Back in the Saddle, Happliy Married!

After 3 weeks of wedding fun, honeymoon excitement and a return home, your happily married chronicler returns!

What have we missed in the last fortnight-plus?

The Barracks Coup

Earlier in the season, we all witnessed the New England Patriots of the NFL get into trouble for their extensive electronic/signals/intercept intelligence operation. In this regard, what happened at Texas A&M with the VIP Connection newsletter is a cousin, but not a twin sibling, to what transpired in pro football's professional division.

Franchione made a couple of mistakes with the newsletter:

A) He published it

B) He compromised sensitive team information

C) He created conditions that now allow Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne to terminate him without honoring the multimillion dollar buyout in his generous contract, signed in 2002.

I've got to believe that the newsletter was an open secret in the Aggie big cigar circles. Thanks to pernicious forwarding, the "exclusive" letters could travel across cyberspace and into anyone's hands. Franchione should have probably been aware of that.

By being an open secret, it was also an open fist, and as A&M struggled out of the gate this season, it clenched into a closed one. In other words, maybe the boosters have limited patience and, despite their largesse, a limit to resources. So, I am not surprised this leaked out during a time of struggle for the Aggies. It would A) embarrass Franchione and B) create circumstances by which Byrne could expel Franchione.

Byrne, unlike his predecessor Wally Groff, is a modern athletic director. He is also the most powerful official on the A&M campus after former president Robert Gates left to become Secretary of Defense. Until there is a new president, or, in 2009, if Gates comes back, Byrne will continue to be the strongest person on campus. He is not in a position to be manipulated -- see how he lanced Arkansas for approaching Billy Gillispie last year. True, A&M eventually lost him to Kentucky, but to even have coaches attractive to schools like Kentucky for basketball, that says a lot about the hires Byrne makes.

Byrne, however, did NOT hire Franchione. The big money boosters facilitiated that, partly out of ambition, and, I suspect, a decades-long desire to stick it to Alabama for the whole Bear Bryant affair. I thought there were better choices (see one Kubiak, Gary), and I never got the feeling Byrne wanted Franchione -- even with the extension, which was the product of a 2004 campaign where A&M returned to decency. Even 2004 was a debacle, though -- losses to Baylor, OU, Texas, Utah and Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl.

Franchione may win out (thought not likely) and still not survive. To compromise your own talent in such a way that allows your program to be embarrassed is one step beyond what any AD can defend.

For Want of 1/12th of a Dozen

Georgetown's bizarre 0-7 campaign on the gridiron featured a competitive loss to start and a competitive loss to date. In between sit a series of forgettable blowouts. Despite notes from the Old Gray Lady that indeed we do mean business in the 100-yard rectangle, Georgetown still is by and large a school whose athletic fortunes continue to be won on the hardcourt.

Greg Monroe of New Orleans, the top recruit in the nation, committed to Georgetown to play basketball next year. Not only is he the jewel of John Thompson III's current recruiting class, he is even for Georgetown a rare gem for its history. The last time a #1 player, Othella Harrington, opted for the Hilltop, I was an 8th grader and Kriss Kross was telling me to jump, jump over the radio waves of Y95 FM in Laredo. And for those of you familiar with Y95's format changes over the last decade and a half, that's been a very, very long time.

Georgetown needs a football Greg Monroe. This is on the surface appears laughable, as there are at least 200 schools (some even at the Division II and III level), that provide a better football opportunity than the Swift Potomac's Lovely Daughter. Monroe sports an impeccable combination of athletic and academic skill. Imagine if we had the football Greg Monroe to add to our squad of men who are building this program with their sweat and effort.

As noted in the NY Times article, Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly can walk into the door in the football factory states like Texas, Florida and Georgia. Perhaps, indeed, to attain football success, we should be looking for on an athlete who would probably not start on the two-deep of a major school but has an intangible desire to compete and win. Maybe the athlete was injured and schools have withdrawn interest. Maybe the athlete wants a top-flight education.

If we are to aim high with our expectations, and get noticed by major publications in doing so, Georgetown should aim high with recruiting as well. Since we don't offer football scholarships, our task is much more difficult even compared to weak D-1A squads. However, if we are to sail, we must do so in a boat that will ride strong on the waves. The team on this squad is navigating bravely.

A Preview of What's To Come

This will be the last post for the next 3 weeks, as I am getting married this weekend and then heading for my honeymoon.

Georgetown faces a Cornell squad on the Hilltop for Homecoming. The list of upcoming events for returning alumni includes the famous Chicken Finger night at the dining hall. Ah, desiderata. The positive thing for the Hoyas is I believe that they can only get better.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M, who we last all saw getting blasted off the Orange Bowl turf by Miami, hosts Baylor in the Big 12 opener for both squads. This brawl for the Brazos should be at least entertaining, and hopefully the Aggies should beat up on the Bears. Keep an eye (if possible, this game is on Versus network) on Aggie redshirt frosh QB Jerrod Johnson, who should remind Aggie fans of Kevin Murray and, hopefully Vince Young.

Hey, Hey Mercy Woman, Play a Song and No one Listens

In assessing Georgetown's brutal 0-55 defeat at Holy Cross yesterday, it seems appropriate to recall the melodic musings of Michael Nesmith, one-time Monkee, music video pioneer and fellow Texan.

One of the Monkees' more enlightening tunes in its 1960s heyday was the country/psychadelic ode to lost love,
"Listen to the Band."

Accordingly...

"Play the drum a little louder,
Tell me I can live without her
If I only listen to the band."

Once a season, a football team can run into a buzz saw like this. What makes this all the more unfortunate is that GU is a month into this season and looks like it has regressed from its spirited effort at home against Yale last week. Is there anything Coach Kelly and his staff can take from this game? Is it safe to use the old sports adage of "burn the tape"?

A loss like this is not necessarily indicative of the level (or lack thereof) of consistent fan support for the 0-4 Georgetown program. It isn't a reflection so much of GU's institutional commitment as much as it is an example of just how far Georgetown has to go. Stepping back in to MAAC play is not a realistic option. The Patriot League is the right league for GU to place its football team. However, the timeline involved in making GU a competitive program maybe just "moved to the right" a bit.

La Enorme Distancia

This is my reaction to the 34-17 beatdown Miami inflicted on Texas A&M last night


I have never been less enthused about the state of A&M football as I have been tonight. The only comparable feeling I have after tonight's debacle in the OB was after serving as an eyewitness to Duke's dismemberment of Georgetown back in January 2004.

1. Don't be fooled into thinking this Miami team isn't as good as it looked tonight. Their o-line --which included a pair of Texans, Jason Fox and Reggie Youngblood -- drilled the A&M d-line into submission. Conversely, their D-line set the tone on the very first drive. Their guys lined up and blew A&M's guys off the LOS with purpose.

2. Franchione is now responsible for some of A&M's most embarrassing losses -- a pair of drubbings at Tech in Lubbock, 77-0, the 06 Holiday Bowl, the 05 Cotton Bowl, the 17-16 field goal fest on national tv against OU, the disaster in Boulder in 05, Iowa freakin' State, the outright collapse against Nebraska last season, and this shellacking at the hands of a better motivated and talented Miami team.

3. I sympathize with Lane being frustrated about not getting carries, but honestly, stop complaining, Jorvorskie. The fact that Lane looks like an intemperate adolescent on the sideline is exhibit #1 that this coaching staff does not instill the fear of God Almighty and all His Avenging Angels into the players.

Everybody here wants to tag Miami as Thug U, but the reality is, you look at Randy Shannon, and you hear his life story, and you know this man will not put up with any B.S. from his players. Because he is a hardcore guy who had to endure family members dying. He pulled himself out of Liberty City and won 3 national championships as a player, assistant and coordinator. You see Shannon, and he has presence. He showed supreme confidence tonight by not even using his headset. He coaches from the front, more so than Coker or Davis and even more so than Jimmah and Erickson. Why? Because he was there once before. The Canes would go out and do ANYTHING Shannon asked to bring victory.

By those factors alone he is twice the coach A&M's current $2M man is.

4.The sad thing is that it's not even October yet and A&M is looking down the barrel of multiple conference losses because Franchione and his staff show no offensive creativity and betray no confidence in the very talent it recruited to advance A&M football.

The only school getting less for its investment right now is Notre Dame. Michigan would crush A&M by six touchdowns based on what I saw tonight.

And you know what really is disappointing? A&M does have a lot of talent that is getting devolved into football purgatory because this staff has shown no leadership or confidence. McGee is locked into an option offense and his skills are currently inverse to his heart. Lane shows no more maturity now than he did when he was a freshman. We recruited 3 dozen wideouts who don't even see a pass thrown their way. And, A&M has an All-American potential at tight end who is going to go pro after this season to save his marketable value to the NFL.

Calderon!

Rare is it in the college football world that a win by Miami over Texas A&M would be a signature win for Miami. Coach Randy Shannon and the Canes host #20 A&M without a Top 25 ranking in either the Coaches' or the AP poll. One could view this game as the third prong of this season's big Florida-Texas matchups. Texas eeked by Central Florida 35-32 out in Orlando last week, while in prep action the loaded Miami Northwestern Bulls dispatched Texas #1 Southlake Carroll 29-21 over in Dallas, breaking the Dragons' 49-game winning streak.

Tonight's matchup puts the Aggies in the primetime catbird's seat in one of the premiere and ancient artifacts in the entire sport. All the smoke and clouds add a chaotic and raw feel to what should be a quality night of football.

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We are still a few weeks off from basketball season, but your Hoyas are hard at work preparing to take over the world. All your investments are belong to us!

Handsome Dan and the Bulldogs

No, that is not the name of a South Texas '50s Latino rock and roll sensation. After a spirited effort by your Hoyas, Georgetown fell short of a superior Yale team 28-14. Standing at 0-3 for the year, Georgetown now faces a Holy Cross squad coming off a 31-28 defeat of Harvard up in Worcester.

Holy Cross is an interesting place, having forfeited its once-prominent athletic standing in both football and basketball to accommodate lowered expectations, much to the lament of notable alumni. Imagine, once upon a time Holy Cross could have been a founding member of the Big East along with Georgetown. Alas, that did not come to pass.

Still, Holy Cross has been something of a legitimate Patriot League power, and the Crusaders have given us mighty fits over the history of the series, where the purple knights have a 12-7 advantage.

Georgetown showed some serious fight against a talent-laden Yale squad, and fell short on a couple of goal-line opportunities that could have turned the game into a highly competitive fight. With Cornell, Penn and the rest of the Patriot League on the schedule, GU has a chance to build on the performance this past weekend.

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It's a short week in Aggieland this time around after Texas A&M dispensed with Louisiana-Monroe in a stout 54-14 victory that served as a nice warmup for this week's
nationally-televised tilt against Miami. This is only the second meeting overall for these two programs and really the first in the modern era. Also, given the fact that this is Miami's last year in the famed, creaky Orange Bowl, I am happy the Aggies finally made it out to South Florida. On the recruiting front, the Hurricanes fiercely pursued current Aggie junior tight end Martellus Bennett. Conversely, UM's Shawnbrey McNeal was an Aggie commit until late in the process, opting for Miami when his life-long favorite squad offered him a scholarship.

The compelling matchup here is A&M's talented offense against Miami's always-tough defense. Despite getting seared for 51 points down at Oklahoma two weeks ago, Miami's defense, led by future NFL star Calais Campbell, has the right mix of speed and power to drive an option-heavy offense like A&M crazy. Despite the sudden return of a passing game at Aggieland in the ULM victory, passing against the Canes will be a tall drink of water.

Clearly this is the biggest A&M game of the young season and, perhaps, one of the most telling of the Franchione era. UM, standing at 2-1 under new head coach Randy Shannon after victories over Marshall and Florida International and a defeat at the hands of OU, is not like the awesome 2001 squad that strolled to a national championship. However, Miami is Miami, and the Canes are always a stiff opponent in the Orange Bowl, where the squad takes on mythical properties.

Blue-on-Blue; War Dances; Dragons'n'Bulls

Once every so often, on days when we get home from a routine day at work, we pause for a second and remember the good old days of college. Never mind that you were poor, naive, lost, confused, and disoriented in those days. Never mind you had to write four 20-page papers at a time and deprive yourself of food and sleep to succeed. No, you only remember the good times.

This week is one of those weeks I wish I were still back on campus. This weekend's Yale-Georgetown tilt at the Hilltop is a big deal to Yale alumni as well as Hoya faithful. The Yale Club of DC is hosting a rather generous tailgate party on Saturday on our campus. Hey, anybody who has Red Hot 'n'Blue catering is fine by me, and I hope Georgetown extends warm hospitalities to our Ivy League guests.

It really is a misnomer in popular America that the Ivy League is some sort of tweed'n'books only league. All the schools play Division 1 sports, have reasonably active alumni bases, and we all know about the Princeton basketball program, but on the gridiron, these schools play like they mean it. The Patriot League, the organization where GU chose to home its football program, aspires to Ivy standards.

Georgetown already has in this decade a win over Cornell at the Big Red's own stadium. However, Yale is as tough an opponent Georgetown will face this decade short of a Bowl Subdivision Series program. While I am not a big fan of the other school's fan base hamming it up on our campus, it does show our own student body that big football and big academics can peacefully coexist.

There is a special place in our own fight song for Yale, as hoyasaxa.com ably points out.

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When the famed and state 20th-ranked Odessa Permian Panthers from out in West Texas face off in the Metroplex against #3-ranked Euless Trinity this weekend, Mojo will face a fascinating and highly motivating mashup of Texan passion, Pacific pride and teenage enthusiasm. Euless Trinity employs a version of the Haka war dance used by New Zealand's All Blacks rugby squad. Hawai'i also used the Haka until the team decided to retire it to find a more appropriate local war dance to employ. The reasons for the Haka's popularity in of all places, North Texas, is a tale of the emerging synergies of the global economy.

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Also this weekend, the state and national #1 Southlake Carroll Dragons take on national #2 Miami Northwestern Bulls in one of the most highly anticipated prep games in recent memory. SLC is riding a 49-game win-streak, and the legacy of the Bob Ledbetter and Todd Dodge reigns remains strong with this squad, which features North Texas-bound QB Riley Dodge and Texas-bound RB Tre Newton (son of former Cowboys great Nate Newton). Miami Northwestern boasts no fewer than six commits to the University of Miami, including QB Jacory Harris.

In light of the talent edge favoring Northwestern, SLC appears undermanned. However, the Dragons have beaten teams with similar talent profiles in-state, including Lufkin and Katy.

The game, in light of the Patriots-Jets SIGINT controversy, also apparently has some mischief as well, at least according to the Bulls.

Georgetown's football team has a few kids from Texas on the squad, including some from SLC.

Make sure to tune in to see perhaps a dozen future D-1 BCS and FCS stars at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Saturday.