastly different situations and probably won't be given another shot at starting in the NFL unless injuries occur.

3. Rutgers. Good team, still couldn't carry the 1998 edition Tulane football Green Wave collective jock.

4. Britney Spears and KFed-Ex. A lot of guys are excited she's back on the market. Nonetheless, to me, she'll always be tainted goods...I mean, she carried Kevin Federline's seed, not once, BUT TWICE!

5. Brandon Spincer's death. R.I.P. young man. You will be missed.

6. The Saints. The more and more you look at them, they have the feel of an 8-8 squad. Fortunately, that might be enough to win the division this season. And who's body part would you have right now, Drew Brees's right shoulder or Daunte Culpepper's right knee?

Interestingly enough, both parts were repaired by the same surgeon (James Andrews). Somehow, the prognosis was better for Culpepper than it was for Brees before the season started.

7. I got married to the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world. As Borat would say, "I like."

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

And so it begins again...

2006-09-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

(image from wavefootball.com)

Tulane 32, Mississippi State 29

2006-09-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

It's obvious, y'all, that this team ain't going anywhere unless this guy plays near-perfect football:

Beat State!

2006-09-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

BUSH!

2006-04-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've said this before, and I'll say it again...

I LOVE BUSH!

I can't believe the year I finally move away from the city of New Orleans, the Saints go WITH conventional wisdom and choose the best player in the draft, who HAPPENS to fall into their laps.

To quote Florida Evans of "Good Times" fame:

damn, Damn, DAMN!!!!

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for the Saints and the city. Sure, it's just football, and it's just one player...but what a hell of a player! This is different than 1999 when the Saints picked up Ricky Williams (and no one else). Bush...this guy can do so many different things. Sure, he may touch the ball "only" 15-20 times a game, but this guy can take it to the house every single time (well, not EVERY single time...).

Financially, this guy will sell tickets, serve as the face of the franchise, and heck, maybe keep the damn team in the city. Who knows? I haven't felt this good about a Saints draft pick since...NEVER!

I know Deuce is still there, but honestly, his best seasons are behind him. Ever since that dynamic 2002 season where Deuce seemingly broke every 25th carry for 50+ yards, he's been overweight and slow. To prevent injuries, he's put on a lot of muscle, which has adversely affected his ultimate asset, which was his speed. Now he's coming off an ACL tear, how much slower will he be?

However, he can still be of good use to the offense, especially if they can utilize both Bush and Deuce in the backfield...can't really double cover BOTH guys, can you? I'm intrigued by the possibilities. Plus, Bush probably won't be able to handle 25-30 touches a game anyway, and Deuce is big and plodding enough now to be an in-between the tackles-type player. I like it.

All this, and we have New Orleans-West, I mean Houston, to thank. I honestly believe, with so many New Orleanians being housed in Houston, that Houston is not only starting to look like New Orleans, but they are starting to DRAFT like New Orleans too.

That's Better

2006-04-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this baseball weekend is huge, isn't it?

From 21-14 to 28-15, the baseball team is doing the things it did last season...timely hitting with runners in scoring position, solid pitching (especially in relief) and good defense.

About a week ago, Tulane was struggling at the plate and wasn't shutting much of anyone down from a pitching standpoint. Amazing what relatively mediocre competition (SFA, UCF, NWST and LSU) will do for your pitching and hitting.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Tulane needed one person offensively and one person defensively to really take charge, and since then two guys have done just that. Warren McFadden is putting the offensive load on his shoulders and has been a BEAST these last few weeks. Sean Morgan has dominated his last two outings...true, the rise of these players have come against weak competition, but you still gotta hit the ball and make'em miss, and that's what they've done (finally). Hamilton's managed to hit four homeruns in the last week too.

Now comes the real test against ECU on the road. Take two-of-three and the rest of the schedule plays right into your hands...home games against USM and Marshall, which you hope they can win at least four games from those two.

Tulane 12, LSU 5

2006-04-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Tulane actually played small ball in this game; lots of singles, some hit-and-runs, and a few stolen bases here and there. In a ballpark like Zephyr, Tulane will have to do those types of things towards the end of the season to have a shot at getting a decent seeding in the NCAAs. LSU had a couple of errors, but even without those errors Tulane still beats the Tigers handily. Nice crowd too; most of the seats looked filled and there a ton of people standing watching the game from the concourse/concession areas.

There was a particularly annoying Tiger fan in my section who was talking trash with a Green Wave fan. He basically had two answers to "shut-up" the Tulane fan: 1) "What's the score (it was 1-0 after the 1st)? and 2) Five! (as in national championships...or maybe that was as high as he could count).

Thankfully, Tulane put up a couple of fives of their own and shut him up...didn't see him in his seats after the 6th either.

I know, a meaningless midweek game watched by one of the largest crowds in the college baseball between two clubs who are no longer rivals...

As Tulane was giving it to LSU, I was trying to think up of some Times Picayune headlines for the next day:

"LSU gives Tulane pity, plays offense with only two outs in the inning instead of three..."

"LSU scores in more innings than Green Wave but still loses somehow..."

"Tigers send JV team to Zephyr, make it competitive game against Tulane starters..."

"LSU bus breaks down, team sends jerseys to Rummel high school team to use against Tulane..."

"LSU tries Bizarro game against Tulane, with righties swinging left and lefties swinging right, actually scores 5 runs..."

Baseball Struggles

2006-04-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

You sort of expected this, right?

Look, I'm just as bummed out as the next guy that the baseball team has struggled offensively, fallen out most of the rankings, lost to the likes of Nicholls State and Manhattan, got swept by Rice at home and isn't nearly as exciting to watch this season. But really, what did you expect?

Take into account Tulane lost, what, six or seven of its top hitters to either graduation or the pros, lost ALL THREE of its weekend starters from last year, is relying on a lot of freshmen and sophomores AND is playing in a park that turns most Tulane's hitters from homerun hitters to warning track stars.

Let's not even get into the whole being displaced for six months ordeal after Katrina or losing one of your top pitching prospects (Scooter Hicks) because of it. Yeah, let's not even get started on that...

Prior to this season, I felt this team was maybe a 35-win team, would scratch the underside of the top-25, was a #3 seed somewhere and would probably get knocked out early, and, as of TODAY, it's looking that way. Ideally, Tulane doesn't lose to either Nicholls or Manhattan and takes one game from Rice...that means a record of 26-12 and probably top-25 status. Wouldn't be too bad, right? Certainly not the gaudy record of last season, but taking into account all that's happened before and after Katrina, I think most realistic fans would take that record happily.

BUT they did lose to Nicholls and Manhattan and got swept by Rice, so now they're at 23-15 and facing LSU on Tuesday, which becomes a must-win for a Tulane team needing a quality win against a quality opponent in a bad way. I still think Tulane needs to win close to 35 games before the CUSA tourney and then win a game or two in the tournament to secure an NCAA bid.

So what has been the problem with Tulane this year? Obviously the lack of opportunistic (i.e. RISP) hitting has hurt this year, and there has been no shutdown pitching, no true, consistent #1 starter that you can just about automatically pencil in a W. Last year, Bogey started out hot, then Owings heated up towards the middle, and then JR finished strong. None of those guys are starting now, and no one today if someone you can rely on to give you seven dominant innings every Friday. Morgan has been good at times, but he's been very inconsistent from start-to-start. The bullpen has been good, although Latham hasn't been as efficient as he was last season.

Offensively, playing at Zephyr has zapped the club of power, but you would think that this effects both teams (and it has). So that isn't THE scapegoat; bottomline is there is just no dominant offensive player on this club. Emaus is struggling to find that freshman magic, but he doesn't really have anyone to protect him in the lineup. McFadden has been solid, but he's struggled with RISP. Hamilton has "suffered" the most with playing at Zephyr...he'd probably have close to 15 homers if he was playing at Turchin. His batting average is good though. The same goes for Paco...the power numbers and RBIs are down.

What would make a world of difference on this club is for one starting pitcher and one person offensively to each get hot. Ideally, this would be Morgan and any one of Emaus/Hamilton/Paco. Everyone is expecting Emaus to snap out of his funk, and he's just too talented to stay funky. Morgan has dominating stuff, but he has to put three or four straight starts together where he's close to unhittable (like this past Friday). If this can happen during the last four weeks of the regular season, Tulane will be a lock-solid NCAA tourney team, otherwise we may have to ask these guys to return their bonuses and play their senior seasons...

Random Thoughts

2006-04-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

If "Grey's Anatomy" wasn't already my favorite tv show on these days, it's now become my most favoritest. The last episode had Dr. Chris Burke (played by Isaiah Washington, pictured below) wearing a green Tulane t-shirt towards the end. Apparently this had been in the works since November:

http://www.tulane.edu/newwave/120205_grey.html

Nice.
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I know the baseball team is struggling, but when you lose four studs to the pros (Bogey, MO, Manzella and Dini) and some solid seniors (Holland, Barket, Madden), it's to be expected. Before the season started I figured the team would be around the 60% win mark, and that's just about where they are now. Getting swept by Rice sucks, but they are Rice, and they've got some pitchers who are two or three years away from the bigs.

Clearly, this team will do well to win 35 games prior to the conference tourneys. Then it's off to the NCAAs, where TU will be a #3 seed in Baton Rouge (probably). I don't see them doing much damage in the postseason either. You hate to look ahead to next year already, but the team's too young and there doesn't seem to be a guy like Owings who sort of grabbed control of the team last seaosn and carried them to the elite status. I hope I'm wrong though.
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Nearly eight months have past and LSU still doesn't have a hospital to call home. My guess is that LSU really has no plans to invest any significant money of their own in New Orleans and will start plans on primarily baseing their medical schools and programs in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, residents-in-training are plodding along and being told "things are getting better"...yada-yada-yada.
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The Final Four was ass. The first two weeks were awesome. The last three games...ass. And not the good kind.
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I may be wrong here, but Joakim Noah's name is probably pronounced similarly to the way people say Joaquin Phoenix's name (as in "Wa-Keem"). The guy is ethnic, comes from a French-born father, so the odds are his dad has never called him "Joe-Kim" like every CBS announcer and ESPN analyst did.

But, again, I may be wrong (but probably not).

I like Noah as a player, but he really has to stop screaming after every rebound and dunk. You get laryngeal polyps that way, ya know. He's been mentioned, with his performance in the tourney, that he's a potential #1 overall pick. In this upcoming NBA draft, that may well be the case. Noah has a nice game, is fairly athletic, but all he did was dunk. He's not strong enough to do anything against the tight ends playing in the NBA these days. Stay in school, get stronger and develop a jump-hook, and then we'll talk.

And if I could advise anyone to go into the draft, it would be Tyrus Thomas. He's a skinnier Amare Stoudemire.
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Life of an Intern

2006-03-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

It's tough when you're just starting out.

I'm roughly nine months in my intern year, and it never gets any easier. Just when you think you know something, you find out you really didn't know as much as you should have. And when you're on-call, you better eat when you can.

New Orleans in the post-Katrina world is different to be sure, but no more so after midnight...for all intents and purposes, the city shuts down, not so much because it's too dangerous, but because there aren't enough people to work all of the gas stations, Denny's and Super-Walmarts. It also doesn't help when the cafeteria in the hospital shuts down after 2pm.

After my upper level resident and I spent roughly 9 straight hours in the ER admitting patients, we look up and it's half-past 12am. We're absolutely starving at this point, but we still have two more patients to admit. "Dude, we gotta eat," my resident mumbles with his lids half closed. "I'll go run out and find something...don't give me money yet since I may not find anything open," I said.

So I leave the hospital and my biggest worry comes true...there ain't a damn place open in the Kenner-Metairie area. The only places open is an On The Run gas station, and the only thing remotely hot to eat are some frozen chili dogs. I pass.

I head back to the hospital and it's now half-past 1am. The only option now is to get some hot-pockets out of the vending machine in the cafeteria. We get there and the change machine is broken and none of us has any change or dollar bills. We head back to ER hunting for some ones, and we find a guy who graciously gives us $3.62 in exchange for a five...we feel it's a bargain.

So we trudge back to the cafeteria and throw a couple hot pockets in the microwave, which by the way doesn't have the revolving glass plate. We sit down and talk, mainly about which residents have left LSU already, who will leave, and whether or not we're staying. My resident says how this whole ordeal is placing a great strain on his marriage, compounded by a newborn and the possibility of internal medicine residents having to spend months in Houma, LA on rotations. Generally speaking, it's not the happiest of conversations, but we were happy to refuel and sit down in relative peace and quiet.

It's now around 3AM and we've still got two patients to see. We divide and conquer with the goal of getting two hours of sleep tonight. After all is said and done, we finish at around 5AM and manage a little over an hour of sleep...well, he got an hour, I got about half-an-hour as I listen to him snore in the next bed.

We get back up at around 6:30 and begin morning rounds; my toothbrush is still in my car since I didn't have time in the afternoon to put my call bag in the call room. I manage with my index finger to freshen my breath with some toothpaste. I absolutely reek at this point, by the way, I've got severe bed-hair and my coat feels like an anchor around my shoulders.

We finish seeing our patients and hit morning lecture, after which the ham and cheese hot pocket I ate at 2AM is just now getting it's revenge on me. Not a pretty site.

My staff rounds us up and we start seeing patients. On the whole, we did okay with our management decisions; unfortunately one my patients, as I suspected the day before, ended up with a diagnosis of cancer and pneumonia. With our workload, we don't leave the hospital until after 3:30PM; we're absolutely spent and utterly useless at this point. Actually, this is a good thing since we're too tired to worry about the future and too sleepy to remember the night before.

I get to bed around 8PM and sleep straight through till 6AM the next day. I've got another three days off before I get back on call...I better pack an MRE now.

Basketball Matters Again

2006-02-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

Despite losing its last game by 21 to Central Florida tonight, Tulane men's basketball is beginning to gain relevance again in my everyday conscience. Yes, the team is still 9-13 after tonight, still lost a game to Division II (II!) St. Edwards this season, and still can't field five bonafide mid-level Division 1-calibre talent...but you've got to feel somewhat good about what Dave Dickerson has done and hopefully will do with this team.

Outside of Quincy Davis and David Gomez, you can't really say that Tulane fields a team that match up well with the cream of CUSA. I blame this squarely on Shawn Finney; for someone who we all thought could recruit when he was first hired, Finney really didn't do that good of a job, and Dickerson is reaping the benefits.

But hand it to Dickerson...he's taken what he's got and managed to coach Tulane into a mid-level CUSA team. While Katrina was a program crippler, the worst loss Dickerson suffered occurred when sophomore PG Taylor Rochestie decided to transfer to Washington State. His injury and subsequent transfer was a double blow to the program in the short term...Rochestie was one of those four-year guys that would have, in my mind, ended up being a special player in Tulane history after all was said and done. He's the type of player that Dickerson would have put the keys to the offense in his hands and said, "Go". Tough, wanted the ball in his hands at the end of games, could score in multiple ways, played like he had something to prove 24/7...oh well, I wish him the best in the Pac-10.

Now that I got that out of my system, I can now honestly say that, for the first time in about three years, I'm purposefully looking to see whether or not Tulane won their basketball game. Call me a fair-weather fan all you want, but you can't blame me; I mean, the first time I saw a Tulane game was in Perry Clark's 2nd season as head coach, and they had just beaten my then favorite team, The UNO Privateers, in double overtime at Fogelman. I went to Tulane during the Honeycutt-era. Going from THAT to the Finney era was unbearable. It was five years of bad, boring basketball.

Thankfully, Dickerson has put a little life back into the program. And even though Tulane will lose its share this season, at the very least they are winning most of their games at Fogelman (6-2 so far). Have five years of Finney-ball made us forget just how important that is? No matter who Tulane played against in the Clark era (and before, I think), you knew they had a fighting chance because of Fogelman, what with the student section questioning certain players IQs, and with 3,612 people sweating their asses off and screaming and stomping on the aluminum benches. I still haven't forgiven Finney for installing air conditioning in Fogelman...maybe one of the stupidest moves in the history of stupidest moves. That wasn't going to make people start coming to games, and it didn't make Fogelman any MORE intimidating did it?

Just writing about this reminds me just how much work Dickerson and the team must do to erase the last five years out of my mind.

National Signing Day

2006-02-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

I gotta admit...Tulane did a lot better than I thought they would.

Five months ago, you thought the program was dead.

Three months ago, you thought the program would sign, at best 10-12 warm bodies featuring 5'10", 210# defensive tackles and 6'0", 150# receivers.

Today, you have to say that Scelfo and company exceeded EVERYONE's expectations.

The importance of signing 24 mostly Division 1-calibre athletes to play for Tulane should not be underestimated. This class, and the overall quality top-to-bottom, will help ensure that the program won't go backwards from a talent standpoint. On paper, this class is just as solid as any other Scelfo has signed.

Am I excited about any particular player...not necessarily. But I'm not pointing to any one player and thinking "Geez, TU must have been pretty desperate..." either. Analyzing the class, you see that Tulane was able to address particular needs...you don't see 8 running backs/athletes, you see guys that will most likely play the same position in college as they did in high school.

Hopefully, finally, Tulane addressed it's woeful placekicking problems with the signing of Ross Thevenot. Do you know the last time Tulane had good, reliable placekicking? Yes, not since 2001, in Seth Marler's junior season, has Tulane not hesitated to kick an extra point at any point during the season. I know Marler played four years, but his senior year was a sneak preview of the bad kicking to come for the Wave.

(We make fun of kickers, but damn are they important in winning and losing! There were at least four games in the last three years Tulane could have and SHOULD have won if the kicking was reliable; the ECU game in 2004 is an example. Think about that for a second...Tulane lost that game 27-25, and I'm certain that Tulane scored four touchdowns and only made one extra point. The Wave have basically played the last three seasons without a kicker to count on.)

Smartly, Scelfo also went back to what he knows best...the Georgia and Texas pipelines. With limited resources, I imagine Scelfo telling his troops, "Look, we don't have much time or money, so let's focus on these areas and hit them hard." Fortunately, it worked.

Through it all, Tulane was able to fend off the likes of Texas Tech to keep the "jewel" of the class, Flower Mound quarterback Kevin Moore. I don't know this kid, never spoke to him, but I like him already. He committed way early (prior to Katrina), and never, ever wavered, even when every opposing recruiter packed a CNN Katrina-highlight DVD with them on the trail. That's the kind of kid you want on your team, and eventually the type of kid you want leading your football team. I think big things are ahead of him at Tulane.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2006-01-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I know the two people who read this thing (me and Frank) were wondering when the next blog was coming. Well here it is, and it's going to be a long one.

Where do I begin? Well, I don't remember what I predicted would happen, but let's just say I'm not surprised at the measures taken by Tulane, which is really a microcosm of what most folks in New Orleans is doing these days; that is, downsizing. And really, you can't blame them for any of the steps they took...it's all about survival at this point. I'm not as angry that they canned the Engineering school, since I was occasionally teased about my school from their students (School of Arts and Crafts...very clever).

Seriously, I feel for anyone that lost their job/school, but this illustrates the harsh reality of the Post-Katrina world. And you know what? It's going to get worse before it's gets better.

Am I happy they managed to stay Division 1A? Sure, but like I said before, I wouldn't have been angry if they decided to do away with athletics, at least for the near future. If there is one thing you acquire in the Post-Katrina era, it's the ability to prioritize. Obviously Tulane (finally) realized the value of major athletics over the last six months, and smartly kept the only part of the school that showed a pulse towards the end of 2005.

Basketball still stinks, but at least they are very watchable. Dickerson has got these fellas playing good, hard defense, even though his team is outmatched 90% of the time. Fogelman should be a fun place to be again, since really there ain't much to do around the city at this time, and the students are better served to stick around campus after dark. To keep them coming back, Tulane must win, and Dickerson won't do that with this squad. Luckily, in basketball, you're only one or two stud recruits away from completely changing a program around. The question remains if any stud recruit will consider Tulane...that's where Dickerson is supposed to come in.

Non-Tulane stuff:

Allow me to speak momentarily about the crap I've got going on in my life. The LSU Health Sciences Center is, currently, in shambles. Let me break it down like this:

1. No Big Charity, no University Hospital
2. Massive faculty and employee layoffs.
3. No money coming in, lots of money going out.
4. Political infighting as to the necessity of a Charity system in New Orleans.
5. Commuting daily from New Orleans to Baton Rouge to work.
6. The residency programs seemingly last on the priority list.

Again, I am just one example of what dozens of residents and interns are going through right now, and the question is, "Should I stay or should I go?".

Balls of Steel

2005-11-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

Finally, a long, strange journey for Tulane football is over.

Now the questions will have to be asked: What will happen with Tulane athletics? It's a difficult, almost delicate thing to address seeing as how the university is faced with a crapload of changes, some that will not make many people happy.

As I said before...whatever decisions are made with athletics by the Board, as long as it is truly in the best interests of the university as a whole, is fine with me. Of course, I pray that TU stays 1-A, but then again I'm not the one making the tough choices. The more pressing issue is getting the students to comeback to the school...this includes the athletes.

My gut feeling is that Tulane will not drop football or basketball or baseball. The NCAA will, hopefully, recognize the hardships the university and athletic department are under and will allow Tulane to temporarily drop the non-revenue sports while it recovers. This will help alleviate some of the budget problems that come along with sponsoring these sports while also allowing them to keep the core sports intact. It's easier to bring back women's golf, swimming and volleyball in a year's time...it may be impossible to resurrect a Division 1-A football program.

Ideally, when the Board meets to discuss the university department by department, it will recognize exactly what the football team went through in the name of the school. These guys had to wait almost 3 months to get relief from their duties...they had to travel hundreds of miles every weekend, take care of coursework, fend off the vultures from Ole Miss, and be away from their families during a time when they should have been with them. This, all in the name of Tulane. Pretty ballsy stuff if you ask me.

At the end of the day, whatever happens, I really hope...that Tulane wins the courage ESPY next year.

So Sad

2005-11-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Navy game may rank right up there with the 70-35 humiliation against BYU in 2001 in the Scelfo era. Frankly, this is a tired team that looks like it is waiting out the last three games. Everything that has happened in the last ten weeks has taken its toll on the program. And you can't blame them...they've done everything they've been asked to do, they've competed in most games, should have won a couple more than they have, but in the end 11 road games and 24-7 uncertainty has drained the collective psyches of Tulane Football.

Maybe for a while football was the most important thing for these guys in the beginning...now it may seem like the least important. They'd like nothing more than a return to normalcy, but realize that will never happen.

But back to football...I understand Ricard's benching, even if Ricard himself may not. I think we've all waited for Ricard to go on a hot streak throwing the ball, like he did before he got hurt. But it hasn't come this year and it probably won't. Maybe his wrist is still bothering him, maybe it's the uncertainty of the football program's future, maybe he doesn't have confidence in the play-calling or his receivers...but nonetheless he hasn't been the quarterback the Wave needs at this point. He threw as many interceptions as completions against Navy...and he's thrown 7 in his last 71 attempts. I know you want to stick with your starter through thick and thin, but if the confidence is not there on either side, then it's a prudent move to see what else you've got.

I didn't see much of Scott Elliot in the game, but it seemed like he's fairly athletic in the pocket and can make the necessary throws. The pick he threw bounced off a receiver's arms, so that really wasn't his fault. At this point, with no hope for a bowl game, it's time to see what Elliot can give you as a starter. If Ricard is going to be the guy, he should be motivated to regain his job...if he goes the other way, then maybe he's not the man you want leading your team.

A Punch To The Gut

2005-10-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

It's one of those seasons where you can't wake up from the nightmare.

Finally, Tulane plays a game where they are in control for the vast majority of the game, only to succumb to a key turnover late in the game. For the fans, this is disappointing. For the players and coaches, this is just plain cruel.

Even though Marshall scored late to take the lead, Tulane still had enough time on the clock to at least move the ball to field goal range. But I guess after giving up two leads of 13 and 12 points, after giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half, and after throwing another fourth-quarter interception, that the desire to win is overcome with the reality of losing. Three-and-out, game over.

Once again, an inconsistent passing game, an anemic running game and mediocre special teams were the recipe for another loss. You know, it's been three years since Seth Marler graduated...and it's still a chore to lineup for an extra point. And again, problems with an extra-point ended up helping to kill the Wave in the end. Tulane does just about everything else right in the game...the defense scores, causes turnovers, and generally does a good job on 3rd-down.

I think it's safe to say that wholesale changes must be made on the offensive side of the ball. It's nice to see Nick Cannon get a shot in the game, and Scott Elliot warming up on the sideline. At this point, I think we know what we will get out of Ricard with the supporting cast he's got. The physical tools are clearly there, but the decision making, especially in critical situations, seems to be somewhat lacking. The lack of a stud running game is hindering his development as well.

The running game needs some legitimacy. It's probably too late to give Ducre a shot...I wrote in the past that he needed to be redshirted. But maybe now it's time to give him the ball, just to see how much of a difference-maker he is. The only thing is there are only four games left...do we burn a year from his career? Or do we save him for the future?

And then there are questions about the future. Look, at this point whatever the Tulane administration does as far as athletics is concerned will not surprise me. Keep it as it is, drop down a few levels, drop football, drop everything...nothing is outside the realm of possibility. Whatever decision is made, if it is truly in the best interests of the university, then we have to accept it. My feeling is that if Tulane can play all of its home games in New Orleans next year, whether it's in Gormley or the Dome, then it will be a favorable factor in keeping D-1A athletics. We know we've got an athletic director who can raise funds and galvanize a fan base...whether or not he's got the drive and determination to do it again, but this time on a much larger scope, is up for debate. Then there are recruiting issues, etc...

But the bottom-line is none of us can wring our hands about what may or may not happen in a few months. People in and from the city of New Orleans have all learned to live life on a day-to-day basis, and for our sanity, I think it's best that we maintain that way of living.

UTEP - Too Many, Tulane - Not Enough

2005-10-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's really hard to be down on these students and coaching staff considering the situation. Another week, another blowout. It still hurts though, and very hard to listen to (much less experience first hand).

There was, however, some good things that I saw from this team. Number one, it didn't take one momentum-turning turnover to knock them out of the game...it took three. That muffed punt return/fumble by Josh Lumar in the 2nd quarter with TU down 3 that led to the UTEP touchdown would have crushed the team in seasons past. But they marched right down on the next possession to the UTEP five...only to see Ricard fumble another red-zone touchdown away prior to halftime. Game over, right?

Nope. Right after halftime, they scored another touchdown to close it to 3, 24-21. The defense held UTEP on the next possession, and the offense got going with a completion to Damarcus Davis...only to fumble it away to UTEP, who scooped it up and scored. 31-21, and game essentially over.

Listen, I'm doing my best to see the bright side of things. I'm not going to go into the "These guys are going through heck" viewpoint, because quite frankly it's been well documented. I'm sure the team won't use it as an excuse, and if they won't, I won't.

(But we all know Tulane is playing every game without homefield advantage, which in college football is enormous. Then throw in the fact they will probably play in 11 different stadiums this season...essentially 11 road games, 11 nights where they will sleep on a foreign bed. Let's not underestimate these factors.)

The passing offense finally looked as good as it did towards the end of last season. I'm not surprised that Ricard took as long as he did to have the breakout statistical game he did last night. There is still a getting-to-know-you period going on with his receivers, and it looks like Bubba Terranova and Preston Brown will get the lion-share of the looks from Ricard for the rest of the season. And look ma! No picks!

Okay...I was dead wrong about Forte. Maybe it's a function of the offensive line not creating enough holes, or Forte not fast enough to break through those holes. But after five games, I don't believe he's the answer (and to quote Clock Killin' Corey Dillon in that Patriots' Visa commercial from last year), "Not today, not tomorrow...".

(Frank, stop saying "I told you so!")

Ofcourse, the fumbles...those evil fumbles, cost Tulane the game. Again, brightside...fumbles are correctable. They stink, they suck, but they are correctable.

The Houston game? Well, let's just say that there are some teams that, for whatever reason, have got your number. And Houston has got Tulane's.

Like I said before, it's tough to be hard on these guys. There's no measurable way to figure out how much all of the non-football aspects of their life have affected them on the playing field. Thankfully, the next five games will all be against teams that Tulane matches up well with.

Scelfo will play his second straight game against head coach looking for redemption (George O'Leary). UCF is better this year (but anything is better than 0-11, right?), and beatup Memphis pretty good. At some point, Tulane will be tired of being tired, and put together a solid game from start to finish. I'm calling the karma card and say that Scelfo and company will prevail at UCF.

JPizzle fizzle

2005-10-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Tulane has gained a reputation as Quarterback U in the last few years with it's last three all picked very high in the NFL Draft. But since Shaun King's glorious rookie season, none of the Green Wave alums have had any consistent success since then...

King's out of the league...

Ramsey was yanked as a starter after just 11 passes this season...

and Losman is playing so bad, Bills fans think Kelly Holcombe is the answer.

Geez, I'll bet Ricard is praying one of those guys pulls through at some point to save the Tulane name in the NFL.

I really feel for JP...he came in with some unrealistic expecations and playing behind an offensive line almost as bad the as the one he played behind at Tulane. You can see him just get progressively more and more scared with each snap. His cause isn't being helped by an offensive coordinator who can't figure out how to effectively use one of the best running backs in the league to help JP out.

If JP's going to be successful, Buffalo has to realize that, no matter how mobile JP is, that he's got no time whatsoever to look for any receiver running more than a 10-yard route. The Buffalo OL couldn't even contain a four-man Saints pass rush.

It's really dumbfounding that Mularkey put Holcombe in the entire 4th-quarter looking for "a spark" with the team only down 6 points. I know JP was struggling, but if you want him to be your guy, he needs to be in there precisely for these situations. And Holcombe was equally bad, turning the ball over, producing no points, and with barely an zip to the ball on his passes. So what if Moulds' and Evans' stats will be better with Holcombe in...you're not going to win more games with him in there.

Granted, JP has been bad the last three games, but he's faced the best D in the league (Tampa) and a D in the top-3rd of the NFL (Atlanta). Both teams know how to produce a ferocious pass rush...and seemingly both have better coaching staffs.

As bad as Buffalo has been, they've still got a chance because they're playing in an all-of-the-sudden weak AFC East. The Pats are in decline, the Jets are looking at a 6-win season, and the Dolphins are leading the division. Eight-to-Nine wins might get you the East crown.

TU 28, SLU 21

2005-10-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

It was just bad all around for Tulane, somewhat eerily reminscent of the near debacle against Northwestern State two years ago at Gormley. You've got another 1-AA team that can score some points, with some legitimate talent, playing against a struggling offensive team with a bumbling special teams unit.

Thankfully, TU pulled it out...listening on the radio, I really didn't have much doubt that the Wave would pull through. I mean, it's SELU...I've got mold in my fridge older than that program. It was bound to happen...I just didn't think it would take that long to put away the Lions.

Yes, Ricard had a bad game. When Ricard throws an interception, it's usually a really, really bad one. It's typically of the "in the endzone" or "deep in Tulane territory" type of interceptions. Now, there are no good interceptions...but some are better than others. Obviously, Ricard is not a guy that throws well on the run or under pressure. Most quarterbacks aren't very good in that setting, but Ricard seems to still be figuring things out. This is why I wish he could have played against Louisiville last year...it would have been great if he saw the ferocity of a pass rush that 'Ville gave Irvin. Those memories last a lifetime.

The offensive line didn't help very much in either pass protection or run blocking. I have to think, even as ordinary as Frank believes Matt Forte to be, that Forte's better than 2.0 yards per carry. The hogs have been less than impressive giving Ricard time or opening some holes for the running backs. As good as Christian Ducre may be, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have done much more.

The defense was stout against an offense that could put up as many points against many D-1A teams as they scored against Tulane. I really like the D, but there were one too many times when Larry Matson said, "And (Lions QB) Willie finds the receiver all alone in the endzone for a touchdown!".

And the special teams? Thank God for Izzy.

The win was nothing special, and if they are going to struggle, let them struggle against an SELU since TU will probably win anyway even if they play like ass for 55 minutes. I will say that I heard a bunch of new names playing in that game yesterday for Tulane...I wonder if the coaches weren't holding some things back against SELU with UH and UTEP on the horizon. Maybe the prime objective was to get some reps in, get the young guys some PT, rest some guys with injuries, and not give UH a whole lot to see for next week's game. If that were the case, then mission accomplished. If it wasn't, it's not going to be pretty over the next few weeks.

Tulane will continue the stadium tour of Louisiana next week when they play against UH on Cajun Field. If the offensive line shows up, I think Tulane finally repays the Cougars for the last two seasons of losses. If not, it's going to be another one of those 27-6 stinkers.

Tulane 31, SMU 10

2005-09-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back, and so is the Green Wave of Tulane.

I won't write much here, other than to say I'm tired of hurricanes and sleeping on other people's couches and floors. I slept in my bed for the first time last night and it was heaven!

As for Tulane, I didn't get a chance to see them on CSTV's internet coverage, but I heard and read they did well...all that with Rita about to smash into the LaTex coast. Amazing. Those kids deserve a bowl game in the worst way. Now that the Saints are back to their old ways, Tulane can really capitalize by getting on a roll. There should be a lot of interest if a 3-1 Tulane takes on an undefeated UTEP on a Friday night in Louisiana.

Again, Ricard's the man and he proved it (finally) on the road against SMU. Sure, SMU sucks, but they did beat TCU. With the hospitality they showed the athletic program during Katrina, and by whipping the TCU Frauds, they will always have homey privileges with me. Always.

But again, it's good to be back.