Mike Francesa

"Do I think I could manage the Yankees? Sure. Do I think I will get a chance to manage the Yankees? I would love to try, but they wouldn't let me." - Mike Francesa


Do I think Mike Francesa could manage the Yankees? I am sure he could not. Do I think he will get a chance to manage the Yankees? I do not want him to try, and I'm confident the Yankees will never let him. 

In fact, here are some things I would endorse for Yankees' manager before Mike Francesa:

1. (point to a pile of leaves)
2. a drawing of Billy Martin
3. 111,916 people selected randomly out of the Oklahoma phone book
4. 36,558 others
5. "the Mad Dog"
6. 7,300 others
7. a credit card receipt for a hedge trimmer signed by Dallas Green
8. the guy who showed me to the elevators that led to the south parking garage
9. (point at first man I see walking out of an O'Charley's) what about him?!
10. cup of mushroom barley
11. 400 others in the Denver metropolitan area
12-14. Bobby Valentine
15. (point at first woman I see) what about her?!
16. George Steinbrenner's smartest great-great grandchild's pet
17. a dab of yellow mustard
18. a store manager at any of the 135 South Carolina-area Bojangles restaurants
19. (point at first group of children I see getting onto a school bus) what about them?!
20. this butterfly

21. the next guy I meet named Keith

Basketball phrases 2017-2018 tour diary

Basketball season is underway, so it's time we also move over to the hardwood & continue our sports phrase diaries.

Here's part 1 from games played between November 1 - November 16

Philadelphia-Atlanta, 11/1, Fox Sports Southeast

"broadcaster's jinx"

"defending by committee" (2)

"the engine that drives this Hawks team"

"youth will be served"

Carver College-Georgia State, 11/10, espn3.com

"chip on their shoulder"

"floor vision"

"basketball IQ" (2)

"heat check"

"he's a coach's son" (2)

Loyola Marymount-UT Arlington, 11/11, espn3.com

"very athletic big"

"physicality on the boards"

"got down and got a floor burner or two"

"the complete glue for UTA"

"post depth"

"the Mavericks have scaled the mountain!"

"they're long....and they're not just long, their fresh!"

"both teams have tightened the screws"

"very heady"

"ice in the veins"

!

our first of the season - :16 to go in the second half

Howard-Indiana, 11/12, Big 10 Network

"the pressure cooker that is the Indiana Hoosiers"

"integral cog in the attack"

"rise and fire"

"he's got a lot of city in his game"

"Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's" (2)

"tear drop" (2)

"volume shooters"

"court vision"

"and now a teaching moment"

"on NBA scouts' radar"

"hoops hotbed"

"old school"

"tremendous upside"

"the Butler way"

NC Central-Evansville, 11/13, thevalley.com

"it's brunch basketball in the Crescent City"

"hoop and harm" (2)

"played overseas"

"posterized"

"shot prowess"

"basketball IQ between the ears"

"dribble drive" (3)

!

our first of the season, 6:28 left in second half

Rhode Island-Nevada, 11/13, ESPNU

"spin cycle"

"energy in the building"

"that's KYP, know your personnel"

"isos"/"isolation ball"

"play within yourself"

"that's a really good basketball play"

"they're body hunting"

Montana-Penn State, 11/15, Big 10 Network

"point of emphasis" (3)

"shot blocking presence" (5)

Auburn-Indiana State, 11/16, ESPNU

"power 5 schools"

"bodying up"

"the pick and pop" (2)

"this team has the green light...neon green"

"survive and advance"

"feast week is upon us" (6)

"that's an NBA body" (2)

"in Hoosierland"

"verticality"

"fundamental basketball"

"that's Sycamore basketball"

Appalachian State-Iowa State, 11/16, ESPNU

"he's a shot seeker"

"face of the program"

"incredible upside"

"he's a Toronto Raptor baby"

"stretch four"

"floor burns"/"if you go by skin burns"

"post presence" (3)

"basketball hot spot"

"faceupability"

"a high IQ transition play"

"fabric of your program and your culture"

"hard hedge"

"he's long at the rim"

Football phrase diary, part 6

Games played from 10/30 - 11/11


Denver-Kansas City, 10/30, ESPN

"Denver jumped into their NASCAR package"
"out-flanked"
"in traffic"
"hard count" (2)
"like a coach on the field"
"bunch formation" (2)
"a nose for the ball"
"directional kicking"
"hybrid safety"
"edge rushers"
"two minute offense" (2)
"dime package"
"run the rock"
"ball skills"
"effort plays"
"showcases after the ball skills"
"high motor"
"circus catch"
"a glum John Elway"
"what a grinder"


Ohio-Miami (Ohio), 10/31, ESPNU

"dual threat guy"
"feast or famine"
"Frank Solichesque"
"circus catch"
"he leaps out of the stadium and plucks that ball out of the night sky"
"tackle in open space"
"tough sledding"
"four down territory"
"slant window"
"stack the box"
"inching their way closer to pay dirt"


Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, 11/4, Fox Sports 1

"zone concept"
"it's a schematic issue"
"skinny post"
"quality route runner"
"five star recruit"
"bedlam" (13)
"they have a no-flinch mentality"
"helmet to helmet contact"
"the legend of Baker Mayfield"


Michigan-Minnesota, 11/4, Fox Sports 1

"by the nose of the football"
"play power football downhill"
"eye discipline"
"run conflict situation"
"ball hawking"


BYU-Fresno State, 11/4, ESPN

Roy Phillpott and Tom Ramsey on the call:

"the two deep"
"a mash unit"
"pick six"
"McMaryion has been the conductor in the Bulldogs' orchestra"

!

"plus territory"
"the cream of the crop of the Mountain West Conference"
"touchdown saving tackle"
"an extra set of eyes"
"prescribed route"
"that's good body position"


Miami Ohio-Akron, 11/7, ESPN2

"move the chains" (2)
"this guy's got moxie"
"laundry on the field"
"Akron trying to bow down"
"a sideline to sideline kind of guy"


Georgia State-Texas State, 11/11, CSN

"route design"
"overcome adversity"
"showing physicality"
"out of the shadow of their own goal line"
"trickeration" (2)
"taking it to the house"
"gap containment"
"the film room"
"and Mr. Ripley, believe it or not, is on to punt it away"

clock

"internal clock"
"manage the clock"
"the clock is your enemy" (2)

"a next level guy"
"the Andy Reid school of burning timeouts"
"a whale of a ballgame"
"move the sticks" (7)
"victory formation"

Top 5 Mondays

Our first Top 5 Monday takes us to West Point and the Army mens basketball team. The Black Knights haven't had much of a history on the hardwood - no NCAA Tournament appearances and 20+ wins in just four of their 115+ seasons - but the school has produced some great coach names.

That's the subject of this week's top 5.

5. Dino Gaudio. Gaudio started his three-school coaching career at Army and won just half of his 72 games from 1993-97, including a pair of 20-loss seasons. 

* Went 3-0 against Division III Hobart

4. Valentine Lentz. Coached from 1939-44 with two winning seasons (11-4 and 10-6) and two losing ones (5-11 and 5-10). Forward Dale Hall was a second-team All-American under Lentz in 1944.

George

Went 2-6 against Georges (Georgetown, George Washington) and named George Rebh one of the captains for the '43 season.

3. Orvis Sigler. Spent four seasons (1954-58) on the sidelines, compiling a 39-47 record. Sigler's best year - 13-12 in 1957-58 - was his last before moving on to coach nine seasons at Centenary. Only coach Orvis in Division 1 history, though not the only Orvis: guard Heath Orvis played in 17 games and averaged 1.6 points for St. John's in 1999-00.

George

Went 0-2 against George Washington

2. Elmer Ripley. Elmer coached six schools from 1927-1953, finishing up with a two-year stint at West Point where he compiled a 19-17 record. Looking over Ripley's career, which concluded with a Hall of Fame nod, I'm not sure any coach, and certainly not any other Elmers, could provide a resume such as this: Army, the Harlem Globetrotters, Georgetown, Notre Dame, the Israeli Olympic Team & the Canadian Olympic Team.

Other coaching Elmers, Division 1 history

Elmer Gross, 1949-54, Penn State. Was 80-40 in five years with the Nittany Lions, making the Final Four and losing to eventual NCAA champion LaSalle in the national semifinals in his final season. 

Elmer Capshaw, 1921-22, Colorado School of Mines. Went 8-2 in his only season.

Elmer Mitchell, 1917-19, Michigan. Second coach in the program's history (and first to coach a varsity team), went 18-6 in his two seasons.

Elmer Hoefer, 1909, Wyoming. The Cowboys went 3-3 under Hoefer.

Elmer Holm, 1933-36, Washburn. The Washburn Ichabods (!) won seven games in each of Holm's three seasons.

Elmer Lampe, 1938-46, 46-47, Georgia; Dartmouth 1946-47, 47-50. According to College Basketball Reference, Lampe somehow coached at both Georgia and Dartmouth during the 1946-47 season, which makes him by far the most talented Elmer in college basketball history.

1. Ernest Blood. A Naismith Hall of Famer for his legendary teams at Passaic (NJ) High School and his overall high school career, Blood coached just one season at West Point, going 11-6 during the 1925-26 season. Also, his nickname was "Pop". Ernest Pop Blood! That's our No. 1.

George

Went 1-0 against Georgetown