The Saints-Hoosiers Connection

I'm watching the New Orleans-Atlanta Monday Night game tonight, and noticed that a couple of former Indiana University players are playing major roles for the Saints.

Second-year corner Tracy Porter (above) is established as the starter on the right side of the field. Porter was one of the two most important players in the 2007 (fluke) bowl season, not only racking up a sick amount of INT's (16 for his career) but also acting as one of IU's special teams studs, along with Marcus Thigpen. He actually holds the IU record for interception return yardage, with 413 yards.

The Saints took him in the second round in 2008 and he started right away before a wrist injury put him on the IR, ending a promising rookie season.

This year, he's been a legitimate factor at corner, with two picks (one returned for a TD), and 7 pass deflections. He is thriving in new coordinator Gregg Williams' aggressive scheme along with the rejuvenated S Darren Sharper and LCB Jabari Greer.

***Porter just made his 3rd INT of the year in the clutch, picking off a pass intended for Tony Gonzalez at the one yard line in the 4th quarter. Jonathan Vilma (The U!) tipped the pass and Tracy fingertipped it about a foot from the ground. Huge play!***

But Porter isn't the only former Hoosier making plays tonight. Anybody who was here for the Gerry DiNardo Era has got to remember the other superstar wideout of the 2000's, the guy whose records were broken soon after his departure by James Hardy. That's right, it's the little fella, Courtney Roby! (pictured)

He had 170 catches for over 2500 yards at Indiana, but has bounced around in the NFL (Titans, Bengals, Colts, Saints), finally finding a niche as a kickoff returner. After being ignominiously cut by the Colts earlier this year, Roby was acquired by the Saints, who clearly know a good thing when they see it.

In the Monday Night spotlight, he has returned 3 kicks for 88 yards and a sweet 29.3 yard average.

Porter and Roby are part of a solid Saints cadre of Big Ten alums including Drew Brees (Purdue), Will Smith (Ohio State), Pierre Thomas (Illinois), and first round rookie Malcom Jenkins (TOSU), as well as LT Zach Streif (Northwestern).

With such a relative handful of Indiana alums in the NFL (I bet you can name almost all of 'em if you think hard enough), it's nice to see these guys playing well for one of the league's best teams.

Proof positive that IU can recruit and develop big-league caliber talent just as well as some of the prestige programs, and another reminder that our current coaching staff is probably wasting the college years of some future stars!

I Remember Way Back When...

After Week 8 in the NFL, the 4-3 Bears are just as much of a mystery as they were before the season started. Does beating the Browns 30-6 even count as a full win?

Anyway, I was looking at fantasy football stats and couldn't help but notice this little gem:

Cedric Benson: 720 yards (4th in NFL), 5 TDs (T-7th)
Thomas Jones: 704 yards (5th in NFL), 7 TDs (T-3rd)

Both former Bears RBs are in the Top 10 overall for the season in fantasy football. If you drafted them both, you are either insanely lucky or a genius.

Meanwhile...

Matt Forte: 408 yards (18th), 3 TD (way down there)

Forte, who was going as high as third in some drafts this year, is barely cracking the Top 100 in my league.

And, to rub it in, the guy who we should have drafted, Ray Rice...

Rice: 525 yards (9th), 4 TD, 38 rec, 349yds, TD ... is leading all NFL players in total yards from scrimmage, as well as crushing every other RB in receptions and yardage. Rice went twenty picks after Forte last year.

Jerry Angelo, I hope you are paying attention. Chicago could easily have at least one of these monster running backs in the navy blue and orange right now. Instead we are stuck with Garrett Wolfe, whose NFL ceiling is best expressed as "Homeless Man's Warrick Dunn," except without the toughness, as our backup.

I would love to get into a fantasy league against Angelo - he can pay a premium for Forte, while I get Jones and Rice in the 4th and 8th rounds. Good deal.

Indiana At Iowa 2009: What Just Happened?

My fellow Armchair Superstar Noffke was at Kinnick Stadium yesterday, so maybe he can answer this question better than I; How on Earth did Indiana, up 21-7 and knocking on Iowa's door at the 4 yard line, manage to lose yesterday?

Giving up 28 fourth quarter points, that I can understand. Donnell Jones, not really a shutdown corner at the best of times, was doing a solid job playing one-armed for most of the game, but he was going to get burned on tackling eventually.

Colin Taylor took over Nick Polk's safety spot for good with two INTs, but it was still his first start. Against the fourth-ranked team in the nation, a banged-up and unseasoned secondary is a recipe for disaster. Also, Austin Thomas (20) is a liability in coverage over the top, as Iowa's Marvin McNutt so eloquently displays here. (AP Photo)

But how do you not give the ball to Darius Willis deep in the red zone with a big lead and let him try three times to pound it in? Worst case, you end up with a field goal. And a 17 point lead. And the momentum. And he already had a 4-yard TD in the game.

The Hoosiers are trapped between Big Ten officials who seem to absolutely hate the Cream and Crimson (see: IU vs. Michigan) and a coaching staff that is bound and determined to choke away any sort of lead that their very talented team gift-wraps for them.

29-28 at Northwestern. 29-26 at Michigan. And now 42-24 at Iowa.

This sucks for Willis, Doss, Belcher, Kirlew, Middleton, Ray Fisher, Justin Pagan (pictured - gotta love that 'fro - it's helmet-proof!), the Replogle Bros, and every other talented player on this team that deserves much better.

Tuberville in 2010. Anybody in 2010. I'm hearing it all over town; Bill Lynch is a coordinator at best. He's a nice guy, and we're trying really hard not to bash him here, but come on. Fred Glass has to do something, because it's not getting any better, despite the player's best efforts.

I got a ton of texts yesterday while Indiana was up. "Can you pull it off??" "Oh my god! Indiana's going to win?" And the whole time I was responding "No. This game is over. There is no way Indiana wins."

For a while I thought I might be wrong and end up eating my pessimism like a bitterness sandwich, and that would have been great if Indiana had actually pulled it off.

Instead, I just gotta say - I told you so. Now let's get a coach who can hold his team together when things get tough.

For those of you who think that going 7-6 and getting to a bowl after Hep's death counts as holding a team together, I would argue that A) The players and Mrs. Hep had more to do with that than Lynch did and B) that team underachieved anyway.

They had the talent and the chances to go at least 9-4. Maybe if they had a coach with the stones to keep the reins tight on his blue-chip, drug-loving QB, they could have.

Similarly, IU had a golden opportunity to beat Iowa yesterday and save this season. Instead it's just another might have been in a season full of 'em.

The Rick Reilly Suck Files

Everybody has a media member (or six) that they just can't stand. Whether it's their political perspective (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity), know-it-all style of announcing (Joe Buck), or know-nothing style of announcing (Troy Aikman), these guys drive us nuts one agonizing performance at a time.

Sportswriters are definitely eligible for this category, too, and I am pleased to announce that I have found my Worst Sportswriter Of 2009!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's ESPN's Rick Reilly! Here's an excerpt from his latest P.O.S. White-Collar Suck Up Article, not surprisingly starring America's New Golden Boy, Matt Barkley;

On Saturdays, Marvin has to do chores at the frat. On Saturdays, Matt has to do chores for the football team. Like beat Ohio State and Notre Dame. On the road.

When he's done at the frat, Marvin runs to the games and sings along with the marching band. His favorite song is "Tusk." Matt doesn't sing along with the marching band, but we assume No. 7's favorite song is "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, played by the SC band at key moments in Trojan games.

Excuse me while I go vomit.

Some people may dislike Peter King for his naivete and Favre butt kissing. A lot of people think Mark Schlereth is awful. And I agree. But for sheer nauseating pandering to the country-club megachurch Beemer/Soccer Mom SUV set, ya just can't beat Rick Reilly.

How 'bout that 47-20 beatdown at Autzen Stadium yesterday? I've never loved Oregon more. Not that ESPN would ever send Reilly out of his cushy comfort zone to cover a scruffy li'l QB like Jeremiah Masoli. But who needs that kind of crap when you're penciled in to the Rose Bowl?
So... I'm wondering. Who drives you nuts in the sports universe? Am I being too hard on poor old Reilly or does he deserve this? And how on earth did I manage not to mention Pam Ward in this article?

Top Chef Stats: Who's For Real?

Wikipedia has a great and detailed statsheet on every Top Chef season - you can find the main page here. I thought I'd take a quick look at this season's Final Six and how some of them stack up to past contestants. Going by the authoritative Noffke Power Rankings, here they are:

Kevin "Red Beard" Gillespie - 4 wins, 6 total top finishes, 4 quickfire wins. One low.

Michael Voltaggio - 2 wins, 8 tops, 1 QF win, one low.

Bryan Voltaggio - 3 wins, 6 tops, no QF wins, no lows.

Jennifer - 1 win, 5 tops, 3 QF wins, two lows.

Eli - 0 wins, 4 tops, 1 QF win, one low.

Robin - 0 wins, 1 tops, 2 QF wins, three lows.

A couple of numbers jump out at you right away. First off, Kevin and Michael have been pretty dominant this season. Kevin's four elimination and four quickfire wins lead both of those categories. Meanwhile, Michael's eight times in the top category for eliminations is pretty huge.

His older brother, on the other hand, has been a model of consistency. With three elimination wins versus zero times on the bottom, he has been the safest bet of any contestant. At the same time, he has no quickfire wins and fewer times in front of the judges for the right reasons than his li'l bro.

Jennifer's three Quickfire victories trails only Kevin in that category, but her two-in-a-row in the bottom indicates a downward spiral reminscent of Jamie from last year.

On that topic, here is who our top contestants most closely parallel from previous seasons.

Season Two's Sam won three Quickfires, but by the six-contestant divider had many more low finishes (three) than Redbeard, plus only one win and five top eliminations. Season Three's Trey won three elimination challenges by Episode Eight, but was shut out in the Quickfires. Harold from Season One, arguably one of the most dominant competitors from past seasons, had just one win before the final, and only two total QF's.

Looking at these numbers, it's pretty amazing how consistent the top three this year have been. The best comparison for any of them can be found in S4's Richard Blaise, a personal favorite of mine. Through the six-elimation episode, Blaise had three wins and five high finishes to go with three QF wins, but also had a pair of bottom finishes.

On the opposite end, it's worth noting that bottom finishes don't necessarily doom you. Season One's Tiffani made it to the final following two straight bottoms (pay attention, Jennifer!)

And the chef I most compare to Robin, S4's Lisa, had SIX times facing elimination before making it to the final, with only one win out of two highs, and not a single time in even the top three of a QF.

So a couple of things stand out here, after this half-assed analysis.

First off, the Voltaggios and Kevin are easily the best chefs in Top Chef history, statistically speaking. Nobody has come close to these three in consistent high achievement.

Secondly, Robin doesn't deserve to still be around, but Angry Dyke Lisa deserved to be around even less a couple of years ago. This just goes to show that creating drama will make you stick around even when your food hasn't pulled its weight.

I'm looking forward to a great final as the Brothers Volt go head to head to see who gets to try and knock off Redbeard from his deserved throne as the finest chef in TC history.

Bob Knight Declines Indiana HOF Invite

Story at ESPN.

I definitely had high hopes that The General would come back for this honor, and at first was pretty upset that he was turning it down despite the fact that nobody who sent him packing is still in power at the University, unless they're a trustee.

But I guess his reasoning, that it would be a big news story and detract from the other honorees, one of which is his longtime friend and fellow legend Jerry Yeagley (he coached the IU soccer team to six national championships, I believe), is pretty legit.

Still, I would love to see a reconciliation between Knight and Indiana sometime down the road. It's too bad it won't be this year.

Hey-a! It's-a the Euroleague! I Want A Pizza!

... from our overseas correspondent Alec Kinczewski, an exciting slice o' Euroleague basketball action. Bonus points if you can identify two American expats and where they went to school.