Armadillo: Monday's six-pack
-- Seahawks 10, Vikings 9-- Going to be long winter for Minnesota K Walsh.
-- Packers 35, Redskins 18-- Road teams won all four games this weekend.
-- Dolphins hired Adam Gase as their new HC, as they desperately try and prove that Ryan Tannehill can be an effective NFL QB.
-- Eagles are interviewing future Hall of Famer Tom Coughlin for their head coaching job today; does he have to bring a resume?
-- Next weekend's NFL games: AFC: Chiefs-Patriots, Steelers-Broncos. In the NFC, Packers-Cardinals and Seahawks-Panthers.
-- Over last nine years, in next weekend's round of NFL playoffs, favorites are 14-22 against the spread.
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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend.......
13) We start with disappointing but not surprising news: UNLV fired its basketball coach Dave Rice Sunday after the Rebels started 0-3 in conference play. A national search will take place for the next coach. Dave Rice is a good man, a very patient guy who has an autistic child, which requires great patience, but his teams didn't play to their talent level and at the end of the day, it is a performance-based business.
12) Carnage wasn't limited to the college game; Lionel Hollins was let go by the Nets Sunday, with Brooklyn languishing with a 10-27 record and a big payroll. GM Billy King was also re-assigned; how he ever gets these jobs is beyond me.
11) Seahawks 10, Vikings 9-- Minnesota missed a 27-yard FG wide left in the last minute on a frigid day in the Twin Cities. Vikings led 9-0 in 4th quarter but failing to score a TD wound up costing them the game. In 260 NFL games this year, Denver is the only team to win a game without scoring an offensive TD-- they did it twice this year, in Weeks 1-5.
10) Before the game, 88-year old Bud Grant, who led the Vikings to four Super Bowls, came out for the coin toss without a coat on, with the temp at -6. The whole game reminded me of my teenage years, when the LA Rams went to Minnesota three times in playoff games in frigid conditions and came up empty in all three against Grant's Vikings. No bueno. How I hated Metropolitan Stadium; when they knocked it down, they built the **** of America on the same spot. Better use of real estate.
Quick trivia on Grant: He also played for the Minneapolis Lakers and played in the lowest scoring game in NBA history. Interesting guy.
9) Chuck Knox was the coach of those really good Rams teams in the 70's; he went 186-147-1 in 22 years as a head coach, but was only 7-11 in playoff games, never making the Super Bowl, a little bit like Marvin Lewis, who is 112-94-2 in his regular season tilts, 0-7 in playoff games. Going to be a long winter for Bengal fans.
8) Not only did Arizona lose two basketball games in LA this weekend, they lost leading scorer Allonzo Trier for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand. These days, very few teams have much depth; injuries like this are tough to overcome.
7) Wake Forest 77, NC State 74-- Deacons are 8-0 in games decided by six or less points- they're on the right track under 2nd-year coach Danny Manning.
6) Illinois 84, Purdue 70-- Illini were 10.5-point home underdog. Big win.
5) Jason Garrett is 17-28 (60.7%) on replay challenges in his career, best of current NFL head coaches. Detroit's Jim Caldwell (16-27, 59.3%) is next best.
4) Villanova 60, Butler 55-- High-level Big East game; along with Xavier, these are the best teams in the conference this season.
3) Indiana 85, Ohio State 60-- This game was 48-18 at the half; rough game for the Buckeyes, who are #346 in experience this season. .
2) When Knile Davis ran the opening kick back for a TD in Houston Saturday, it was the fifth opening kickoff in playoff history run back for a TD.
1) I think it is important to remember when these coaches get fired that they have families like the rest of us and job changes affect a lot of people. Yes, they make a lot of money but would you want your job history chronicled in the local paper or have nitwits like me writing about you from 2,300 miles away?
-- Seahawks 10, Vikings 9-- Going to be long winter for Minnesota K Walsh.
-- Packers 35, Redskins 18-- Road teams won all four games this weekend.
-- Dolphins hired Adam Gase as their new HC, as they desperately try and prove that Ryan Tannehill can be an effective NFL QB.
-- Eagles are interviewing future Hall of Famer Tom Coughlin for their head coaching job today; does he have to bring a resume?
-- Next weekend's NFL games: AFC: Chiefs-Patriots, Steelers-Broncos. In the NFC, Packers-Cardinals and Seahawks-Panthers.
-- Over last nine years, in next weekend's round of NFL playoffs, favorites are 14-22 against the spread.
**********
Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend.......
13) We start with disappointing but not surprising news: UNLV fired its basketball coach Dave Rice Sunday after the Rebels started 0-3 in conference play. A national search will take place for the next coach. Dave Rice is a good man, a very patient guy who has an autistic child, which requires great patience, but his teams didn't play to their talent level and at the end of the day, it is a performance-based business.
12) Carnage wasn't limited to the college game; Lionel Hollins was let go by the Nets Sunday, with Brooklyn languishing with a 10-27 record and a big payroll. GM Billy King was also re-assigned; how he ever gets these jobs is beyond me.
11) Seahawks 10, Vikings 9-- Minnesota missed a 27-yard FG wide left in the last minute on a frigid day in the Twin Cities. Vikings led 9-0 in 4th quarter but failing to score a TD wound up costing them the game. In 260 NFL games this year, Denver is the only team to win a game without scoring an offensive TD-- they did it twice this year, in Weeks 1-5.
10) Before the game, 88-year old Bud Grant, who led the Vikings to four Super Bowls, came out for the coin toss without a coat on, with the temp at -6. The whole game reminded me of my teenage years, when the LA Rams went to Minnesota three times in playoff games in frigid conditions and came up empty in all three against Grant's Vikings. No bueno. How I hated Metropolitan Stadium; when they knocked it down, they built the **** of America on the same spot. Better use of real estate.
Quick trivia on Grant: He also played for the Minneapolis Lakers and played in the lowest scoring game in NBA history. Interesting guy.
9) Chuck Knox was the coach of those really good Rams teams in the 70's; he went 186-147-1 in 22 years as a head coach, but was only 7-11 in playoff games, never making the Super Bowl, a little bit like Marvin Lewis, who is 112-94-2 in his regular season tilts, 0-7 in playoff games. Going to be a long winter for Bengal fans.
8) Not only did Arizona lose two basketball games in LA this weekend, they lost leading scorer Allonzo Trier for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand. These days, very few teams have much depth; injuries like this are tough to overcome.
7) Wake Forest 77, NC State 74-- Deacons are 8-0 in games decided by six or less points- they're on the right track under 2nd-year coach Danny Manning.
6) Illinois 84, Purdue 70-- Illini were 10.5-point home underdog. Big win.
5) Jason Garrett is 17-28 (60.7%) on replay challenges in his career, best of current NFL head coaches. Detroit's Jim Caldwell (16-27, 59.3%) is next best.
4) Villanova 60, Butler 55-- High-level Big East game; along with Xavier, these are the best teams in the conference this season.
3) Indiana 85, Ohio State 60-- This game was 48-18 at the half; rough game for the Buckeyes, who are #346 in experience this season. .
2) When Knile Davis ran the opening kick back for a TD in Houston Saturday, it was the fifth opening kickoff in playoff history run back for a TD.
1) I think it is important to remember when these coaches get fired that they have families like the rest of us and job changes affect a lot of people. Yes, they make a lot of money but would you want your job history chronicled in the local paper or have nitwits like me writing about you from 2,300 miles away?
