Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (One last goodbye to Bru McCoy...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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Tons of people on this site follow soccer on a regular basis and discuss it often. Not hard to skip over itThe soccer sh*t is hard to take. WGAS?
No mention of the Astros sweep of the A’s with a AAA lineup!
Phillies
It's not like a hoops team. So much focus on one recruit, especially not a QB seems like we still lack enough confidence in our team. I found the whole fly out to CA thing a dig to our current corp of WRs.
TH has it going on. Let's win big games, get our stars drafted and take in a handful of 5 stars each season of recruits.
TH has it going on. Let's win big games, get our stars drafted and take in a handful of 5 stars each season of recruits.
When it comes to overall team speed, how fast behind is the 2019 team from v the 2005 team?
When you start writing about Liverpool’s and Coutinhos and Klopps I feel like I just picked up a random Tolkien book and started reading it somewhere in the middle. I’ve heard of a soccer, but I’m not quite sure what one is.
Whats worse, this fake soccer crap or your incoherent political ramblings?Honestly, you have to be on the site for more than three months before you're allowed to talk to me with that kind of attitude.
Your inherent nature, to not only fight those who are you main paid subscribers, and alienate others is a real head scratcher.
Why?
Why?
Man, the 3rd round of Joshua-Ruiz was fantastic. After Ruiz went down the first time, Joshua hit him with a couple of shots that i thought were better than the knockdown punch.
Ruiz may be fat, but man, he's got an iron chin and his heart represents what the greatest Mexican fighters are all about. Joshua's got the body of a young Ali, and the fat man outlasted him.
Total Respect.
Seems like a great guy, too.
Ruiz may be fat, but man, he's got an iron chin and his heart represents what the greatest Mexican fighters are all about. Joshua's got the body of a young Ali, and the fat man outlasted him.
Total Respect.
Seems like a great guy, too.
I stopped reading after 10 months of anxiety. So that’s 10 months of soccer anxiety???
Congrats on the win Ketch. IMHO, best coach in the world right now. Color me envious.
would’ve been nice to not have most of the content be about soccer. in fact, it’d be nice if you and the soccer fans would keep it in a designated thread, so the rest of us wouldn’t have to wade through it in our attempt to read about the horns.
- Mar 14, 2007
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That reason is that To Kill A Mockingbird has been a part of approved school curriculum for many years.
Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for ten Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards in 1963; it won seven in total, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Outstanding British Film. In the years since, it has been recognised as one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema. The dramatic score by Maurice Jarre and the Super Panavision 70 cinematography by Freddie Young are also highly acclaimed. In 1991, Lawrence of Arabia was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the US Library of Congress National Film Registry. In 1998, the American Film Institute placed it 5th greatest American film on their 100 Years...100 Movies list, and 7th on their 2007 updated list. In 1999, the British Film Institute named the film the third-greatest British film of all time. It was voted among the 100 Greatest American Films by American Film Institute (AFI) in 1998. In 2004, it was voted the best British film of all time in a Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers.
Lawrence of Arabia (film) >>>>>>>> To Kill A Mockingbird (film)
In the final seconds of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, overwhelmed by the emotion that comes with 10 months of enough anxiety that you sometimes wonder if you're going to maintain even a touch of sanity, I found myself thinking about the story that dominated Orangebloods over the course of the last week ... Bru McCoy.
It's been only 17 months since the equivalent of a five-star wide receiver that ranked as the highest-rated wide receiver prospect in the modern history of the Rivals recruiting ranking was in the middle of his best season at Liverpool when he decided that he wanted out. A lot of you might not know the name of Philippe Coutinho, but he was regarded at the time by some as the best player on the Liverpool squad and with the Reds in the middle of a season that ended with a Champions League Final appearance, he decided he wanted out.
His family wanted to be in Spain. It was his boyhood dream to play for mighty Barcelona. There were suspicions that he faked a back injury months earlier in an effort to make the move come true.
Like Texas head coach Tom Herman, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp did his best to sell him on the idea of becoming the type of club legend that they might build statues of one day, but it wasn't enough. Coutinho wanted to go.
So, Klopp let him go. All he could do was give him the hard sell and if that wasn't enough ... if he just didn't want to be there ... then you have to let him go. The goals of the team were too big and Klopp's ambition for it was such that he couldn't let the unhappiness (and someone would say incredible selfishness) of a single player so much as derail it for a brief moment.
All of this brings me back to McCoy.
I'm not going to sit here and diminish his talent and value as a player because had he stayed at Texas, it's possible he could have emerged as the best wide receiver that the program has seen in a decade. His upside is through the roof. There's a reason why Herman and a group that included Sam Ehlinger went to California this week in an effort to convince him to return to Austin. You could contend that this form of desperation was on the verge of begging and in the end, it worked about as well as it does for a guy when he begs a girl that's on the verge of dumping him to stay, which is to say it not only didn't, but didn't appear to so much as create a pause in his path to departure.
Bru McCoy didn't want to be at Texas, which means as much as Herman was tantalized by his talent, it was time to wave goodbye and never turn back.
Period.
Like Klopp at Liverpool, what Herman is trying to build in Austin is bigger than any one player and in order to fully construct his vision, it requires total buy-in from everyone in the program. Your best players can't be disgruntled. Your best players can't want to be somewhere else. Talent matters, but perhaps not more than culture.
It's the reason why it didn't really bother me when Liverpool let Coutinho go 17 months ago. Either buy in or get the hell out of the way. From the moment Liverpool lost Coutinho, all it did was transform itself into an even better version of itself. Other players stepped up. Suddenly, players stopped standing around and waiting for the team magician to pull a rabbit out of a hat and a better, more complete version of the team emerged, so much so that it has scored more points in league play in those 17 months than any team in the league and it has now been to two consecutive Champions League Finals, finally getting over the finish line over the weekend.
While not directly an apples to apples comparison, Texas fans, players and coaches can't lose sight of the larger goals inside the walls of the Longhorns’ budding culture. What we're watching in year three of Herman in Austin goes beyond the value of any player, even a future bad-ass NFL one, because you can't put a price on valuing culture of individual selfishness.
Liverpool's success this weekend is proof of that.
No. 2 - One last thing on McCoy ...
Be at peace with his departure.
Whether he departed over homesickness, a girlfriend, tough Texas workouts, even tougher Texas academics, some combination of those things or perhaps reasons that have nothing to do with any of those things, the reasons for his decision are his and he's free to make them.
Once upon a time five months ago, Texas fans loved McCoy's inability to stick with a decision when the outcome favored the Texas football team, but now there's all kinds of judgment directed at him because he's done it again. Well, what can be good for the goose is sometimes good for the gander and the only thing that has changed about the young man at all is the direction in which he has allowed the wind to guide his decision-making.
There's no need to name-call. There's no need to make this incredibly personal. There's no reason to be a poor version of your best self.
Wish the kid well and put all of your focus on to the kids that are coming off of a Sugar Bowl win and desperately want to be here.
No. 3 - A big moment for Joshua Moore ...
I'm sure Joshua Moore wouldn't want to hear this, but as good as he might be, it's possible that he was never going to beat out McCoy over the long haul, which isn't an insult to Moore as much as it's an acknowledgment that McCoy has a ton of talent and if you're the Texas coaching staff and you want to keep landing Cali five-stars, you better play the ones you have.
With McCoy's departure, Moore suddenly has a window available to carve out a real place in this Texas offense heading into his sophomore season. Yes, true freshman Jake Smith might just be an immovable wonder boy in his own right, but for the moment, Moore has a big edge in experience over the incoming fish.
I'd suggest Moore memorize and embody this song. This is his shot and if he doesn't seize it now, he might not ever have a chance quite like this one again.
No. 4 - The leader of the Texas locker room...
I found it interesting that members of the Texas football team kept a low profile on social media with regards to McCoy all week long, yet when it was time for someone to send the first public message about the matter, it was the sophomore safety from San Antonio that issued the first salvo and once he did, it seemed like player after player followed his lead.
Sterns was essentially the unofficial official spokesperson on the matter for the players on the team.
Pretty ballsy if you ask me. It's the type of thing I'm convinced he wouldn't have been completely comfortable doing as a true freshman, but it would appear that he's more than comfortable in the spreading of his wings in year two.
Your best players being your best leaders is a good thing, so of all the things to take note of from the last week, this might be the most low-key important small development of them all.
No. 5 - Big Monday...
Without giving into hyperbole too much, I'm not sure it can be overstated that Monday's commitment announcement by Duncanville quarterback/athlete Ja'Quinden Jackson is potentially a really, really big deal for the Texas 2020 recruiting class.
Let's count the ways.
1. At worst, he's a state top 20 player and at best he might be one of the best pound for pound prospects in the state, regardless of position. A commitment from Jackson would give the Longhorns another potential high-level quarterback prospect in the class, joining Lake Travis' Hudson Card, but it would give them a versatile athlete that might eventually make an impact at the next level on either side of the ball.
2. In terms of the talent in the Metroplex in this class, the Duncanville duo of Jackson and Chris Thompson Jr. represents Texas' biggest chance of making an impact with the top players in this key recruiting area. Everyone knows that Dallas has been a hit and miss (but mostly miss) area for Herman in his tenure as a head coach, but landing Jackson would go a long way to muting that talking point because Jackson's reputation in the Metroplex with fellow players is as strong as any player from that area. His committing to Texas would be a very big deal.
3. Jackson's "intangibles" are through the roof. His profile screams future captain.
Prediction?
Ok cool. Hook'em.
No. 6 - About Shaka ...
Look, I'm not going to even begin to spin you a dream that the Texas basketball program is on the verge of soaring.
Hell no.
However, what I will say is that it's incredibly impressive that Shaka Smart was able to pull in an assistant coach with Luke Yaklich's reputation, given that Smart’s job status is on a year to year basis at this point. Who knows what it will mean moving forward, but if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards in college basketball.
It felt like Texas took a positive step forward with Yaklich's hire.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
BUY or SELL: Bru comes back?
(Sell) We can't rule it out, though. Obviously.
BUY or SELL: As with any project or business, the return on an investment takes a few years, if not longer. So, even with the McCoy and Evans bad news, the top five recruiting classes, NY6 bowl win, culture buy-in, it’s evident there’s an upward trajectory for Texas football with some serious cash flow positivity in the near future?
(Buy) I feel like this is a very obvious answer.
BUY or SELL: LSU -3 is a bad line by Vegas?
(Buy) I'd have Texas favored by five.
BUY or SELL: Bijan Robinson would be a top-10 player in the state of Texas and is capable of making us forget about Zachary Evans?
(Sell) He'd absolutely be a top-10 player/prospect in the state, but I'm not sure anyone is going to forget about Evans.
BUY or SELL: Logan Parr will be the best in-state offensive lineman in his class (when it is all said and done)?
(Sell) Maybe, but I'm not quite ready to declare that just yet.
BUY or SELL: The Texas football team will have more overall team speed this year than the 2005 National Championship team?
(Sell) Come on.
BUY or SELL: Zach Evans ends up regretting his comments about Texas not being there by the end of the year
(Buy) It's possible he already is regretting it when you consider how much his list has changed from week to week for months. Honestly, his whims seem to be like cartons of milk in that they typically have an expiration date that's about a week out from when it is made.
BUY or SELL: Peter O'Toole should have won the 1963 Oscar for his role in "Lawrence of Arabia" rather than Gregory Peck for his role in "To Kill A Mockingbird."?
(Sell) Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch is for all-time. I guess I'd put it like this ... there's a reason why I think I had teachers in three different grades play the movie for my class when I was in grade school.
BUY or SELL: If the Warriors go down 0-2 in the Finals, KD returns in game 3 and averages 25+ in the remaining games, and the Warriors win the series, KD would win the Finals MVP award for the third straight year and become unquestionably the best player on the planet?
(Buy) I like where your head is.
BUY or SELL: Ketch will turn 50 before Liverpool wins their first Premiership since 1990?
(Sell) Liverpool will win the league in 2020.
No. 8 – Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
... This is my manager.
... This is my manager.
... This is my manager.
... Shout out to Tottenham for having one hell of a storybook season, despite all kinds of reasons for it not to have been. That's a classy team on and off the field.
... I need a two-month break of games. Bring on the transfer season.
... I had no idea that the Yankees and Red Sox were playing each other until Sunday night. On the other hand, I did know that the Dodgers served up my Phillies a three-game set of whoop-ass.
... This was one of the best rounds of a heavyweight championship bout in recent years.
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Favorite managers/coaches ...
I've already been on the record for at least two years that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is my favorite coach in the near 40 years that I've been a fan of professional sports.
Curious to see what my top 10 list would look like, here's what I put together.
10. Jose Mourinho
9. Gregg Popovich
8. Larry Brown
7. Larry Bowa
6. Billy Cunningham
5. Bill Parcells
4. Charlie Manuel
3. Tom Landry
2. Jimmy Johnson
1. Jurgen Klopp
No. 10 – And Finally ...
This is my manager.
Congrats on the Reds - they were too good not to win something this year. Klopp gets more out of his guys than anyone.
Mourinho above SAF and Pep is a joke on any list. He can’t even keep a job for 4 years...
Mockingbird is an elementary school story (maybe middle school). LoA is an epic for the ages and O’Toole’s performance is one for the ages as well. Bad call...but not as bad as the manager list.
Everyone on this site is so unbelievably trigger-able
Thanks for posting the 3rd round of Johnson v Ruiz. It was mildly entertaining. More importantly it validated my choice to quit watching boxing 2 or 3 decades ago, because if that was the best the sport has to offer...... thank god for the UFC
Baloney, Ketch. The second time to flip flop is not equivalent to the first. You bet, he flipped once, and UT benefitted. His reason for doing so was his own. Did that decision reflect on him? You bet it did. To flip a second time? You bet it is a reflection on him, and moreso than the first. It's accretive. He's not a guy I want in the UT program, and the reaction from the leaders on the team seems to say the same thing. Good riddance. Regardless of his talent, we don't need him. We need people who understand commitment to a team.
I quit worrying about recruiting once Herman and staff came on board. They know what they are doing.
Ruiz went gangsta on the Brit. Loved it.
Ruiz went gangsta on the Brit. Loved it.
It seems like a few years ago Ketch decided he was gonna be a soccer fan out of the blue. Now he’s a super fan and we’re forced to read through it to read some info on the Horns. Reminds me of when my friend became a huge curling fan after the Winter Olympics and I had to hear about that shot non stop.
Also @Ketchum please quit comparing Bru going from USC to Texas and Bru going from Texas to USC and pretending they’re the same. You know they’re not equal.
I guess the whole “one post per minute rule” doesn’t apply to the mods.
That reason is that To Kill A Mockingbird has been a part of approved school curriculum for many years.
Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for ten Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards in 1963; it won seven in total, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Outstanding British Film. In the years since, it has been recognised as one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema. The dramatic score by Maurice Jarre and the Super Panavision 70 cinematography by Freddie Young are also highly acclaimed. In 1991, Lawrence of Arabia was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the US Library of Congress National Film Registry. In 1998, the American Film Institute placed it 5th greatest American film on their 100 Years...100 Movies list, and 7th on their 2007 updated list. In 1999, the British Film Institute named the film the third-greatest British film of all time. It was voted among the 100 Greatest American Films by American Film Institute (AFI) in 1998. In 2004, it was voted the best British film of all time in a Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers.
Lawrence of Arabia (film) >>>>>>>> To Kill A Mockingbird (film)
Varan the Unbelievable (or) The Three Stooges In Orbit were better movies in 1962.
Best Picture and Best Director should have gone to one of those 2 movies.
Gotta indulge me on a weekend when Liverpool wins the title. None of my teams have won a title in a decade and only one has won one in the last 25 years of my fandom.
But you haven’t been a Liverpool fan for 25 years...I think you just started following the EPL a handful of years ago. That’s why making such a big deal about Liverpool being one of your teams is odd. I started following Chelsea in 2010, but I would never put them in the same category as my love for UT, the Cowboys, or the Mavs. Very odd, and comes across as very contrived. Just my observation.
