Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (This is personal...)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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@Ketchum
Seriously excellent thoughts about recruiting coverage - I've been here a long time and of course the recruiting stuff is what pulled me in initially....
For just me.... I would say more coverage and attention on the super blue chip players, even ones that are lower percentages of us acquiring is a lot more important to me. I mostly skim past detailed updates on the other players now unless its like detailed analysis of their traits etc. (and that really only after they commit to us)
On the comedy list - not sure how I can nitpik any of that - comedy is so personal like you said. I suppose the only glaring omission to the list and discussion to me is Cosby even though he's obviously a POS - at this point I suspect a lot of powerful and famous people over time were POS that were just never uncovered...call me a pessimist - but I remember listening to his standup records as a child - so when I think of greatest or most impactful or something over time its hard to completely leave him out of the discussion even if we leave him off for being who he is.
Seriously excellent thoughts about recruiting coverage - I've been here a long time and of course the recruiting stuff is what pulled me in initially....
For just me.... I would say more coverage and attention on the super blue chip players, even ones that are lower percentages of us acquiring is a lot more important to me. I mostly skim past detailed updates on the other players now unless its like detailed analysis of their traits etc. (and that really only after they commit to us)
On the comedy list - not sure how I can nitpik any of that - comedy is so personal like you said. I suppose the only glaring omission to the list and discussion to me is Cosby even though he's obviously a POS - at this point I suspect a lot of powerful and famous people over time were POS that were just never uncovered...call me a pessimist - but I remember listening to his standup records as a child - so when I think of greatest or most impactful or something over time its hard to completely leave him out of the discussion even if we leave him off for being who he is.
He was seriously considered. I don't find myself going out of my way to watch his old stuff.
I did not know thhat about Leary. It makes so much sense.if you mean Hicks it was Denis Leary ..
Bill Hicks - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Denis Leary's plagiarism
For many years, Hicks was friends with fellow comedian Denis Leary, but in 1993, he was angered by Leary's album No Cure for Cancer, which featured lines and subject matter similar to his own routine.[35] According to American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story by Cynthia True, hearing the album had infuriated Hicks. "All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff, and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had practically taken line for line huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it."[36] As a result, the friendship ended abruptly.[37]
At least three stand-up comedians have stated on-record that Leary stole Hicks's material, and copied his persona and attitude.[38][39][40] In an interview, when Hicks was asked why he had quit smoking, he answered, "I just wanted to see if Denis would, too."[41] In another interview, Hicks said, "I have a scoop for you. I stole [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did."[42] During a 2003 Comedy Central Roast of Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke said that a carton of cigarettes from Hicks was backstage, with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.[43]
as long as he bags Texas a title on the way off to the NFL i'm ok with that
Louis CK is less funny than a case of constipation
exactly. no one could touch Williams in improv. Billy Crystal and Whoopie cushion Goldberg stated many times once he got on a roll doing unscripted comedy they just tried to stay out of his way while he crushed it.
His material is more timely now than when he released it. That might be more true of him than anyone else that has decades old material.
"when he was known for stand up"
THat's kind of a tell about whether a person should be in the top 10.
I believe our only primary focus should be on the biggest and best prospects.
a lot of people really like Jim Gaffigan. He's been on a heater for a few years.
George Carlin was so smart..... I find myself really thinking about stuff after one of his sets.
George Carlin was so smart..... I find myself really thinking about stuff after one of his sets.
This is all very personal to me.
As Orangebloods creeps closer and closer to being old enough to rent a car, time has a way of washing away beginnings. Before the YouTube shows, a decade of radio, an Amazon best-selling book and 20+ years of the site ranking as the No. 1 subscription site in the Rivals network/industry, I was just a lowly regional recruiting guy in the late 90s working on a platform that was years away from being in the mainstream.
Back in the day, everything felt revolutionary. One day, I had one of the owners of Rivals.com telling me that the concept of the War Room would never work and months later I was teaching it to every site publisher in the network at a publisher's conference. For years, Orangebloods created the blueprint for recruiting coverage and everyone else followed.
Before we go any further, I want to say that I'm very proud of the recruiting coverage from 30,000 feet up. In a recruiting world that is forever fluid in a new era of NIL, I couldn't be more pleased with the pulse we've had on the most important recruiting stories of the Steve Sarkisian era. When we hit the home stretch of the 2025 cycle, we were very clear in reporting that all of the clutter could be removed and that the focus was on three players - Justus Terry, Kade Phillips and Michael Fasusi. When almost all national reporters were not seeing Terry to Texas from a mile away, we were very, very bullish.
The truth of the matter is that you guys are generally very pleased with our recruiting coverage. In a recent survey of more than 1,000+ subscribers, more than two out of three subscribers rated our recruiting coverage as either a 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. Nearly 90% gave us a rating between 7-10. All things considered, as Larry David might say ... "Pretty .... pretty ... good.
Yet, I would concede that I've grown a bit disenfranchised as a content provider on the recruiting front over a number of years. Everyone just does the same thing. The same style of updates. In some cases, it's the exact same updates on the same day.
Perhaps the worst of the group think that was driving me crazy occurred on the day of UT's only official recruiting event in 2025 to date ... the Junior Day in January. Everyone can close their eyes and see the formula unfold. Every site takes the same pictures at the same time. The interviews are all mostly done at the same time ... with the same quotes. The info is posted in official threads on message boards. It's not that there isn't great work taking place across all sites (because there is), but good grief ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
This is just how I feel about it all. Perhaps it's harsh, but when have I ever pussyfooted around with speaking directly about anything? I might not always be right, but you've known for 25+ years that I won't give you the company line as a default position. It was on that day in January that I committed myself to a refresh of our entire recruiting coverage plan.
Just like the War Room received a jolt in the arm last year with a revision of the ideology of the format (fewer words, more impact nuggets), we want to accomplish the same thing in the coming months with a completely revamped approach. I want us providing content you're not getting elsewhere in formats you're not otherwise receiving them in. The winner in all of this should be you guys. After going into the lab with the Orangebloods team in the month of February during the dead period, we think we're making changes that you guys will notice and come to love.
No one is really breaking commitments these days. What matters more than anything is the storytelling and our commitment is to be the best storytellers in this industry ... every damn day. Along the way, we're going to take some approaches that won't be considered the norm in the industry and we don't care. Unorthodox is kind of what we're going for. We want to be daring. Honestly, what I want is for us to do a great job of this revised storytelling that everyone in this market is forced to change their methods ... and perhaps forced to copy us ... again. I want you all to see and know it.
That's my goal and I'm putting this section in the lede this week because I want everyone to know it. Maybe we pull it off, maybe we don't, but I want you to know that we vow to you to never stop trying new things. Maybe some of you won't be convinced that we're the undisputed champs, but you'll at least know us for being different.
Here's a look at our new recruiting content schedule that we've already begun to unveil. More is coming.
* Everything Everywhere All At Once (Sunday night/Monday morning at the latest) - Updates on every key visit taken by every key recruit on the map for the Longhorns. We'll go anywhere and everywhere to get the updates, even if it means giving an attaboy to our competition. All that matters is that you get the info that matters, vanity be damned. Debuted last Monday to much fanfare.
* Behind Enemy Lines (Tuesday) - Just like during the football season, the purpose of this piece on the recruiting side is to inspect what's happening on the A&M, OU, LSU and entire SEC fronts from its own local reporting, with special focus on the Aggies and Sooners.
* Back in the Day (Tuesday) - A member of the Orangebloods staff will tell a story from decades in the memory banks. DJ Williams/Albert Hollis ... Ryan Perrilloux ... Darrell Scott ... we'll never run out of stories. Maybe we'll collect them all and put them into a book.
* The Rumor Mill: (Wednesday) - Nothing but updates on key recruits for the Longhorns. No schmoes. Just the big dogs. The title of this article is still in the workshop, but we're paying homage to Rivals' Rumor Mill articles, which is among the best content the network produces. We're just a little concerned that the title is a little too much like ...
* NIL Nuggets of the Week (Wednesday) - Another project with a working title, but the purpose of this content piece is to focus on every interesting and important NIL-related moments across all of college athletics.
* Recruiting Rankings (Wednesday) - Yet another project without a name completely nailed down, but we'll be discussing rankings from Rivals and all of the other services. Anything that is rankings related, including the release of updated LSR rankings and a new set of Orangebloods Out of State Rankings created by @CodyCarpentier will be included.
* Truth and Lies (Thursday) - Bring on the damn rumors no matter how wild or outlandish. We're going to talk about them and grade them. I will not stand for unacknowledged elephants in the room. People seemed to like this one when it debuted last week.
* The Recruiting Board (Thursday) - It's the Recruiting Board updated every single week instead of once per month-ish.
* The Friday Refresh (Friday) - Your one-stop shop for a review of every notable event during the last week in Texas recruiting. Never worry about missing anything again if you're traveling for work. We got you.
* The Weekend (Friday) - A primer for every single weekend throughout the entire year when traveling by key Texas targets is taking place. It'll set the tone for the entire weekend by creating a one-stop shop for remembering who the hell went where from weekend to weekend.
We've got a few other ideas that we're workshopping and you know that we'll add Portal Kombat to the rotation when the first sniff of spring Portal discussion starts to emerge.
I hope you guys enjoy what we have in store.
No. 2 - Passing along some off-season scuttlebutt ...
This is kind of embarrassing, but I forgot to include the Lance Jackson note in the War Room on Thursday night. Oops. The good news is that I went on the hunt for a few more nuggets to make a quality section in the column. Enjoy.
* The people I've spoken with can't wait to see Lance Jackson in the spring. I was told that he's everything that they thought he would be from an athleticism/physical profile standpoint. He looks like millions of bucks every day. There's still some uncertainty over where he ends up, but there's a real buzz to start finding out.
* Had someone tell me this week that Cole Hutson is going to be given every chance to really take a step forward in the battle for starting center, but if he drops the ball in a way that gives the staff any true concerns coming out of the spring, they won't hesitate to act in the Portal.
* The hope for Jelani McDonald is that he emerges as a star for the Longhorns in the secondary this season. "I think once you get past Colin (Simmons) and (Anthony) Hill, it's completely fair to think he can be the third-best player on our defense. It's his time to step up," a team source told me this weekend.
* Kade Phillips was viewed on the level of Justus Terry and Michael Fasusi behind the scenes as a prospect, even if I could never convince all of you that when I tried to emphasize how much of a win it was to take two of three in the great Ocean's 11 theft attempt before NSD. "Not a single corner's job is safe," a source told me this weekend. "No one should be shocked if he's starting by mid-season. I think he's already right there with Malik (Muhammad) and Kobe (Black).”
* I asked one source this weekend about the move of Ryan Niblett to nickel on defense from wide receiver and why he didn't stay on the offensive side of the ball with an injury expected to sideline DeAndre Moore for the entire spring. "All I would say is they don't move guys over from offense to defense if they think they have needed value on offense," the source said. Ok, then. That's disheartening, but fair enough.
No. 3 - Just chill ...
Guys, it's March 16th. It's the NIL era, which means that what happens in March almost doesn't matter.
Texas makes its biggest waves under Stave Sarkisian in the summer. Hell, this coaching staff kind of detests early commitments for a number of reasons, the biggest being that they hate being on the defensive as a staff. They want to attack and not get into the game of protecting until they have to.
Nothing could have happened this weekend that would make me think otherwise, not even if 2026 super blue chip Jalen Lott had committed to Oregon, which On3 recruiting guy Steve Wiltfong predicted coming out of the weekend.
My reaction?
We've seen kids fall in love on unofficial visits over the years and we can set our watch by what will almost certainly happen, especially with a Texas Longhorns legacy.
He'll take official visits. NIL offers will be made (that has not happened from the Texas side until much later). The kid will visit Austin/40 Acres multiple times before the dust totally settles.
There's just a long way to go in his recruitment. I think the kid signs with Texas in December, so I'm not changing my FutureCast any time soon. In fact, I probably won't unless it becomes clear in the summer that Texas has lost momentum that it seems unlikely to regain. We're not remotely there.
No. 4 – The minimum level of success has been achieved ...
Honestly, I thought the Longhorns deservingly made the Tournament. The more I thought about it, the more I thought seven Q1 wins made them more deserving than the teams that got left out.
I have no idea what happens next on the court. They can beat Xavier. They can beat Illinois. They've beaten Kentucky.
They could be out in Dayton.
Who the hell knows?
As it pertains to Rodney Terry, everyone knows the score. It might be Sweet 16 or bust. The next week is massive for him. He knows it. He's living and dying on the floor on every game.
Personally, I still think this team CAN make the Sweet 16, but I don't think it will play two consecutive quality games, which means I don't think it gets beyond Illinois ... at best.
Prove me wrong, fellas.
No. 5 - Final Four or Bust ...
That really couldn't have gone better for Vic Schaefer and Co.
No.1 seed? ✅
No U.Conn as the No.2 seed? ✅
Yes, Notre Dame is the strongest No.3 seed in any bracket, but TCU is the weakest No.2 seed based on Net rankings.
The potential winner of Tennessee/Ohio State could make for a tough night, but it could have been worse. This is an incredibly manageable bracket. Given this team's pedigree, you get the sense that it's going to come down to the Longhorns and Irish battling it out for a spot in the Final 4.
Anything less than getting to the Final Four will be a major disappointment.
No. 6 – Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ...
It's pretty impossible to tell the story of the Texas baseball weekend without talking about the weekend that Texas A&M... ahem... suffered.
While the Longhorns went on the road and swept Mississippi State, lifting its win streak to 17 games before it hosts No.1 LSU next weekend, the Aggies were swept at home by Alabama.
I guess it turns out that Jim Schlossnagel and the coaches he brought with him to Austin matter a hell of a lot. This is a dangerous baseball team that is emerging as a potential Top 8 seed. Next weekend's series should be wild.
No. 7 - Flexing like a boss ...
You know, on one hand, the No. 2/2 ranked Texas softball team is 28-1 and steamrolling pretty much everyone. Yet, on the other hand the Longhorns have only played against four ranked teams all season. They lost to No. 18/20 Stanford and were pushed to extra innings in two of the others against No. 11/8 Texas Tech and No. 13/11 Arizona.
Not that there's any reason to doubt this program under Mike White, but that resume wasn't exactly a show-stopping force of nature as the Longhorns went into Gainesville to take on No. 3 Florida in its first-ever SEC series this weekend.
All the Longhorns did in the first two games of a series that will conclude on Monday night is roll the Gators to the tune of 20-9. When the Gators put a 5-spot on the Longhorns in the fourth inning of game two to take a 7-6 lead, the Longhorns merely went out and scored the final seven runs of the game to win comfortably, 13-7.
Ho hum, I suppose. The Texas women don't really give any you know whats with regards to the SEC. They come to ball in any sport. The bar for excellence is ridiculously high.
No matter what happens on Monday night, the SEC grind awaits as upcoming weekends include home series against No. 20/22 Auburn, No. 7/7 Tennessee, No. 4/4 LSU and No. 23/NR Kentucky, along with road series' against No. 18/19 Mississippi State, No. 1/1 Oklahoma
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) No offense, but the Big 12 sucks and I'll take the A&M and Arkansas games over No. 12 Oklahoma State and a bunch of jags in 2021. In any year the Longhorns didn't host an Alabama or Notre Dame or USC or someone like that, there was a good chance the highlights of the schedule were a bunch of games Texas fans couldn't wait to stop playing.
(Buy) It makes strategic sense to wait if the guy you are targeting is expected to make a deep run and you don't want to put any unwanted pressure/spotlight on him, but I can't see them hanging Terry out to dry. I expect something quick more than I don't. Of course, the Tom Herman situation also tells us that when someone is under contract and has a buyout, CDC and the athletics decision makers aren't ashamed of saying their sorrys with a check if the moment calls for it.
(Sell) I'm really concerned about his ability to maintain all of what he juggles for the long haul. It feels like the program lives in a sprint at all times and not so much of a marathon.
(Double Sell) I'll take several other true freshmen over Terry at this point. I just don't think they are going to make Manning's legs a foundation piece of the offense. That's not what he came here to do and it's not what Sarkisian wants to do as an offensive mind. The next Manning won't be coming to UT if the current one gets broken trying to be a mini-version of Tim Tebow.
(Buy) Texas is going to win a national championship under Schloss and the Aggies will never forget the implications of it all. Longhorns fans will never let them.
(Sell) I haven't heard that is looming. Not yet.
(Mostly sells) I'll take buys on a 1,000-yard receiver, less turnovers on offense than in 2024 and making the CFP. I'll sell the rest.
(Buy) Sure, let's do this.
(Sell) DJ Campbell will be more than solid at right guard as a senior.
(Buy) To quote the great Robin Hood of Baltimore ...
(Buy) That hasn't come across my radar.
(Sell) Nah, I'm not ready to say that this team takes that kind of step back.
(Sell) I wouldn't say they are ready to do whatever or anything. That feels a little too emphatic.
(Buy) Special teams, too.
(Buy) Weird question.
(Buy) Easily. Sunday sucked, but it pales in comparison to the loss to PSG and its implications on the season.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... Give me Auburn or Houston to win the national title on the men's side. Those are the two best, toughest teams I've watched all season.
... The SEC got in 14 freaking teams. It's good to be in the cool kids’ club.
... What's the point in having a badass pedigree like UNC owns in basketball if it can't come in handy when they are occasionally on the bubble?
... No offense to Cooper Rush, but I am so thankful that he'll never play another down for the Dallas Cowboys. Nothing is worse than being an average football team that has a back-up quarterback just good enough to keep them average and isn't remotely part of a team's long-term plans. Ok, there are things that are worse, but not much ...
... The Cowboys are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic at this point.
... I'm not remotely ready for the NBA playoffs.
... Premier League Thoughts: Just keep collecting, Liverpool. To hell with everything else. With 9 games to play, Liverpool can finish with as many as 97 points. I really want to break 90 points. Let's make a run for it after the international break. The battle for the top 5 has a chance to be bananas down the stretch and I'm here for it if the Man City/Brighton game is an example of what we're going to get. Chelsea could have played Arsenal for 500 minutes on Sunday and they were never going to score. How could they possibly be so poor without Cole Palmer, considering the money that has been spent? Bournemouth just can't win its home games.
No. 10 - Top 10 Standup Comedians
I'm sure this one is going to cause some disagreements because nothing is more subjective than comedy.
I don't have any women in my Top 10. Sorry, Joan Rivers. Sorry, Sarah Silverman. Sorry, Wanda Sykes.
I've left out a lot of old timers. Sorry, Don Rickles. Sorry, Jonathan Winters. Sorry, Bill Cosby (not sorry, **** him).
I've left out a lot of weird. Sorry, Steven Wright. Sorry, Andy Kaufman.
You like who you like. I make no apologies. Let's get on with it.
10. Bill Hicks
I was never really into Hicks much until I started Orangebloods and was turned on to him by a poster that had him in his avatar. A lot of people have tried to be Bill Hicks, but there's only one Bill Hicks.
9. Norm McDonald
I was lucky enough to see McDonald in person a couple of times over the years. He always delivered.
8. Bill Burr
This might feel too high for some, but he's really put a sensational run together.
7. Redd Foxx
I used to love listening to my Foxx tapes on cassette when I was 10 years old. It felt so raw and dirty.
6. Bernie Mac
Nothing was quite like Bernie Mac doing Def Comedy Jam. It might be the most electric set of all-time.
5. Dave Chappelle
Is this too low?
4. Robin Williams
This was the comedy of my youth. It was always Miller Time.
3. Eddie Murphy
He didn't do a lot of stand up, but Delirious and Raw might be my two favorite comedy specials of all-time.
2. Richard Pryor
I know some will say he should be No. 1, but ...
1. George Carlin
Carlin has stood the test of time. He's more important today than he was three decades ago.
Jerry Seinfeld... Mia.
I saw Chapelle and Rock live. They had me rolling. Have also seen Shane Gillis. Whitney Cummings, and Ron White. All really good. Eddie Murphy Raw was as good as it gets. Bill Burr has some all time funny bits as well. But for me in person it was Seinfeld. He’s the GOAT for me. Funniest act I’ve seen.
His run was the greatest of all time so I am not sure what you mean by thatSays pretty much no one.
You should look it up because it’s a gaping hole on your little list there
Bernie Mac ahead of Bill Hicks and Norm McDonald is a travesty, no even sure Bernie Mac belongs on such a list.
Very good post. You are spot on with comedian ranking. Carlin is by far the best.
