Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (One last goodbye to Bru McCoy...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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The only difference is that one flip favored UT and the other didn't. Guess which one UT fans judged?
I'm not really worried about how you perceive my fandom. What you might feel is different than the way I feel. That's life.
Long enough to be freaking overjoyed right now. Started in 2013-14 with a love for Suarez. Really went all in the following season, which was far from magical.
I read a profile on Suarez in the 2013-14 season and fell in love with him. When he left in 2014, I stayed with the team and started to slowly fall heads over heels. When Klopp arrived, my super fandom really took off.
I have nuclear jinx powers. It's why I refused to make a Liverpool CL final prediction all week.
Wow, you are obviously new here.....outside of the 2019 sign up and 33 post. All you have to do is read the board to understand how much of an interest there is for soccer on this board.
On a serious note, guys I'd ask you top indulge me for this weekend. I've literally only had one thing on my brain for a week. No soccer for the next two months, so you're in a safe zone.
This. How blind does one have to be to not know tons of posters on this site regularly watch and keep up with soccer? Threads on here practically every day
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.
soccer? we talk'n soccer? lost me brah, lost me.
I've been in a great mood all weekend. Why not have a little fun.That is cheating.
^^^^thisIf people don’t take 1:18 and watch the video in #10 they’ll regret it. Especially the
last line, for me.
What do you tell a fan who’s dying and very likely doesn’t make it until the game? Pretty much that.
FYI - Evans has made it long enough to see Liverpool win.
Of course... lord knows you put up with a bunch of random off topic shit on the board hehe
Sure have fun while you should be toiling away trying to get more positive information about Texas recruiting. Geeezzz..... be better. No one authorized fun.I've been in a great mood all weekend. Why not have a little fun.
Today is going to be a fun day on that front.Sure have fun while you should be toiling away trying to get more positive information about Texas recruiting. Geeezzz..... be better. No one authorized fun.
I think the reason your teachers showed the movie is that it is based on one of the greatest American novels which is taught in almost all schools, not because of Peck’s acting. Don’t get me wrong, Peck was great, but O’Toole’s performance was better IMO.
- Mar 14, 2007
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There have been multiple "Greatest Films" threads on the board. Lawrence of Arabia pretty much always gets listed by multiple members. I don't think To Kill A Mockingbird ever has been listed. The disparity to just too great. And Lawrence is such a character film and acting film. Mockingbird is more of a story film.
O'Toole as Lawrence >>>>> Peck as Finch (I think that was the original question).
No disrespect intended. JMO.
I asked why? and you told me pretty much told me what I thought. Fair enough. Thanks for responding
I'm not aiming this comment at you, but a lot of people are outright dicks and feel like a subscription means that they can talk to me and other members of our team any old way they want to.
I don't believe that to be the case at all. I've been pretty consistent about that view for almost 20 years.
Finally somebody gets it. The question I posed was not about the films involved, but about the actors, and which one should have won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
"To Kill A Mockingbird" is a great film and tells a story that has resonated over the years. Gregory Peck's performance was splendid.
"Lawrence of Arabia" was also a great film. And that is an understatement. It told the story of T. E. Lawrence and the history of how the Middle East was fought over for years. That fight continues today, as do many of the storylines in Mockingbird.
But the question I raised had to do with acting, not Best Picture or most memorable, etc. In my opinion, Peter O'Toole's performance was superior to that of Gregory Peck.
And the thinking in Hollywood at that time was that "it was Greg's turn." After all, he had been nominated four times previously for "The Keys of the Kingdom" in 1945, "The Yearling" in 1946, "Gentlemen's Agreement" in 1947, and "Twelve O'Clock High" in 1949, but had yet to win.
And besides, "Lawrence of Arabia" was O'Toole's first film and he'd have plenty of other chances to win Best Actor...but he never did despite being nominated seven more times.
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I think that is the entirety of the explanation. Thanks for the concise context in your post. O'Toole >>>>> Peck.
I can see where you're coming from but its just one weekend. So, I just took a deep breath on that and the Hamilton vid and scrolled down. Ketch gonna Ketch sometimes.
