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Baylor Bears Football: A New Reason to not Mess with Texas

November 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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If I asked you what team hasn’t had a victory by less than double digits this season, has a defense allowing only 17.4 points per game and beat its highest ranked opponent by more than four touchdowns, what team would you name? After another typical Saturday of hanging up more than 60 points on their opponent, the Baylor Bears have gone from unranked in the preseason to No. 3 in the current AP poll. Stanford’s loss to USC Saturday night allowed for the remaining undefeated teams to hold the top four spots in the latest BCS standings. While also undefeated Ohio State still holds the No. 3 spot in the BCS standings, it’s sweating with its .0013 advantage over the Bears in the computer rankings. Baylor heads to Stillwater this weekend to face No. 10 Oklahoma State, and a dominant victory over the Cowboys on their own home field should be enough to allow for Baylor to overtake Ohio State. While we’re still on a crash course for Alabama to meet Florida State in the BCS Championship game, barring one of the two losing, Baylor can make a strong argument for being the best team in the country.

Baylor ranks third in passing yards per game (384.4)and ninth in rushing yards per game (300.3) which explains its absurd 61.2 points per game. The Bears are the highest scoring team in the nation, averaging roughly 10 more points per game than Florida State, Oregon or Ohio State. Comparing the explosiveness of the Baylor offense to any other team is like comparing Usain Bolt to your high school track star. If the Bears continue their current scoring pace and continue to average 684 yards per game, they’ll be the new NCAA record holders for both categories at the end of the season. How explosive is this offense? When down 20-7 against Texas Tech this past Saturday, Baylor overcame the deficit in under three minutes. Oh, and that’s without leading rusher Lache Seastrunk and their second-best receiver Tevin Reese. The Bears offense just keeps rolling no matter what happens. The Bears offense is probably the most exciting thing that has ever come out of Waco. RGIII was a one-man show, the 2013 Baylor offense is a highly efficient scoring machine. While the Bears could certainly hold their own in any offensive shootout, it rarely comes to that.

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The Bears defense can simply play, allowing only 17.4 points per game. Yes, the highest scoring offense also ranks seventh in points allowed. The Bears allow more than 300 yards per game to the opposing team, but they lead the Big 12 in both total defense and points allowed categories. The Bears defense has held opponents to single digits three times this season, and only allowed more than 25 points twice. As prolific as the offense is, the Bears have the defense to be able to keep the game close when the offense can’t get going. The game against Oklahoma is probably the best example of this. The Baylor offense only managed a field goal through the first quarter and a half, before exploding for 21 points. Oklahoma had multiple scoring opportunities but the Baylor defense demonstrated itself with a goal line stand, a defensive stop from within 10 yards of the end zone and forcing a missed field goal. While the offense of the Bears gets most of the attention and the credit, the Bears defense will be crucial in the game against Oklahoma State. Not only does Baylor need to win, but it needs to win decisively if it hopes to secure the No.3  spot in the BCS rankings over Ohio State. A high scoring shootout would be exciting for fans, but it’s not going to help the Bears cause as much as a dominant victory.

Now, everyone is going to say that it’s not hard to put up stats when you play the schedule that Baylor plays. It’s like saying that it’s fair that Britney Griner gets to play basketball against women.There’s nothing impressive about hanging up 70 points on Buffalo and UL Monroe or preventing those teams from scoring. I’m of the opinion that putting up 70 points is generally always impressive and that the defense shouldn’t be criticized so long as it does its job. Baylor hasn’t just beat these teams, it has flat out destroyed them. Their closest game is a 35-25 victory against Kansas State. At the time that didn’t seem so good, but Kansas State has now rattled off four straight victories including a win against No. 25 Texas Tech. If it goes on to beat Oklahoma next week, that  10 point victory starts to look a little better. Then-No. 10 Oklahoma is the only ranked opponent that Baylor has played so far, but it won by more than 30 points. With Ohio State having games against Michigan and Michigan State (in the Big Ten championship game) remaining, Baylor will need to take advantage of this opportunity against Oklahoma State. A defining win may be enough to keep the Bears in the No. 3 spot until the end of the season, while a slight victory may only have it switch places with Ohio State for a week. The Bears need a lot of cards to fall into place if they hope to play in the National Championship game, the first being a defining win this weekend. Even if the national championship game is Florida State-Alabama, Baylor is having a record breaking season that may have us wishing the College Football Playoff was starting this year.

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Tye Masters
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Pitching Reigns in October

October 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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The Cover 4.com presents you with Pitching Reigns in October! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @thecover4 or facebook at theCo VerFour

The World Series matchup is set. The Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. Two storied franchises competing against each other. The ratings will be high, well higher than usual.  It’s a rematch of the 2004 World Series where the Red Sox swept and broke the Curse of the Bambino. Truth be told, this World Series is a real treat, and on paper one of the best ones in recent memory. Both teams have big-time hitters, but it was the pitchers that dominated the League Championship Series. The adage, “good pitching beats good hitting,” came to fruition and showed who reigns supreme on a baseball diamond.

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We had two phenomenal matchups in the League Championship Series with the Dodgers-Cardinals and Red Sox-Tigers. At a glance, many experts agreed that the Dodgers had a better pitching staff than the Cards with Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke against Adam Wainwright and a bevy of young pitchers. Many experts picked the Tigers to win it all with Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez over veterans Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey and Jake Peavy. Well the experts were right that the better pitching staff won, but it just was not the ones they thought were better.

Game 1 in the Cardinals-Dodgers series shaped the tone for the entire series. Greinke faced rookie Joe Kelly in one of many pitchers duels in the LCS. The Dodgers and Cardinals each scored twice in the third inning. Zeroes hung on the scoreboard the rest of the way like Christmas tree ornaments. The Dodgers did what they did for many parts of the season. They got runners on, they got them over, but could not get them in. They even had a runner thrown out at home in the top of the 10th by Carlos Beltran, whose big two-run double tied the game at 2. And to seal the deal, Beltran roped a double down the line for the game-winning hit to win 3-2 and commence a great set of LCS games. The lead in the series was up for grabs and the Cardinals took it and never looked back.

In Game 2, the Dodgers put out their best pitcher, maybe the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, but it was another pitcher who made a name for himself. Michael Wacha, another rookie for the Cardinals, outpitched Kershaw in a 1-0 ballgame. This was not a soccer game, but it felt like it when the Cardinals scored their only goal, I mean run. The Cardinals had all the momentum heading to Los Angeles, but they got blanked by the rookie this time for Game 3. Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched beautifully and beat the Cardinals 3-0. Are you sensing a theme with these recaps yet?

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A big hit actually took place in Game 4 when Matt Holliday hit a mammoth two-run homer to help the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 4-2. A two-run lead felt like a blowout given the circumstances. The Cardinals’ World Series berth was put on hold when Greinke dealt and the Dodgers finally got some big hits, taking Game 5, 6-4. Going back to St. Louis with the Cardinals up 3-2, everyone felt Game 7 was inevitable with Kershaw on the mound again. However, people forgot about the real ace of this series, Wacha.

Yes, his last name sounds like a Russian’s favorite liquor, but the only thing strong about Wacha is his arm and his pitches. He continued to dominate the Dodger lineup while Kershaw had an inning to forget. The Cardinals batted around in the fourth, tallying four runs, and in essence, punching their ticket to the 2013 World Series. They won 9-0. In six games, the Dodgers scored 13 runs and pretty much half of them came in Game 5. Not even the antics and over-the-top emotions of Yasiel Puig could carry the Dodgers. His flaws were exposed by a gritty Cardinals team, and so were the rest of the Dodgers. Wacha, a pitcher, was named NLCS MVP, and we might just be seeing the tip of the iceberg with this young stud.

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The Dodgers made one of the most amazing turnarounds during the regular season and brought baseball excitement back to L.A. However, in the end, the Cardinals reminded us that baseball is a team sport and the team that spends the most money is not usually the one who wins. The Cardinals proved to have the best pitching, and consequently, they are now in great position to win the 2013 World Series.

In the ALCS, The Tigers and Red Sox boasted two of the most potent offenses in baseball. What a joke! The only crooked numbers seen in this series were strikeouts and number of beards, and there were many of them on both sides. There were two 1-0 games. This is mind boggling to a guy who has watched the Tigers and Red Sox score at will like an Oregon football team playing Arkansas State all year. But it still happened.  Good pitching happened. The Red Sox lost Game 1 1-0. Enough said. Those are the highlights. In all seriousness,  Sanchez pitched effectively wild and did not allow a hit in six innings pitched. In fact, the Red Sox got their first hit in the bottom of the 9th to break up the no hitter.

Game 2 will go down as one of the gems of this postseason. Down 5-0 in the bottom of the 6th, the Red Sox again got their first hit late in the ballgame  when Shane Victorino broke up Scherzer’s no hit bid. This led to their first run of the series. Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox loaded the bases for David Ortiz. And the Red Sox version of Beltran did it again. On the first pitch, he cracked a line drive over the right field wall to dramatically tie the game with a grand slam. Torii Hunter missed the catch and flipped over the short wall like a gymnast. It was electric. Even Stephen King got scared in attendance with the eeriness in the air. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5 and in hindsight, win the series for the Red Sox.

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Returning to Detroit, momentum was up in the air, but the Tigers felt confident throwing their ace Verlander out on the bump. The Red Sox countered with Lackey. Verlander was dominant, surrendering only one mistake to Mike Napoli in the 7th. a home run that barely cleared the fence in left. And that led to another 1-0 game. Lackey ousted the ace, like Wacha did. The Tigers could not deliver the clutch hits, like the Dodgers. The Tigers did tie up the series by roughing up Peavy in Game 4. They won 7-3, the only non-competitive game in the series, and it led to a pivotal Game 5. The Red Sox jumped to an early 4-0 lead and grinded out a 4-3 win. Closer Koji Uehara got five outs for the save and halted any chances of a Tiger comeback.

Down 3-2 in the series heading back to Boston, the Tigers still felt optimistic with Scherzer and Verlander lined up to pitch. Game 6 featured another grand performance from an unlikely hero. Pitching dominated again.  Through six innings, the Tigers led 2-1. In the bottom of the 7th, the Red Sox fans found the bases juiced with Victorino up to bat and then the unthinkable happened.  No he did not shave his beard before his at bat, but he smacked another Red Sox grand slam, this time over the Green Monster in left. Uehara closed the deal again for his third save in the series. Not to mention, he won the other game when the Red Sox walked off in Game 2. The Red Sox won in 6 games advancing to the World Series and Uehara, a closer, yet alone a pitcher, was named MVP of the ALCS.

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The Red Sox and the Cardinals batted poorly throughout the LCS, but they got the hits when they counted. It was their pitching that carried them to the World Series. Each team featured emerging stars winning MVPs. Wacha on the front end. He beat Kershaw and shutout the Dodgers twice.  Those two feats alone in one series are reason enough to retire. And Uehara impacted every single game the Red Sox won against the Tigers, winning one and saving three games. The entire country of Japan has new requested membership to Red Sox Nation.

It is usually the hitters that get the awards. Hitters get the highlights. The home runs and game-winning hits. Hitters are the ones that play every game and provide the most impact. However, the only thing the bats have been touching these playoffs are the racks after recording outs, and lots of them. The final four teams had the best pitchers in baseball. The Cardinals and Red Sox might not have better pitchers than the Tigers or Dodgers, but they pitched better in the LCS, when it mattered most. Their bullpens were better. Their closers were better. And now we, as fans, are better off with this fantastic matchup for this year’s World Series. Two respected and admirable teams facing off in late October.  What could be better than this? Seven games would be a nice early Christmas gift. Will the pitching dominance continue to trend or will the hitters get the last laugh? This baseball fan is eager to watch and see. Stay tuned.

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Paul Culley
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Names to know-College Football

September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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​We are three weeks through the college football season and there are plenty of players catching fans’ attention. While everybody was focused on Texas A&M vs. Alabama last weekend, Johnny Manziel and A.J. McCarron weren’t the only players to shine.  This week we’ll take a look on some lesser-known players whose name you should know by now and look forward to watching for the rest of the year.

Jameis Winston-Florida St

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​Before this season began, the only reason I had heard of Jameis Winston were because of his ridiculous quotes. Sure, he had some absurd athletic talent, but his sound bits were hilarious. He said to reporters, “if I get Manziel disease, I want everyone of you to get your mics and start slapping me on the head.” The Florida State QB is known to have a love of cheese balls and when asked if he would give up a national championship for a lifetime supply of cheese balls he had to think about but then said, “I would not, BUT I’m gonna get some cheese balls anyway.” A championship may not seem too far-fetched as the Seminoles are currently ranked No. 10 in the AP poll.
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To call Winston efficient would be an understatement. The kid is damn near perfect. In his two games as starter he has completed 40 of 45 passes for 570 yards. That’s an 88.9% completion percentage, or the percentage of fucks to total words in Bo Pelini’s leaked audiotape. He has a 234.8 passer rating and has scored eight touchdowns. If you didn’t notice, he has more touchdowns than incompletions. If you somehow have not heard of Winston yet, you better start paying attention. He’s dove headfirst into the Heisman conversation and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. You shouldn’t feel uncomfortable with putting Winston on a pedestal after two games. In Jameis’ own words, “I could make you [a white reporter] feel at home in a black church.” The guy is hard to not like, and impossible to ignore.

Brett Hundley-UCLA

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​Brett Hundley may not be a stranger to fans of schools in the Pac-12, but he’s starting to become more known on the national stage. UCLA’s comeback against Nebraska on national television gave him the stage to make his name known. Hundley threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and has UCLA ranked No. 13 in the AP poll. Hundley has 124 yards rushing this season with two touchdowns to go along with his 585 passing yards and five touchdowns.
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He’s not busting into the Heisman conversation, but he is making a name for himself. Hundley has achieved something that seemed impossible a few years ago — he has UCLA considered the better Los Angeles football team. As a USC fan, that’s what hurts the most.

Blake Bell-Oklahoma

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​He had never started a game and Blake Bell made sure that it would be hard to not let him start another. The 6-foot-6, 252-pounder started Oklahoma’s game against Tulsa after starter Trevor Knight was injured. Bell laid a beating down on Tulsa, giving the Sooners a 51-20 victory. Although previously thought of as a bruiser and dual-threat quarterback, Bell looked at home in the pocket. Bell completed 27 of 37 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns.
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Bell had lost the quarterback competition against the freshman Knight during the offseason, but he seems to have gotten it back with his performance. Bell will be the starting QB when Oklahoma goes against Notre Dame this weekend giving him another chance to make his name known to college football fans.

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Tye Masters
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
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College Football Top 25 Team Mottos

August 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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We are officially a few days away from the kickoff of college football, meaning that my Saturdays will soon become incredibly unproductive. Coaches are planning, players are practicing and fans are buying gear and beer in preparation for the season.  Every team is hoping for success, and success requires proper motivation. Coaches often come up with motivational sayings or quotes to inspire their team to victory. Here’s a look at what the mottos for the Associated Press’ Top 25 teams should be this year.

1. Alabama-“Roll ‘Bama roll”

Alabama enters the season as the early preseason favorite and for good reason. The powerhouse program has won three of the past four national championships and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Head coach Nick Saban has the Crimson Tide rolling and you better ride the wave or get the hell out of the way.

2. Ohio State-“Win when it matters”

Ohio State couldn’t go to a bowl game last season, but Urban Meyer led them to an undefeated season. I would take that trade all day. Let’s see if the Buckeyes can repeat and get themselves into the national championship picture. Meyer began the string of seven consecutive championships for the SEC back in 2006, but his Ohio State team will need to win big if he hopes to end the SEC reign.

3. Oregon-“Win the day, especially when it’s in November”

Chip Kelly may be gone, but the Ducks still have high expectations for themselves. What has been the biggest downfall for the Ducks the past two years? How about losses in back-to-back years during mid-November. You don’t make the national championship game when you lose that late in the season.

4. Stanford-“Nerds do it better”

Just look in Sports Illustrated and see Stanford linebacker Shane Skov embrace his nerd-athletic freak combination.  Not only can the Cardinal beat your football team, but they probably murdered your SAT score as well. David Shaw has run a hell of a program, keeping the Cardinal relevant through a coaching change and the loss of Andrew Luck. Stanford-Oregon will be one of the games of the year and just may be for a national championship berth.

5. Georgia-“Beware of Dawg”

The Bulldogs made it into the SEC Championship last year and very nearly knocked off Alabama. Georgia won games because of its offense and is bringing back 10 starters from that unit. Opposing teams’ defenses better be ready if they hope to stop the Bulldogs. Georgia will live or die though with its defense as eight new starters will have to face Clemson in their first game. If it makes it through the fire early, Georgia will emerge as a strong contender.

6. South Carolina- “WWCD-What would Clowney do”

Unless you haven’t seen SportsCenter in the past year, odds are you’ve seen Jadeveon Clowney’s ridiculous hit, forced fumble and bear-paw fumble recovery against Michigan last year. The future NFL No. 1 pick sets the tone for South Carolina and every player should try to mimic his inhuman athleticism. Steve Spurrier should tell every player to think what Clowney would do on the play — make the hit, grab the ball, dodge some bullets and score a touchdown. Clowney is so feared that he is the only man that can scream “go Cocks” while cheering for his team and no one will laugh. The Gamecocks have talent and that talent could lead them to a title game.

7. Texas A & M-“The Twelfth Man isn’t the guy asking for autographs.

Apparently Johnny Manziel thought the Twelfth Man was the guy who pays you for your autographs. Texas A&M is sitting in some hot water over the recent autograph fiasco and even implemented a new policy against signing memorabilia.  The Aggies need to shift the media away from Manziel and focus on winning the SEC.

8. Clemson-“Live up to the expectations.”

The Clemson Tigers won 11 games last year and have earned themselves a No. 8 preseason ranking.  If the Tigers can make it past Georgia in week 1, they will make a statement and start to expect more than just an ACC Championship. Clemson’s goal should be to the first team that comes to mind when someone says “the Tigers did well this week.” You’re ranked higher than LSU right now, try to keep it that way.

9. Louisville-“Never make an insurance claim.”

Lousiville’s hopes rest on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and his $10 million insurance policy against a career-ending injury. If the Cardinals hope to enter the BCS picture, they’ll have to make sure that insurance policy never gets claimed. If you insured your expensive house, you better have a good fence around it. There will be a lot of pressure on Louisville’s offensive line to keep its house protected and safe.

10. Florida-“It’s MusCHAMP, not MusChump”

Nobody expected the Gators to go on the tear they did last year and coach Will Muschamp seems to know what he’s doing. Muschamp went 7-6 his first year, 11-2 his second, and he’s looking for a championship in his third.

11. Florida State-“I’m gonna get some cheeseballs anyway”

Jameis Winston has the potential to be this year’s Johnny Manziel, not only because his athleticism, but because he too has a huge personality. For instance, when asked if he would give up a national championship for a lifetime supply of cheeseballs (Winston is known to LOVE cheeseballs) he replied, “I would not, BUT I’m gonna get some cheeseballs anyway.” So, here’s to Winston leading Florida State to a national championship and getting those cheeseballs while providing us with more ridiculous quotes.

12. LSU-“We got Les but we need more offense”

The Tigers lost their games because of their lack of offense. The LSU defense was top 10 in nearly every defensive category and was the reason that it won as many games as it did. LSU needs Zach Mettenberger to play well and Cam Cameron needs to redeem himself for almost preventing the Ravens from winning the Super Bowl. The Tigers are going to need a little more go from the offense if fans hope to be cheering Geaux Tigers this season. We’ll find out their offensive skill early as the Tigers take on TCU in week 1.

13. Oklahoma State-“The best defense is having a good offense”

Oklahoma State better hope this is true because there are some major questions surrounding its defense this year. Its saving grace may be its offense where Jeremy Smith looks to continue where Joseph Randle left off and OSU’s endless supply of talented receivers continues with Josh Stewart.  The Cowboys will need to avoid having their defense hold them back again this season if they hope to make any noise.

14. Notre Dame-“Play like a champion today, even though you couldn’t against Alabama”

Between the Manti Te’o embarrassment and the spanking put on Notre Dame by Alabama during the national championship, it’s easy to forget the Irish had an undefeated season. While the Irish went from unranked to BCS berth last year, they will need to do some serious praying if they hope to end up back there. Tommy Rees is back in the saddle at the quarterback position with Everett Golson suspended. Rees will need to vastly improve to give Notre Dame a 10-win season.

15. Texas-“Don’t mess with Texas, please Oklahoma?”

Few rivalries go as deep as the Red River rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma. Texas fans are fine with not winning a championship, not winning 10 games and losing in a bowl game. However, they HATE losing to Oklahoma, and the Sooners have now crushed them two years in a row. If Mack Brown and the Longhorns don’t step it up against Oklahoma this year, expect some heads to roll.

16. Oklahoma-“Boomer! Let’s play Texas Sooner”

Oklahoma will aim to win the Big 12 and make it three in a row against Texas. Even more important is for the Sooners to get back in the BCS picture. The Sooners are now three years removed from their last BCS bowl. This Oklahoma team lacks the usual preseason hype. I don’t see it making too much noise in the BCS and think it’ll have its hands full against Texas this year. However, if it pummels Texas three years in a row, Bob Stoops will keep Sooner fans smiling.

17. Michigan-“Defend the Big House”

The schedulers looked kindly upon Michigan this year as they gave it Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State all in Ann Arbor. If the Wolverines can manage to hold down the Big House, it’s easy to see them in the Big Ten championship and potentially the Rose Bowl. Expect the Michigan-Ohio State game to potentially shake up the BCS picture, and for the Big Ten championship to be a rematch of the two teams the next week.

18. Nebraska-“Pound the rock”

Not only is this a saying on the huge rock by the Cornhuskers locker room, but it should ring true this year. Nebraska’s offense looks to be the most dominant in the Big Ten and will put up points all year long. With Taylor Martinez, Ameer Abdullah and Kenny Bell returning, the Huskers offense can be scary. The Huskers will move the ball, but their defense’s inability to stop it could ruin their season.

19. Boise State-“We still hate the BCS system”

It’s entirely possible for Boise State to go undefeated this year and still not make it to the BCS Championship game. Boise State moved to the Mountain West conference but its two most difficult games this year will be out of conference teams BYU and Washington. If you’re a good team joining a new conference, make it an automatic qualifier next time.

20. TCU-“No longer tadpoles, fear the Frogs”

TCU had a little bit of a rough introduction in its first year of the Big 12. The Horned Frogs will have an opportunity to make some noise early when they open the season against LSU. If TCU can beat LSU, they’ll set the tone for the rest of their season and put some fear in the rest of the Big 12 teams.

21. UCLA-“We want Mora what happened last year”

Last year was an incredible success for new UCLA coach Jim Mora. Mora won the Pac-12 South and defeated USC. UCLA fans couldn’t ask for much more. Mora may have a more difficult time winning this year with away games against Nebraska, Oregon, Stanford, and USC. Can UCLA beat USC in the Coliseum and show that LA’s football monopoly is over? Or was last year just a fluke?

22. Northwestern-“More is always better”

Northwestern had one of its best seasons last year and will try to build off of it. Northwestern takes the idea that more is better to heart. Not only does it hope for more wins, but its success comes from utilizing as many players as possible. Why use only one quarterback when you can use two? Let’s throw in three running backs and seven different receivers. The strategy kept opposing teams unprepared and uncomfortable, and Northwestern is hoping for more of what happened last year.

23. Wisconsin-“Jump Around”

Not only is Jump Around a stadium tradition for fans, but the Badgers will need to do it to be successful. With Montee Ball leaving to the NFL, Melvin Gordon and James White will attempt to replace the former leading rusher. If the ball hopes to move, the entire offense will need to jump around opposing defenders and into the endzone.

24. USC-“Fight On! And out of the embarrassment”

If it wasn’t for Marquise Lee, last year would have been an entire embarrassment for the USC football program. As a USC alumnus and fan, I watched my team plummet from preseason No. 1 to completely out of the rankings. Throw that in with an abysmal bowl performance and loss to UCLA and you have a failure of a season. Lee is arguably the most talented football player in the country and will be looking to further improve his draft stock this season. USC hit rock bottom last year, let’s see if it can fight its way back into the college football’s elite.

25. Oregon State-“Beavers are best at building”

The Oregon State Beavers had a quiet 9-4 season last year and will be hoping to build off that success. Mike Riley will have to show that last year wasn’t a fluke and that two teams may soon be relevant in Oregon. With games against Stanford, Oregon and USC, the Beavers will have their hands full.

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Q & A with Arena League’s Tysson Poots

August 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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The Cover 4 was able to catch up with Arena League Wide Receiver Tysson Poots. Poots, originally from Las Vegas, plays for the Arizona Rattlers, who will be playing in the Arena Bowl this weekend for the league championship.
This article is particularly special for our site as I went to High School with Poots and actually lined up against him every day in practice. I like to think I played pretty well against him but my memory is a little foggy nowadays.

Poots has always been a special talent. As a two-time All State Wide Receiver, Poots went onto shatter receiving records for the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds. Poots finished his college career with 3,970 receiving yards. Additionally, Poot’s 282 career receptions and 43 touchdowns allowed him to finish as the ninth-leading receiver in FCS history.

At the end of the 2012 season, Poots was ranked as the 13th best player in the Arena League.

http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/aflrtl/mtt/tysson_poots_830726.html

What is the biggest difference from the College Game to the Arena League? How about Arena to the NFL?

The biggest difference is, of course, the field and gameplay. Everything happens so much faster in the Arena League because of the small size of the field. Also, the Arena players were All-Stars on their college team and a majority of them were with a NFL team at one point; the competition level is so high.
Another thing is that they are both professional league. The main difference is the NFL has a 53 man roster and Arena has a 24 man roster, which makes both very hard to make in there own right.

Can you walk us through a typical week in your life during the season?

A typical week would be a game played on Saturday. Sunday would be a recovery day. Most of us players head into treatment and start healing the bumps and bruises. Monday is the same thing as Sunday as we prepare to get our bodies ready for the following game. Tuesday we get up early, head to the facility to start meetings around 7:30. Offense and defense will both lift weights before or after practice depending on the day. Practice Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30-11:30. Friday is a final preparation day with meetings and then it’s Saturday and game day again. My off time is spending watching tv, getting involved in the community, and playing some video games.

What is the hardest part of being a professional athlete?

The hardest part is definitely staying on top of your health and body. Eating right, staying hydrated and getting the right treatment on whatever you need throughout the week is crucial to have effective practices as you prepare for the upcoming game. Games are tough/hard but those are what you prepare for, to go out and have fun.

What has been your favorite moment as a professional athlete thus far?

The guys I’ve met and teammates I’ve had and have. There are many amazing people in the sport I play and to meet some of best players is just a blessing. You can learn a lot from everyone you meet and go to battle with in the games. Another favorite moment is definitely playing in big playoff games and interacting with the fans.

If you weren’t playing football, what would you be doing?

I would be training people to better their lives and/or athletes improving their abilities. There is nothing better to me then seeing someone get to where they want to be health wise. I would enjoy passing along some of the knowledge I’ve picked up along the way to anyone wanting to listen and get better.

Coming from Las Vegas (an area not known for their HS Football) and a smaller 1-AA school, do you still feel like you have to prove the doubters you are able to play with anyone?

I do, at times, still feel like I need to prove something, but I have nothing wrong with feeling that way. It makes me play with a chip on my shoulder, therefore adding to the intensity I can bring to the field.

You’ve been a touchdown machine in the AFL. Rumor has it you may have the best TD celebrations in the game. Where do you come up with your ideas?

Well in the AFL you can do almost anything you want in the endzone; I like to involve my teammates. I score because of them and I realize that. So sometimes I’ll be watching tv and see a current event or something interesting and I’ll try to incorporate that into my thought process. When my teammates are in, the celebrations just sky rocket and ideas start flowing.

After dominating the league last year, you’ve missed some time battling injuries this year. Is Tysson Poots finally 100% healthy? What are we going to see out of you in this Arena Bowl?

Well once you start your season, you are no longer 100%. Regardless if there is an injury or not, it comes down to who can take care of their body the best. As a result, who can produce and stay on the field. Hopefully in the ArenaBowl I play well and have fun. Not everyone gets the chance to play in championship games, so I’m looking to seize the day and take advantage of the opportunity.

You’re about to play in the biggest game of your professional career so far. What is going through your head?

Right now I’m just relaxing and soaking it all in. RELAX is the key word. Stress and anxiety can tire you mentally and physically. I’m definitely aware of the opportunity ahead but preparing smart and trying to not get to work up to early.

Bold Prediction: Tysson Poots finishes with __ yards and __ touchdowns in the Arena Bowl.

You know I never predict any stats for myself. I plan on playing well and taking advantage of the plays that are sent my way.

Do you still have aspirations of playing in the NFL? If so, have you and your agents been in contact with any teams?

I do but I try not to think about it that much. I can only control what I can control and that’s how I look at it. However, if an opportunity comes my way, I am going to jump all over it.

If the NFL is not an option, will you explore the CFL?

I’ve thought of playing in the CFL, which is a great league and would be an amazing opportunity. We always check out different leagues and CFL is a definite possibility to look at if I need too.


At the end of the day, where does Tysson Poots play football next year?

Can’t really say, that’s the life of a football player, you just never know. But I will say I am happy where I am at in Arizona with the Rattlers. It would be an honor be back with this team and organization.

Watch Poots and his Arizona Rattlers take on the Philadelphia Soul in a rematch of last years Arena Bowl. The Arena Bowl XXVI Championship Game will be played on Saturday, August 17th at 1 pm EST and can be viewed on the CBS Television Network. Best of luck in the Arena Bowl this weekend Tysson. We are all rooting for you.

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James Kaikis
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Spurs vs. Pacers vs. Heat

June 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Will Tim Duncan get his 5th ring?

Will Tim Duncan get his 5th ring?

Who would have thought that the San Antonio Spurs would sweep the series against the Grizzlies and that the Pacers would be tied 3-3 with the Miami Heat. While San Antonio rests, heals, and awaits to find out who they will be playing for their 4th NBA Championship in the last decade, the Heat and Pacers will meet again Monday night. Here’s a quick glance at the advantages each team has over the others and who the Spurs would rather play for the NBA Championship.

The Big Men:
After the Spurs seemingly manhandled one of the best duos down low in the NBA, you would be hard pressed to give any team the big man advantage over the Spurs. Roy Hibbert has been getting a lot of love for his performance against Miami. And is getting even more attention for throwing around gay slurs and calling the media motherf—–s in his post game conference. However, if you were going to ask me whether I’d have a duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph or Roy Hibbert and David West, I’ll take Gasol and Randolph any day of the week.  If San Antonio can deal with Z-bo and Gasol, they can handle Hibbert and West. Hibbert averaged 11.9 PPG and  8.3RPG during the season. Against Miami, he’s bumped that up to 22.8PPG and 10.8RPG. So how has Hibbert suddenly found himself and become an unstoppable threat down low? I’m going to say no.
Miami’s presence down low is abysmal. Chris Bosh has already been having a career low in rebounding, and against the Pacers is getting a whopping 3.7RPG. 3.7! That’s completely ridiculous for a 6’11 All-Star player. Look at Bosh’s RPG this season against teams with reputable centers or power forwards in the league. Against Brooklyn-3.3RPG, Indiana-3.3RPG, Utah-1.0RPG, Philadephia-3.3RPG. Chris Bosh doesn’t shut down opposing big men, he gets shut down and dominated. Possession control wins in the post season. Hibbert’s excellence right now is more a byproduct of Miami’s atrociousness at handling big men. Hell, if the Pacers leave Hibbert in game 1, James probably doesn’t get the game winning lay up at the buzzer and maybe there isn’t even a game 7. I don’t expect Hibbert to keep up this level of play against a team such as San Antonio. He’s a good center, but his regular season numbers speak volumes. As far as Miami goes, it’s not the big men that win games, its LeBron James.

Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
Whether it’s the Pacers or the Heat, San Antonio will have the advantage in the big man category. Obviously they would prefer to deal with Miami down low rather than the Pacers, but when you have the best power forward of all time playing alongside one of the leagues best coaches, you have the advantage. The Big Fundamental and a fundamentals coach made their statement against the Grizzlies. They can play down low against anyone in the league. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, its all about Timmy D, and he’s going to get his.

Small-Forward:
Kawhi Leonard is an ever-growing asset to the San Antonio franchise and seems to just be getting better and better. Paul George emerged this year as an All-Star and one of the best all around players in the league. But NOONE can argue that Miami does not have the advantage in the small forward position. LeBron James is the greatest basketball player on Earth. Both the Pacers and the Heat have the advantage against San Antonio in the Small Forward position, but the Spurs would rather face Paul George than LeBron James against them on the court.

Advantage: Miami Heat
You never want to play against LeBron James. Plain and Simple.

Shooting Guard:
It appears that the NBA gods decided to plague the shooting guards left in the playoffs. Dwayne Wade’s stats this post season are 13.6PPG, 4.6RPG, 5.1APG, Manu’s 11.5PPG, 4.5RPG, and 5.4APG, and Lance Stephenson 9.4PPG, 7.7RPG, and 3.2APG. Look at that again, Lance Stevenson is performing at nearly the same level of Manu Ginobili and Dwayne Wade. Throw that in with the injury worries of Ginobili and Wade, and Stevenson may be the one to fear. He has that NBA Live ‘He’s on Fire’ ability that gets the Indiana crowd going wild when playing t home. While he’s playing well right now, theres no way I’m going to put him above Wade and Ginobili. Both are perrenial All-Stars for a reason. Despite Wade’s abysmal performance these past few games and his knees that seem to aged 30 years, everyone remembers his Finals performance against Dallas that gave Miami their championship pre-LeBron. And Ginobili can go from having a horrible shooting performance, to nailing the game winning shot with no time left.

Advantage: No Team
If Dwayne Wade and Ginobili continue their sub par performances, they are nearly comparable to Lance Stephenson. I never thought he’d be in the conversation for advantage at shooting guard but he’s there. Not because he’s playing at an all star level, but because the other two have fallen. I’m not basing this on the potential or sheer talent of the players, but the way their performing this post season.

Point Guard:

Tony Parker is one of the most underrated point guards in the league. Without Tony Parker, there is no way that the Spurs are in the Finals. The Spurs offense begins and ends with him and he runs the pick-and-roll to near perfection. Parker’s averaging 23.0PPG, 3.9RPG, and 7.2APG, but his team role goes beyond the numbers. He facilitates the Spurs game plan and conducts the team perfectly. He’s carried his team to a championship and won Finals MVP and I won’t be surprised the least if he does it again.
Who would have thought that George Hill could potentially get to the NBA Finals the same year as a Pacer as he could have as a Spur. Popovich may be going against one of the players he mentored, and while he’s a good point guard and can run the offense, he’s no Tony Parker. He’s an efficient player and can do his job, but it won’t be at an All Star level.
We all remember Dwayne Wade yelling “Mario F—ing Chalmers” after his stellar performance against the Thunder last year. If it wasn’t for his potential to randomly go off for 20+ points, hit those game winning shots he’s been doing since he left Kansas, or for his ridiculous outfit in Miami’s Harlem Shake video, I wouldn’t even talk about him. Like Hill, Chalmers does his job and can randomly have scoring outbursts. Neither player though will take the game over and be the reason his team succeeds.

Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker is one of the best point guards in the league while the others aren’t even in the conversation. As far as a game manager goes, it doesn’t get much better than Tony Parker.

Coaching:
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
I’m not even going to give this one an elaborate explanation. I commend Frank Vogel and Erik Spoelstra for leading their teams to the Eastern Conference Finals but I’m not going to say they are better than Popovich. Popovich is that coach that never seems to panic and always gets the best out of his players. He commands respect from his players and his authority is never questioned. He is one of the main reasons that the Spurs have been one of the most dominant teams throughout the past decade. He’s one of the greatest coaches the NBA has seen and his coaching acumen cannot be questioned. The fact that every player seems to develop and improve under his coaching is testimony to his coaching skill.

Who would the Spurs rather face?
The Indiana Pacers

I don’t think that it’s the question that the Spurs would rather play the Indiana Pacers. Their make up is not much different than that of the Grizzlies. They operate an inside-out game plan with athletic wing players. Paul George may be able to give them some trouble but Kawahi Leonard is a fantastic on ball defender and could potentially contain him. If I hadn’t seen the Spurs perform so well against the Grizzlies and be able to grind out and win those close games, I may underestimate their ability to contain Indiana’s big men. A series sweep against one of the best teams in the West though speaks volumes. Throw that in with Popovich’s time to analyze the Pacer’s game tape the past week along with the Spurs’ players getting rest, and you have a team that can handle anyone in the Finals.
While many would argue that the Spurs may do better playing against the Heat in the Finals, they have the ultimate X-factor. I don’t think that any team wants to match up against the best player in the world. There is just too much that can go wrong. Also, the funk that Bosh and Wade are in can’t continue forever. If those two can turn it on and LeBron plays to his usual level, the Heat rattle off the wins. One of the most important factors though is that these two teams didn’t play against eachother in the season. The Spurs infamously sat Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili right before their away game against Miami, and Miami sat Wade and James away against the Spurs. Both games were close despite the missing All-Stars. While the Spurs would probably rather match up against the Pacers, a Spurs-Heat Finals is the one I’m hoping for.
I want to see the ultimate team ball against the star studded cast of the Miami Heat. A team that announced themselves with a rock concert versus the quiet reserved players of the Spurs. One of the most dominant teams for the past decade going against the team that plans to rattle off “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven” championships. The series could signal the closing of a dynasty or the beginning of a new one, and something all basketball fans should want to see.

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Tye Masters
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