Jordan Steffy Named Starter For Terps Football
August 18, 2008
Ending one of the minor mysteries of the summer, Jordan Steffy has been named the starting quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins football team. The decision, according to head coach Ralph Friedgen’s reasoning, was based on statistical evidence more than any other factor - such as predisposition to concussion that end a season.
“Having all that documentation to make sure — because your gut feeling is one thing and statistics are another — we’ve got to make sure we’re being credible with information we’re putting out. Jordan led by a pretty large amount in completion percentage, he led in the least interception percentage.”
It seems pretty clear - Friedgen does not want Steffy to start, but has no legitimate reasoning to bench the guy in favor of the more popular Chris Turner or the more athletic Josh Portis. Neither of the three are a bonafide threat to go undefeated in ACC competition, but their powers combined may make for a more than passive Terp offense.
Or at least, a drama-filled 5-6 season.
Terrapin Football Goes VHS For Motivation
August 11, 2008
From the Baltimore Sun’s Tracking the Terps blog, word out of College Park is that Ralph Friedgen is showing motivational tapes to get the team amped up. First up, the “Thrilla in Manila” Ali-Frazier fight.
And wouldn’t you know some Terps got into a brawl that very same day? Oh, yes they did.
“Kids will listen to that, you can tell them that, but sometimes when you show them the video, it sinks in a little bit,” Friedgen said. “Of course a fight broke out and one guy thought he was Ali. They all said, ‘Well, you showed us the fight.’”
With this logic, Jordan Steffy should watch ‘Varsity Blues’ every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the Terps will be just fine this season.
Ralph Friedgen Wants to Bring Sexy Back to Terrapin Football
August 4, 2008
And what’s the quickest way to make your football program seem like a freshman brunette from Long Island off the Jack and Coke at a frat party? A new stadium, of course.
And some built up rivalries.
“When I was at Georgia Tech, we played Georgia and I loved that game. That’s what gets the crowds going,” Friedgen said. “Anytime you play a border state, there’s going to be a rivalry, and that’s good for your program. Virginia is always a big game, but their rivalry is with Virginia Tech.”
Those are the wishes of Maryland football head coach Ralph Friedgen, who aside from not being located in a football hotbed like Texas or Florida, has done exceptionally well for himself at his alma mater. In eight years, he’s compiled a 56-31 record with three bowl victories, and churned out some decent linebackers in E.J. Henderson and Shawne Merriman.
But the time has come for Maryland to get a bit of a face lift. Very few people outside of the beltway care about what the Terps are up to on the gridiron, particularly when the ACC boasts storied programs like the University of Miami, Virginia Tech and Florida State. And with the dropoff of Maryland basketball, more eyes will be on the football program this year than in previous years filled with low expectations.
Upgraded facilities may briefly take the attention of those eyes away from the product on the field, but it won’t be long for Terp faithful to be standing at the gates of the new digs should the team not get its act together soon.
The Wisdom of Big John Thompson
July 23, 2008
Listen to the wise words of Big John Thompson, courtesy of the 20 Second Timeout. Choose not to, and face teh potential of being piledriven, ground into a pulp, and your ashes being used in a chest-passing drill at Georgetown.
Congressional Bowl: Where Navy Vs. The Wackness of the ACC Happens
July 23, 2008
D.C. will host a bowl game for the first time this December, and that’s a good thing if you are a sworn enemy of the ACC. The Congressional Bowl will feature the Navy Midshipmen against the ACC’s ninth place, bowl eligible team.
The ACC had eight bowl-eligible teams last year, and their ninth place squad would not have had enough wins to go bowling in the district. Who was the eighth place team you ask?
If that same scenario were to play out this year, it would be absolutely hilarious on so many levels. But the funniest of them all is that Navy, at one time, felt spurned by the Terps’ choice of bowl opponent.
Annapolis vs. College Park, settled on a football field in D.C. Can’t get much better than that.
Will Any Sports Recruits Stay in College Park?
July 16, 2008
Seriously, it was mildly humorous when the Maryland Terrapins basketball program was faced with multiple defections from recruits, but now with a prized quarterback recruit backing out of his commitment, this reeks of something much larger.
Basketball more than football has been plagued by indecisive teens and failures of communication in the recruiting process, but Ralph Friedgen, like Gary Williams, hasn’t landed that kind of recruits that will put him over the hump in the ACC standings.
For both sports, that means another year of lowered expectations and probably less support for the program.
As for the recruits themselves, the changing of addresses before their arrival can be indications of a couple of things. The most obvious is that current players are telling recruits that they should not come to College Park, either in protest of current coaching staff or for selfishly-motivated reasons. More than coaches, boosters and family, current players yield the most sway over impressionable and talented high school athletes.
It could be possible that Maryland just doesn’t have the facilities that widen the pupils of well-traveled athletes. Maryland is not in the poor house by any means, but its rare to hear commentators and experts glowing about the weight rooms, dorms and eating facilities on campus at Maryland.
Finally, and most likely, Maryland just does not have the kind of booster pull that other schools have. As unquiet as it is kept, players need their families and themselves to feel pampered in the recruiting process. The coaches and athletes can talk about the career and sex options, respectively, but only boosters have the money and the leeway to show money to these kids and their loved ones through undetectable channels.
I know. We don’t like to hear that Maryland or any other school should have to resort to the money game to get good players, but the bottom line is that the players are getting everything they need from somewhere else.
After originally thinking that everything they needed was in College Park.
Rejoice, George Mason. Billy Packer is No More
July 14, 2008
The bane of your existence is gone.
Billy Packer, he who hates on mid-majors of all persuasions, is leaving the building and will be replaced by Clark Kellogg. He’s known for being an ACC enthusiast, but is most famous for comments disparaging George Mason’s run to the Final Four in 2006.
The sad thing is that he really is an intelligent basketball mind. His intelligence for the sport, however, was commonly shielded by his disdain for any team outside of the ACC, foul disposition behind the microphone, and general desire to be a douchebag.
He’ll be replace by veteran analyst Clark Kellogg, who is certain to jive with Jim Nantz much better than he did with Seth Davis. Still, college basketball’s version of Redd Foxx was rare to come by, and will be even rarer to replace.
Or maybe they don’t want to.
In either event, so long Packer, you salty sonbitch.
Penn State > Terps in Local High School Football Recruiting
July 8, 2008
Unlike Texas, Florida and California, Maryland high school athletes just can’t stand to be home. And while Terrapin football has always enjoyed a decent pipeline of players from Maryland, DC, Virginia and New Jersey, that has always been the program’s curse as well; the nation’s best football players aren’t from those states.
So imagine that “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario being diminished by nearby Penn State, turning the small football factory that is the Free State into a Happy Valley satellite location.
It’s not unusual that the Nittany Lions are snatching recruits out from under the Terps. Maryland doesn’t have the history, facilities, or pro recognition that Penn State has. What is odd is that Maryland players aren’t sold on the fact that Terp head coach Ralph Friedgen is a former NFL offensive coordinator, regularly puts offensive and defensive players in the NFL Draft, and is well connected in the pro ranks.
Or could it be that they aren’t told this?
Either way, Maryland looks to be sinking fast in the recruiting quicksand. The best players in football states want to stay home, and the best players out of Maryland can’t wait to escape.
Why is NBC in Love With Notre Dame?
June 20, 2008
Face it, there is no logical explanation for why NBC just re-upped its television contract with Notre Dame. Of course, people want to see the Fighting Irish lose, but not every freakin’ Saturday.
NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said the network doesn’t look at year-to-year results when it comes to Notre Dame, calling the football program a premier brand that defines the network as much as the Olympics, the NFL and the U.S. Open golf championship.
“We’re big believers in how Notre Dame time and time again over all these generations has maintained its strength,” he said. “I don’t see that going away.”
So what you’re saying is, Notre Dame football in all of its non-recruiting, non-entertaining glory, has the same impact as a global athletic competition, the country’s most popular sport, and a golf tournament that just made Tiger Woods even more legendary than he already is?
Is this for real?
As for its strength going away, here’s a couple of things that have more strength than Notre Dame football. Zen in Powerball, a Bud Light, and a grape in a food fight.
Hopefully, advertisers are open to the fact that no one cares about Notre Dame football unless a.) College GameDay is canceled due to a flood, b.) ABC is not featuring a USC game, or c.) The entire SEC has a simultaneous bye week.
But hey, maybe Charlie Weis is just that handsome.
So That’s Why Grievis Vazquez Walks Like A Pimp
June 17, 2008
And now, your afternoon sports revelations.
5. Greivis Vazquez has ankle surgery - The Terp guard that was as consistent as the Baltimore rail system had surgery today, sidelining him for the summer. He is expected to resume normal activities - which include macking your girl, and poor three pointer attempts, this fall.
4. So now you want to help the horses? - The Thoroughbred Safety Committee today proposed new restrictions on steroids, toe grabs, and whips. The proposal did not include how Barry Bonds benefitted through this same measures from 2000-2006.
3. Terrell Owens absent from mini-camp - In related news, Flavor Flav has been reported absent from sanity and cultural relevance for the better part of the last four years.
2. USA Basketball roster to be announced next week - The mystery of Chris Paul or Deron Williams being the starting point guard will finally be solved.
1. Javon Walker needs help - Even rappers don’t take it this far.
