The Long Snapper (3/9/10)
Starting the week off right with another
Marvin Kloss
story. Quick recap for those of you that didn’t read my many mentions of the kid or never cared in the first place. According to some kicking school you’ve never heard of, Kloss was one of the best kicker prospects in the nation. According to the big-budget recruiting sites, Kloss didn’t exist. He was offered a scholarship from
USF
, but turned it down for a chance to go to
Florida
. After realizing there was a good chance he wouldn’t qualify, he decided to return to the green and gold and attempt to walk on. So why am I mentioning him yet again? Because
on charges of grand theft. The story is one of those
“good job idiot, way to think about your future”
ones we all love so much. Kloss and a high school teammate are accused of stealing over $8,000 worth of items from a home during a party. A party thrown by not the owner of the house, but by someone who was watching the house while the owner was out of town. Think Kloss still has preferred walk on status at USF? I’m going to go with
“probably not.”
Skip Holtz
has already shown what he tolerates and doesn’t. If Kloss ever wears a Bulls’ uniform, I’d be very surprised. But let’s at least hope he doesn’t something to warrant another Long Snapper inclusion in the near future.
Joel Miller has decided not to go forth with a lawsuit against former USF coach Jim Leavitt. He said everything you would hope someone would say but never does. That he doesn’t want to make any money off of the incident despite what people think. Miller felt he had to tell the truth, but claims he didn’t do so to make money and therefore won’t sue his former head coach. An honorable move I guess, but I’m more excited about the fact that this is just one more step to us not having to hear anymore about what did or didn’t happen in the locker room that day. More could happen, but for most USF fans, the door is closed. Leavitt is gone and isn’t coming back, ever. Everyone seems to have embraced Holtz and can’t wait for his first game on the sidelines. Think of this as just another hiccup in the ongoing story of Bulls’ football. A year or two from now, we’ll barely be talking about it.
Matt Patchan is balls. Anyone that has a story that starts with “so this is how I got shot” earns mention as being tougher than I am in even my best dreams. Added to his steel is the versatility that makes Patchan desirable at whatever position he comes back at. From defensive line as a freshman, to offensive line briefly as a sophomore, to the mention of maybe tight end (I’ll believe it when I see it) in 2010. Right now, Patchan is doing his best to come back from a nasty ACL that cost him a real chance to earn a starting spot along the offensive line during the 2009 season. He’ll be extremely limited during spring practices, but watch out for him come fall. He sweats more talent than you’ll have in a lifetime and will star as whatever position he ends up at.
Joe Paterno now has his own award. Or to be exact, he has an award named in his honor. The winningest coach in Division 1-A/FBS history will have his name on an award given out by the Maxwell Club. The Maxwell Club also gives out the, you guessed it, Maxwell Award. The award givers haven’t decided exactly what the criteria for the Paterno is just yet, but it’ll be something along the lines of the affect a coach has on his team and community. Basically exactly what embodies the man himself. I’m still waiting for the Ron Zook Memorial Trophy, but apparently Zook is still alive and well and actually coaching football.
I’m not sure how I feel about the advancement of 3D over the last year or so when it comes to movies. Some of the ones I’ve seen have looked great, but I have to be honest, in the end, I just end up with a headache. Due to that, I’m not as excited about true 3D technology coming to our homes and, more importantly, sports in the not-so-distant future. I love HD. Who doesn’t? I don’t feel the same way about 3D. I’m probably in the minority with that sentiment, but oh well. Despite the technology offered, I have to wonder if it will really catch on. Will people really enjoy it as much as everyone seems to think? Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Regardless, I’m reminded of some of the more recent technological failures.
1. Blu-ray won the war and I’m glad I didn’t end up buying this.
2. Sales, no. Failure, yes.
3. Sony has a lot of hits. They also have some misses.
4. I actually really enjoyed my Sega Saturn.
The Sixth Man: NCAA Tournament bid or not, USF just finished what has to be considered a great regular season. At least by Bulls’ standards. If you had asked me before the season who would’ve had a higher conference win percentage, the football team or the basketball team, I never in a million years would’ve guessed it the way it ended up. Now USF heads to the Big East Tournament as the nine-seed. As the highest seed in the first round, the Bulls will face the conference’s last place team in DePaul. It’ll be the second time in eight days the two teams have squared off. USF won the previous matchup 63-59. Get by DePaul and the Bulls will face another team they beat the last time they faced them in Georgetown. Look at it that way and it seems like the Big Dance is a real possibility. USF needs some help, but two wins in the tournament of a conference that has five ranked teams at the moment (two of which the Bulls beat during the regular season) and they could get in. It’s not out of the question.