Tim Brewster has been a popular topic the past two weeks. Between the Minnesota Gophers football team losing at home to (currently) lowly Illinois, and barely squeezing out a win against I-AA team South Dakota State, spirits are not exactly soaring among the Gopher faithful (yes, I know I-AA doesn't exist anymore, but I'm ignoring that just like I ignore the BCS was of deciding champions). I certainly can't say that I am happy with how the team has performed this year, and I definitely can't figure out why the switch was made to running a pro style offense while keeping Adam Weber behind center. He was very good as a spread quarterback. Pro style has lowered his overall numbers, while putting a magnifying glass to his already pesky interception rate. I like Weber, but I don't think he is being put in a position to succeed.
As for the call to fire Tim Brewster, I'm not quite on board with that yet. He was hired because of his recruitment skills. There are some questions as to whether or not he has recruited up to the reputation, but regardless, a coach who is put in position because of recruiting, needs 4 to 5 seasons in place to really see the whole picture. If the Gophers fare worse next year than this year, then it will be time to move on, but if they show any actual signs of taking steps forward, then a 5th year would be warranted. I know this position isn't popular among many Gopher fans, but they have been Bowl eligible the past two years. Bowls are pathetic now compared to what they used to be, but it's not as if Glen Mason brought the team to January Bowl during his way too long tenure.
Give Brewster another year, and if they don't come out with a winning Big Ten record, start looking for the next coach, now that there is a nice new stadium & wonderful facilities to use to entice the big names that have turned Minnesota down in the past. Maybe Brewster is a good recruiter, but doesn't know what to do with the players once he gets them. All the more reason to keep him a 4th yr - give the new coach great freshman - senior players to turn into a winning team.
Now for the Strandom thoughts:
- Andre Agassi has taken a lot of heat from many different walks of life, about the revelations in his new autobiography "Open" but the thoughts from Martina Navratilova have been puzzling. She compared Agassi to Roger Clemens, for using the drugs & not coming clean when given the chance. Ok, where to start...Roger Clemens is accused of using performance enhancing drugs; ones that give people a competitive edge over other athletes. Andre Agassi used Crystal Meth, a drug that is an advantage only if one wants to join Oasis' Noel Gallagher in trying to break the world record for consecutive hours awake without sleeping. As for Andre not telling the truth, he is well aware that it was not right for him to react the way he did then, writing the letter to the ATP tour & lying about how ingested the drug, but he's telling the truth now. He is a very private person, but he is not just hiding behind the book now, he is going out & doing the interviews and facing people. Perhaps Roger Clemens could learn something from Andre Agassi about how a star athlete should respond to their past transgressions.
- The Timberwolves are bad right now; worse than any of us could've imagined. For the first 2 weeks or so, they were hanging in the games, giving it a good fight the whole way. Now they seem to be outmatched as soon as they step on the floor. I think it's just a wee bit too early to start jumping to conclusions though. I believe Kurt Rambis will be an excellent coach, and I believe the Wolves have a few of the pieces that will get them where they want to be down the road. But I also believe that (like most everyone else) that they have a long way to go in terms of needing more talent on the team. I don't want to see them abandon the offense Rambis is trying to teach, just so they can win a few more games this year (and to appease young players who are in no position to be complaining about what systems the coach is using). I would prefer to see them learn it for the future, while in the meantime, increasing their odds for a #1 pick and hoping that just once, the ping pong balls will drop their way. They can't be cursed forever...can they?
- Gonzaga at Michigan St. on Tuesday night showed me a lot of things about the young Bulldogs team that will be calling the "Baby Zags" or the "Bullpups" during this season. After losing 5 seniors (Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytvelt, Micah Downs, Ira Brown & fan favorite Andrew Sorenson) as well as sophomore Austin Daye departing for the NBA, the Baby Zags have 9 freshman on their roster. They decided to redshirt David Stockton (you may have heard of his dad John) and Sam Dower, out of Osseo High School right here in Minnesota. Thanks to the leadership of Matt Bouldin, and the strong inside play of redshirt sophomore Rob Sacre (who missed all last year with an injury) and freshman Elias Harris, this already looks like the toughest Zags team I can remember in many years, if not ever. It looked like a Big Ten game out there, and I mean that as a compliment. The "finesse" style Gonzaga had last year was fun to watch, but Heytvelt & Daye had no interest in getting bruises inside the paint; their strengths were in outside shooting. So while I went into that game just hoping the #2 ranked Spartans wouldn't blast the Zags out of the gym, I ended the evening bummed that GU couldn't hold on for a win, and feeling very optimistic for the season up ahead. Still a lot of freshman, which will lead to a lot of growing pains, but on their good days, there could be a whole lot of excitement too.
- I am very glad that Zack Greinke won the American League Cy Young award. No pitcher was more dominating this season than Greinke. He should not have been punished just because he played for the hard luck Kansas City Royals, and thankfully, the voters looked past the win-loss record. Wins should just be taken out of the equation, as this is for the best pitcher, not the most valuable pitcher.
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