So Long, "St. Pete"

Well, that was fun.

The decade of dominance at Southern Cal, while immensely entertaining to watch on TV, is about to experience a Lehman Brothers-like collapse.

Their current recruiting class in tatters, with NCAA investigators closing in with sanctions, Pete Carroll - the smiling, gentle, classy, go-into-the-ghetto-to-help-at-risk-kids - has pulled the rip-cord on his golden parachute.

Must be nice. For him.

For student athletes who can't as much talk to Deion Sanders about the NFL without losing their entire college career, their deal isn't so sweet. USC players helped put millions in Carroll's bank account while in LA, not to mention the millions more he has now extracted from fan-boy owner Paul Allen.

I wonder if he even had the guts to stand up in front of the team to say "Hey, thanks! I'll write when I get to Seattle. Love ya!"

This doesn't make Pete Carroll any worse than any other major college coach these days - grid or hoops - it just makes him the John Calipari of the gridiron. He's proven that if you push the envelope on recruiting, win big, and get out before the house burns down, life is good.

I just resented Pete's media sainthood the last 10 years. The uncritical eye from TV pundits. The feature stories showing him in the inner city. The "we are family" vibe on the running back who dropped the weight bar on his neck and almost died. The latest tear jerker angle on the blind kid.

Enough already.

Pete knew how to get the studs. He looked the other way when convenient. Won a lot of games. Looked great on TV.

But it's over, people. Go home.

AirTran Has Your Vegas Connection!

Better jump on this one fellas. As you know, we are holding our second annual "Czabe's Field of 64" promotion at the insanely awesome Palazzo (and Venetian) during Sweet 16 Weekend.

Mark your calendars, save your pennies, and get your plans in motion!

Dates are Thu and Fri March 25 and 26, with extended stays available through the weekend.

The rates we have for this resort, are freaking insane! For about $80 per night, per person, you and a buddy can chill in what I think is one of the 3 best hotels on the strip.

Sure, you can slum it in Vegas. I have. But why???

Any place you stay, is gonna cost about $40 a night minimum. So why not just upgrade yourself, and hang with us!

But this is available to the first 64 reservations only, and you MUST book by clicking through the link here on Czabe.com.

You've got more flexibility than last year, since you can trim or extend your stay as you wish.

Best of all, we have partnered with AirTran, to help provide some good flights out to Sin City.

Like this flight here, folks! Round trip, non-stop, perfect times, for about $250! Can't be that.



And while you are at it, sign up for a chance at a free airfare from AirTran in our upcoming drawing!

So jump on board, get ready for an awesome time, and if you have any questions, just shoot me an email!

Best,
Czabe

The Simple Excellence of Miles Austin

Wide receivers, are the shiny objects of professional football. They are like “The Precious” in Lord of the Rings.

Irresistible.

Yet as often as not, it is the workmanlike wideouts who end up making the most impact. See Miles Austin. See Wes Welker.

I’ll admit my own inability to see sensibly on this matter. I once wanted the Redskins to take Peter Warrick over Chris Samuels.

Yeah. Uh.. huh. (cough).

But it’s not just me, and the rest of the couch-bound football nation. Supposedly “smart” football minds make the same mistake. Jerry Jones traded multiple picks (including a 1st rounder) and then paid a boatload to Roy Williams.

Yet Austin has been the game changer.

We’re constantly told that despite Jones’ meddling, AT LEAST HE PLAYED THE GAME! (years ago). He “knows what it’s like to be in a locker-room.”

But he’ll still over pay, over-reach, and over-hope on a bum.

Funny how last year at this time, the Cowboys had a supposedly “tough” call on whether to keep or release high maintenance primma-donna Terrell Owens.

Jones finally made the right move.

The Cowboys won the NFC East, Romo set career highs and team records in completions and yardage.

And they didn’t spend one news cycle trying to untangle whatever the hell Owens just spewed to the press about his team/catches/the playbook/quarterback/coach.

I was listening to my esteemed replacement Steven A. Smith on FSR last Friday. He had a different take. “Think how good the Cowboys would be with BOTH Austin and T.O.!!!!!” He then went on to flatly state that Owens “wuz robbed!”

Sure. Sure he was.

I think had the Cowboys stayed with Owens, they would have wasted another year trying to prop up the 35 year old’s sagging production and constant excuses.
At the expense of….well.. everybody!

The reason for Miles Austin’s excellence is simple.

He’s exactly WHERE he is supposed to be, WHEN he’s supposed to be there, catches EVERYTHING, and can run LIKE HELL!

Owens, by contrast, is seldom where he should be, usually late, drops as many as he grabs, and stopped being electric-fast about 2 years ago.

You can’t help but enjoy watching Austin play. His routes are crisp. He snatches passes out of the air like a kung-fu master grabbing a fly with chopsticks. And he’s got a 6th gear in the open field.

The Cowboys at some point will have to pay him. How much, is a tough call. If you found one undrafted Miles Austin out of a nowhere school, chances are you could find others.

Will the money change him? Will he start demanding a certain number of looks a game? I don’t know him well enough.

But I do know that wide receiver continues to be the most over-rated position in the game.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

PS: While google-image-searching, I found this one with Miles and the ladies! Niiiicceee.