duncan228
11-26-2008, 02:50 AM
Querying Coach isn't always easy (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Querying_Coach_isnt_always_easy.html)
Mike Finger
Just like the rest of us, George Hill waits and wonders what comes next. A few miles up the road, Colt McCoy contemplates similar uncertainty, and even farther north there are places where savior-seeking boosters and Boomer Schooner drivers and a character named Pacman do the same.
In nearly every instance, there's only one way to settle things:
Ask Coach.
Almost everyone likes to think they could handle the kind of decisions coaches get paid millions to make, and in most cases, we're right. Going for it on fourth down, bringing in the reliever, determining whether or not it's appropriate to curse at the sideline reporter — these are not the tests of wisdom in which mistakes tend to cripple the stock market or doom republics.
But every now and then, a coach is presented with a real, honest-to-Lombardi dilemma, and there are more than a few of those going around these days. Such as the quandaries faced by ...
The 61 members of the USA Today Board of Coaches: Of all the flaws inherent in the Bowl Championship Series — and there are many of them — the worst is the amount of influence coaches can wield in deciding a national champion simply by casting a single, anonymous vote.
Because No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Oklahoma are separated by a mere .008 in the latest BCS standings, and because whichever team finishes ahead in next week's standings will win a three-way tie for the Big 12 South and get the inside track for a ticket to the BCS title game, a few votes in this week's coaches' poll could make the difference.
And because coaches aren't required to make Sunday's ballots public, there is the possibility of all sorts of malfeasance. UT's Mack Brown, for instance, could list his Longhorns No. 2 and rank the Sooners 10th (or even leave them off his ballot completely) and no one would ever know.
Even well-intentioned voters are in a ridiculous situation. How does Missouri coach Gary Pinkel sort through the UT-OU argument when he knows he will have to face whoever wins out in the Big 12 championship game?
He said it comes down to doing “what I think is the right thing to do.” But that can be tougher than it sounds, something understood all too well by guys like ...
Gregg Popovich, Spurs: In the big picture, it's a problem Popovich realizes he's lucky to have. But along with the glorified return of Manu Ginobili and the forthcoming rejuvenation of Tony Parker comes a potentially unsettling question:
What to do with Hill?
More than anyone else, the rookie point guard has benefited from the absence of the Spurs' two injured stars. The more playing time he's received, the more he's thrived, both with his physical abilities and with his understanding of the game. It is not an exaggeration to say he's on the verge of becoming one of the league's most exciting young players.
So in what is suddenly a crowded Spurs backcourt, how do you cut Hill's minutes? And if you don't, how do you explain it to Parker or Ginobili or Michael Finley or Bruce Bowen, or whoever ends up riding the bench as a result? Popovich acknowledged the challenge, saying that when Parker returns, “we'll have to figure it out in a different way.”
So, too, will ...
Wade Phillips, Cowboys: Here's the thing — Phillips has to play Adam “Pacman” Jones when his NFL suspension expires. He has no choice in that matter.
But how much responsibility can Phillips give him when history says it's almost certain that Jones will end up violating Phillips' trust? Just when the Cowboys were starting to get along without their famed troublemaker, does Phillips really want to risk another mess? It's almost enough to make him switch places with ...
Mike Leach, Texas Tech: In just about every way, Leach is perfect for Lubbock, and he loves it there. But knowing he might never get closer to a championship than he was last week, and realizing he might never have more attractive options than he will next month, is this pirate willing to bypass all those far-off treasure chests and explain that booty is in the eye of the beholder?
Sounds like an enviable position to be in. Until you ask Coach.
Mike Finger
Just like the rest of us, George Hill waits and wonders what comes next. A few miles up the road, Colt McCoy contemplates similar uncertainty, and even farther north there are places where savior-seeking boosters and Boomer Schooner drivers and a character named Pacman do the same.
In nearly every instance, there's only one way to settle things:
Ask Coach.
Almost everyone likes to think they could handle the kind of decisions coaches get paid millions to make, and in most cases, we're right. Going for it on fourth down, bringing in the reliever, determining whether or not it's appropriate to curse at the sideline reporter — these are not the tests of wisdom in which mistakes tend to cripple the stock market or doom republics.
But every now and then, a coach is presented with a real, honest-to-Lombardi dilemma, and there are more than a few of those going around these days. Such as the quandaries faced by ...
The 61 members of the USA Today Board of Coaches: Of all the flaws inherent in the Bowl Championship Series — and there are many of them — the worst is the amount of influence coaches can wield in deciding a national champion simply by casting a single, anonymous vote.
Because No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Oklahoma are separated by a mere .008 in the latest BCS standings, and because whichever team finishes ahead in next week's standings will win a three-way tie for the Big 12 South and get the inside track for a ticket to the BCS title game, a few votes in this week's coaches' poll could make the difference.
And because coaches aren't required to make Sunday's ballots public, there is the possibility of all sorts of malfeasance. UT's Mack Brown, for instance, could list his Longhorns No. 2 and rank the Sooners 10th (or even leave them off his ballot completely) and no one would ever know.
Even well-intentioned voters are in a ridiculous situation. How does Missouri coach Gary Pinkel sort through the UT-OU argument when he knows he will have to face whoever wins out in the Big 12 championship game?
He said it comes down to doing “what I think is the right thing to do.” But that can be tougher than it sounds, something understood all too well by guys like ...
Gregg Popovich, Spurs: In the big picture, it's a problem Popovich realizes he's lucky to have. But along with the glorified return of Manu Ginobili and the forthcoming rejuvenation of Tony Parker comes a potentially unsettling question:
What to do with Hill?
More than anyone else, the rookie point guard has benefited from the absence of the Spurs' two injured stars. The more playing time he's received, the more he's thrived, both with his physical abilities and with his understanding of the game. It is not an exaggeration to say he's on the verge of becoming one of the league's most exciting young players.
So in what is suddenly a crowded Spurs backcourt, how do you cut Hill's minutes? And if you don't, how do you explain it to Parker or Ginobili or Michael Finley or Bruce Bowen, or whoever ends up riding the bench as a result? Popovich acknowledged the challenge, saying that when Parker returns, “we'll have to figure it out in a different way.”
So, too, will ...
Wade Phillips, Cowboys: Here's the thing — Phillips has to play Adam “Pacman” Jones when his NFL suspension expires. He has no choice in that matter.
But how much responsibility can Phillips give him when history says it's almost certain that Jones will end up violating Phillips' trust? Just when the Cowboys were starting to get along without their famed troublemaker, does Phillips really want to risk another mess? It's almost enough to make him switch places with ...
Mike Leach, Texas Tech: In just about every way, Leach is perfect for Lubbock, and he loves it there. But knowing he might never get closer to a championship than he was last week, and realizing he might never have more attractive options than he will next month, is this pirate willing to bypass all those far-off treasure chests and explain that booty is in the eye of the beholder?
Sounds like an enviable position to be in. Until you ask Coach.