John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

Saturday, November 05, 2011

John Rooke, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Thinking Out Loud…while wondering if they actually manufacture stupid pills, and if they take them in West Virginia…

• So not only does West Virginia want out of a league that saved them from obscurity and (relative) mediocrity some 20 years ago…but they want out NOW. So, they sue the very hand that has fed them all these years…the Big East Conference. Freaking brilliant…

• By the way, Mountaineers…you helped create the very contract you seek to get out from under, and the 27-month waiting period that goes along with it. This is a large reason why you won’t get out from underneath it without a severe hit to your pocket book (probably from Friday’s countersuit by the Big East). So let’s see, you want out. You want out now, and you don’t want to play by the rules? Sounds like a typical 3-year old child, to me…

• Oh, and one more thing. Stay classy, Mountaineers. Degrading the league – your partners for the past two decades – in order to justify your stupidity really doesn’t shine well on an otherwise fine part of the country…

• Sorry, I lied. One more thing. Even the infamous “Rich Rod,” former football coach Rich Rodriguez (who spurned WVU’s football team for Michigan in '07) said on CBS Sports this week that a “contract is a contract.” And he ought to know. You sued him for leaving you early. As they say in the digital text world…LMAO!

• Not for nuthin’…but Big East football just got a lot better, anyway…as the Idaho State Board of Education has given the “Ok” for Boise State to join the conference. Have fun in Norman, Oklahoma, and a great time in the Poulin Weed-Eater We’re-no-longer-relevant Bowl, Mountaineers…

• Boise’s entry into the Big East does come with a caveat – the definitive creation of a “western” division, with Air Force, SMU, Houston and perhaps one other western team. BY Who?

• How far have the mighty (or so they thought) fallen? Boston College was thumped Thursday night by Florida State 38-7. At home. That ACC paycheck can’t come in quickly enough, I’ll wager. Gotta pay the field hockey travel bill…

• #1 vs. #2. It doesn’t happen in the regular season as often as you might think (last time in ’06, Ohio State-Michigan). LSU and Alabama this weekend looks to be a doozy…but for my money, there are two “1’s vs. 2’s” that stand out all-time. Texas-Arkansas in 1969 (where President Richard Nixon actually presented the national championship to Texas afterward), and Oklahoma-Nebraska in 1971, featuring one of the most electric college players I've ever seen…the Huskers’ Johnny Rodgers…

• Terry Francona is in St. Louis to interview for the Cardinals’ job? Not a shock to me. Why not? He wins, they win…

• Is it just me, or is it weird that the Cubs and Red Sox managerial candidates seem to be the same guys? And Tito isn’t one of them…

• More cleaning house at Fenway? Allard Baird, Sox VP of player personnel and pro scouting, is up for the GM job in Baltimore…

• Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Ron Santo, Charlie Finley and the Sox’ Luis Tiant will all be on the Veterans Committee ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame, when voting occurs next month. They should all get in, but Hodges and Kaat are long overdue…

• While the Friars try to work out the eligibility issues with Kiwi Gardner, they’re still very much on the recruiting trail. A “big” is/was on campus this week, for possible inclusion next year with the Dunn-Ledo-Fortune class…

• And you know what, Friar Fans? Ed Cooley told me the other night “I love my coaching staff.” Something is definitely cookin’ in Friartown…

• The Providence Full Court Boardroom, in support of PC’s basketball program, is hosting a fundraiser November 11th at McFadden’s in Providence. Former Friar greats like Marvin Barnes, Ernie DiGregorio, Soup Campbell, Ricky Tucker, Rudy Williams, Ryan Gomes, Dickey Simpkins, Marshon Brooks and more are scheduled to appear…7-10 pm…email [email protected] for more information…

• Seems to me UConn has larger issues than whether or not Ryan Boatright is eligible to play. How about the team APR (Academic Progress Report), which is so low they might not be eligible for a tournament (Big East, NCAA) they could win – again – this year?

• I can’t imagine ANY player in the New England Patriots locker room is happy with the way the defense has played this year. And yet, I get the impression they’re only doing what Bill Belichick asks them to do. So when does the mutiny begin?

• Former Cowboys’ and Dolphins’ coach Jimmy Johnson visited Foxboro on Friday. Hey Jimmy, think you could talk Bill into running a blitz or two on defense?

• And while you’re at it, could you get him to pay another practice squad player to start a fight? Or stop someone on third down?

• Randy Moss is not walking through that door. Fred Biletnikoff will walk through the door before Moss does…

• Julian Edelman? There’s an old adage that applies here…nothing good ever happens (to me) after midnight…

• Remember when Chad Ochocinco said he wanted to live with a fan this season, as long as the fan had cable and an Xbox? Summing up his lack of productivity with the team in two words: Multimedia Overload…

• NFL surprises? Buffalo’s success is one. Cincinnati’s is another. But San Francisco’s improvement under Jim Harbaugh (coming from Stanford) will probably trigger another run on college coaches getting hired…

• I have not talked to ONE person who says they miss the NBA. Except for Doris Burke, but she has the college game to fall back on. So do we all…

• At the University of Virginia for my son’s baseball camp/recruiting trip last weekend, he was up against one “prospect” from Kentucky that stood 6-6 and weighed 250 pounds. A high school junior. Has standing scholarship offers from Wake Forest and Vanderbilt, but wanted UVa for pre-med, since he’s a 4.0 student. And my son told me “Dad that was a real eye-opener.” Ah, youth…

• Okay, so I bang on West Virginia. I have great friends who work for the school, and I wish them all well. But sometimes, the emperors (presidents, athletic directors) do need to know they aren’t wearing any clothes. Stupid is as stupid does, Forrest…

• This week’s mailbag question comes from Joshua in Virginia: “Hey John, yardbarker.com reports that Moss may be back in the picture with the Julian Edelman issue. What do you think?” Joshua – I mentioned this earlier, and I’ll say it again in two words – No. Shot. Now personally, I think I’d like to see it happen…it makes things interesting around here!

• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to [email protected]. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, too @jrooke0722…