Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Friday, September 28, 2012 – Arnold Palmer
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”
And
“Concentration, Confidence, Competitive urge, Capacity for enjoyment.”
And
“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.”
And
“I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”
And
“I never rooted against an opponent, but I never rooted for him either.”
And
“I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”
And
“It is a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily.”
And
“Putting is like wisdom – partly a natural gift and partly the accumulation of experience.”
And
“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.”
And
“The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”
And
“What do I mean by concentration? I mean focusing totally on the business at hand and commanding your body to do exactly what you want it to do.”
The 2012 Ryder Cup is scheduled to get underway Friday Morning in Chicago at the Medinah Country Club with the first tee time at…
7:20 AM Central Time in Chicago
…which will be on ESPN on Friday and NBC on Saturday and Sunday and The Golf Channel is doing some great work this week with their Live From the Ryder Cup!
We love the Ryder Cup here at Coaches Hot Seat because it combines the Great Game of Golf with a Team Format and these matches especially get our attention because as Americans we really love to see US sports teams beat the Hell out of those Candy Ass Europeans!
OK….just kidding….kind of….about the Europeans being Candy Asses BUT whatever our true feelings watching the Ryder Cup is great fun and as we think back to Ryder Cups of years past we can think of lots of great moments, matches, shots and golfers BUT two golfers that come to mind usually around Ryder Cup time are…
Payne Stewart AND Seve Ballesteros
We think of Payne Stewart because one cannot think of the Ryder Cup without thinking of Payne Stewart who played like a man on fire and with the heart of a lion and for those few of us here at Coaches Hot Seat that were lucky enough to spend at least some time around Stewart over the years on and off the golf course we would really love to hear that Payne Stewart smart alec mouth and infectious laugh a few more times!
We think of Seve Ballesteros because Seve is THE MAN that put the fire into the Ryder Cup when he stood up in the 1970s and told the Europeans in no uncertain terms that….
We Can Beat Those Bastard Americans!
And the Europeans DID BEAT those Bastard Americans 8 times out of the last 16 Ryder Cup matches that have been played since 1979 and as much as we hated seeing the Americans lose those matches we always deeply admired the fire and passion that Seve Ballesteros brought to the game of golf and to living his life.
Seve Ballesteros did not play a whole lot of golf in America during his playing days when he was one of the top golfers in the world (roughly 1977 to 1994) but he did play enough that we got to see him in person and close-up on a few dozen occasions that were mainly at The Masters and other East Coast PGA Tour events and there are literally dozens of stories we could tell about Seve pulling off shots that a normal man could not do and most certainly would not attempt!
Our favorite memories of Seve Ballesteros beyond his victories and play at The Masters over the years were often during practice rounds before a tournament or on the practice tee, putting green or chipping areas where we watched what was nothing less than a virtuoso practice and play the game of golf with a style of play that we can only call….
Animalistic
Seve Ballesteros up close seemed to have a powerful force inside of him that radiated out to everyone else in his vicinity which no doubt his playing partners sometimes found to be over-the-top but to us fans of the game of golf appeared to be a man playing the game much like a tiger might stalk its prey in the jungle and like the tiger…Seve often got his prey!
Not at the 1986 Masters though Seve!
YES, we will admit it even though it is blasphemous for us Americans to do so…
Once we get beyond American golfers Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson up next on our favorites list is….
Seve Ballesteros
…and if we had one round of golf to play and we had to pick three golfers to play that last round with us it would of course be at the…
Pebble Beach Golf Links
….and for most of us those three golfers would be…
Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros
We would take Seve as our partner and whip Nicklaus and Watson at Pebble Beach where combined they have two US Open titles although we can promise that both we and Seve would attack Pebble Beach from the first tee until the 18 th hole and let Jack and Tom plod the ball around and win or lose rest assured we would have one Helluva time!
Let’s hope we have a great 2012 Ryder Cup and let’s sure the Hell hope the Americans….
WIN
…the 2012 Ryder Cup!
BEAT THE HELL out of those Candy Ass Europeans!
Week 5 Coaches Hot Seat MUST Win Games for Coaches and Teams
Bronco Mendenhall, BYU vs. Hawaii – Bronco Mendenhall has a very good win/loss record at BYU…
Overall: 68 – 26 (.723)
….but the expectations at BYU and Mendenhall’s expectations of himself and his football team are Very HIGH and after starting the 2012 season at 2 – 2 with two tough losses to Utah and Boise State the Cougars need to get back on track against Norm Chow and Hawaii before they launch into their next 4 games:
Utah State Oregon State Notre Dame Georgia Tech
Our BYU-grad friends in Utah also have HIGH expectations for BYU football and when the wins are less than 8 in any given season they start to get irritated (although our BYU-grad and Mormon friends don’t quite get irritated to the level we do here at Coaches Hot Seat!) and with 8 games left BYU and Bronco Mendenhall need to win 6 of their last 8 games to hit that 8 win mark and thus a win over Hawaii is a MUST.
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M vs. Arkansas – The way Sonny Dykes’ La. Tech team is playing it looks like Teas A&M got a BIG break with their opening season game at La. Tech being postponed due to a hurricane and now with the Aggies at 2 – 1 after losing to Florida and beating SMU and South Carolina State here comes a very dangerous game against Arkansas because the way that the Razorbacks are playing this is a game that Texas A&M SHOULD and MUST Win because a loss in this spot to a floundering John L. Smith coached team would make the Aggies look WEAK….and still having to play…
At Ole Miss At La. Tech LSU At Auburn At Mississippi State Sam Houston State Missouri
Throw out Sam Houston State and Texas A&M will have to fight to win EVERY game left on their schedule and why beating Arkansas on Saturday is a MUST!
Kevin Wilson, Indiana vs. Northwestern – In a “normal” world Indiana football SHOULD ALWAYS be favored over ANY Northwestern football team but amazingly Northwestern is a…
12 point favorite
…over Indiana on Saturday and why NOT since the Hoosiers have ONLY won…
3 Games
….over the past two years and 2 of those wins are over I-AA (FCS) teams and the other win is over first year I-A (FBS) team UMass! Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson needs to start winning some football games and with this schedule left…
At Northwestern Michigan State Ohio State At Navy At Illinois Iowa Wisconsin At Penn State At Purdue
….and Indiana probably going to be an underdog against every team left on their schedule there is no better place to start winning than against Northwestern on Saturday!
Gary Pinkel, Missouri vs. UCF – Gary Pinkel and his Missouri football team have already gotten a taste of what life in the SEC Conference is going to be like after getting beaten by THREE TOUCHDOWNS or more by both Georgia and South Carolina and with a very tough schedule ahead that includes…
Vanderbilt Alabama Kentucky At Florida At Tennessee Syracuse At Texas A&M
….this Saturday’s game in Orlando against UCF is a MUST Win because with a loss to UCF Missouri will be…
2 – 3
…on the season and it is no given that Missouri will be able to win 4 of their last 7 games to even get to 6 wins and become bowl eligible.
Gary Pinkel and his Missouri football team should play like their jobs and futures are on the line against UCF because….
THEY ARE!
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa vs. Minnesota– We talked to one of our good Iowa friends this week who lives outside of Des Moines and although he got his undergraduate degree in California he is a Lifelong and Die Hard Iowa Hawkeye football fan and his take on Kirk Ferentz is as follows:
“I just checked and since going to the Orange Bowl after the 2009 season Ferentz is 17 – 13 and this year’s team looks pretty mediocre as well and judging by the way my wife reacted after the Central Michigan loss meaning she was PISSED OFF if Iowa loses to Minnesota on Saturday Kirk is going to get some serious heat.”
CHS:“Did you know that Iowa will owe Kirk Ferentz 25 plus million dollars over the next decade if they fired him right now?”
Iowa friend: “I read that the other day and we will owe Iowa AD Barta some money also if we have to fire Ferentz because Barta should be right out the door behind Kirk for negotiating such an asinine contract.”
YES, Minnesota is a MUST Win Game for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz that is if the $30 MILLION DOLLAR MAN even cares if Iowa wins the game or not because he gets paid $30 MILLION DOLLARS whether he does his Damn job or not and if that isn’t Un-Freaking American what the Hell is?
Frank Spaziani, Boston College vs. Clemson – We certainly don’t envy Frank Spaziani and Boston College this week having to play a Clemson team that got whipped in the second half against Florida State and will probably be wanting to make a statement to the country against the Eagles that Clemson is still relevant nationally in Major College Football and that makes this MUST Win Game for Spaziani and BC against Clemson which is probably a CANNOT Win Game as well….BUT….if BC could find a way to beat Clemson and move to 2 – 2 on the year AND Frank and the Eagles could find 6 more wins out of these 8 remaining games…
At Army At Florida State At Georgia Tech Maryland At Wake Forest Notre Dame Virginia Tech At NC State
….Frank Spaziani might just be able to hold off the 14 DIE HARD Boston College fans that are fed-up with mediocrity on Chestnut Hill….but we doubt it!
Derek Dooley, Tennessee vs. Georgia– Oh, this should be a very entertaining game between Tennessee and Georgia on Saturday because there are so many storylines in this game that are so Damn interesting:
Derek Dooley playing against his alma mater where he played for his legendary head coaching Dad Vince Dooley
Derek Dooley’s legendary head coaching Dad Vince Dooley having to pull against Georgia which must kill him but human blood is thicker than Dawg blood
Derek Dooley’s mother Barbara Dooley who is the Fannie Flagg of Major College Football and who would love to see “Her Baby’s” team beat the Hell out of the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday and no doubt Barbara would be running around screaming like a crazy woman on the field at Sanford Stadium after the game if Tennessee somehow found a way to beat Georgia. If that happens Barbara all that we ask is you run around Sanford Stadium screaming like a crazy woman with all your clothes on! Hell, wouldn’t that be something if the folks at Sanford Stadium had to turn the hoses on Auburn grad Barbara Dooley if Tennessee beat Georgia and she was running around the field screaming like a crazy woman hopefully fully clothed?
Mark Richt who would be very Damn embarrassed if he lost to Derek Dooley who has an inferior team to Richt’s Bulldogs especially since Georgia is a 14 POINT favorite in this game over Tennessee
Derek Dooley is now in his third season at Tennessee and his records are..
Overall: 14 – 15 SEC: 4 – 13
….and Derek Dooley KNOWS FULL WELL that the above kind of win/loss records are UNACCEPTABLE for Tennessee football no matter what kind of football team he took over which just for the record had the following records over 5 past years at Tennessee under Lane Kiffin and Phillip Fulmer:
Overall: 46 – 29 SEC: 28 – 20
YES, Georgia a MUST Win Game for Derek Dooley BUT most of all Derek Dooley and the Vols now at 3 – 1 on the year REALLY NEED to find 3 and maybe 4 more wins out of these remaining games:
At Georgia At Mississippi State Alabama At South Carolina Troy Missouri At Vanderbilt Kentucky
Hell, if Tennessee football can’t find 4 or at a minimum 3 more wins out of the above schedule then the Tennessee football program is going backwards under Derek Dooley.
Tony Levine, Houston vs. Rice – Tony Levine took over a Houston football team that won…
35 Games
…over the past four years under Kevin Sumlin and after starting the 2012 season 0 – 3 with losses to Texas State, La. Tech and UCLA Tony Levine and his Cougars REALLY NEED to beat cross-town rival Rice on Saturday or this season could get very Damn ugly for Houston football with this schedule left after Rice:
North Texas UAB At SMU UTEP At East Carolina Tulsa At Marshall Tulane
YES, Tony Levine better start winning some football games or he is going to find out what the Hot Seat is all about and soon!
Jeff Tedford, California vs. Arizona State– Todd Graham took over an Arizona State football program that over the last four years under Dennis Erickson put up records of…
Overall: 21 – 28 Pac-10/12: 14 – 22
…and now Todd Graham has ASU off to a 3 – 1 start with wins over Northern Arizona, Illinois and Utah (one loss to Missouri) and now Graham brings his rejuvenated team to Strawberry Canyon to play Jeff Tedford’s Cal team and if Tedford in his 10 th season at Cal can’t beat a team in Arizona State at home that has been in disarray for years now then one can only wonder what is the state of Cal football?
Uhhhhh, that would be BAD for the state of Cal football!
Over the past five years Jeff Tedford’s record in the Pac-10/12 with California is…
21 – 25
…and if that is acceptable to the folks in Berkeley then that is A-OK with us also!
Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech vs. Iowa State – Tommy Tuberville’s records at Texas Tech now in his third season on the job are…
Overall: 16 – 12 Big 12: 5 – 12
…and if “Tubbs” wants to get the Big 12 season off to a good start a Win over Iowa State is a MUST especially because of what comes after the Cyclones:
Oklahoma West Virginia At TCU AT Kansas State Texas Kansas At Oklahoma State Baylor
Not counting Oklahoma which doesn’t even have a high school level offense or a quarterback that could make the Coaches Hot Seat flag-football team at ANY position but especially at QB Texas Tech will have a tough time in EVERY GAME that remains on their schedule and thus why Iowa State is a MUST Win Game!
Joker Phillips, Kentucky vs. South Carolina – It doesn’t get much harder than having two back-to-back MUST Win Games over Florida and South Carolina BUT that is what Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips is now dealing with and with the Wildcats now at 1 – 3 on the season and these games left after the Gamecocks…
Mississippi State At Arkansas Georgia At Missouri Vanderbilt Samford At Tennessee
….if Kentucky wants and needs to get to 6 wins in 2012 then beating South Carolina is a MUST!
Mack Brown, Texas vs. Oklahoma State – We are going to be fascinated to watch this Texas at Oklahoma State game on Saturday because this game should be a good measuring stick to see just where Mack Brown’s football team stands before it has to play their next three games:
West Virginia Oklahoma Baylor
If Texas can beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater then Texas can BEAT ever team left on its schedule especially since Oklahoma is running a Pee-Wee offense that looks like it was dreamed up by the president of the Norman, Oklahoma chess club and is being run at QB by the Norman, Oklahoma chess club champion!
Hell, if Texas beats Oklahoma State on Saturday college football fans just might be looking at an epic game on Saturday December 1 with Texas playing at Kansas State for the Big 12 title….especially since the Red River Rivalry game this year is a BIG joke since Oklahoma will be lucky to cross the 50 yard line against the ‘Horns with their pitiful and elementary-level offense and Norman, Oklahoma chess club champion at QB!
Bret Bielema, Wisconsin vs. Nebraska– So far in 2012 here is who Wisconsin has beaten…
Northern Iowa, Utah State an UTEP ALL at home in Madison
Up next is a road game against Nebraska to start Big Ten play and seriously is there anyone else wondering what brand of pillows the Wisconsin and Nebraska players will use in this game?
We might say in this spot that Wisconsin needs to beat Nebraska because of what remains on their schedule…..
BUT
….Wisconsin has 7 Big Ten games left on their schedule after Nebraska which will just be 7 more PILLOW FIGHTS!
Bo Pelini, Nebraska vs. Wisconsin – Fast heartbeat or not this game against Wisconsin is a MUST Win for Bo Pelini and his Huskers because Wisconsin got beat by Oregon State and they barely beat Utah State and if Nebraska can’t beat at home in Lincoln a team that lost to Oregon State then what the Hell is wrong with the Huskers because something would be terribly wrong!
After Wisconsin Bo Pelini and Nebraska have left…
At Ohio State At Northwestern Michigan At Michigan State Penn State Minnesota At Iowa
..otherwise known as 7 more PILLOW FIGHTS and if Nebraska can find the right PILLOW they should be able to roll to the Powder Puff Championship (Powder Puff = Big Ten!)
Here’s a thought for teams in the Powder Puff Conference: HELLO! We are playing FOOTBALL which means you can hit the players in the other colored jerseys and not just with pillows!
Bobby Hauck, UNLV vs. Utah State – Bobby Hauck and his UNLV football team got a MUST Win in Week 4 over Air Force but it doesn’t get any easier with a trip to play Utah State on the road in Logan, Utah in believe it or not…
Heck, check this out about Dick Romney who is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame:
Dick Romney’s record in football at Utah State was…
128 – 91 – 16
AND
Dick Romney’s record as the BASKETBALL coach at Utah State is..
224 – 158!
Talk about learning something new everyday that is new to us!
YES, Utah State is a MUST Win Game for Bobby Hauck and UNLV because of what comes next…
At La. Tech Nevada At Boise State At San Diego State New Mexico At Colorado State Wyoming At Hawaii
Ouch!
Coach hard Bobby Hauck!
Ellis Johnson, Southern Miss vs. Louisville – When Brett Favre was playing quarterback at Southern Miss in the late 1980s a couple of us here at Coaches Hot Seat attended a Southern Miss football game and although Brett Favre didn’t leave much of an impression on us the Southern Miss fans surely did and that was because they believed from talking to them that their football program should be a winning program and that losing at Southern Miss was clearly…
UNACCEPTABLE!
New Southern Miss head coach Ellis Johnson must have surely known that the Southern Miss fanbase was an intense one that expected winning when he took this job and Johnson also must have understood that taking over for Larry Fedora at Southern Miss who won…
34 Games
…in his four years at the school including four bowl game trips was not going to be an easy thing to do.
So what does Ellis Johnson and his Southern Miss team do to open the 2012 season?
They go 0 – 3 with losses at Nebraska, East Carolina and at Western Kentucky and here comes undefeated Louisville into town in a MUST Win Game and after the Louisville game Southern Miss has left…
Boise State At UCF Marshall At Rice UAB At SMU UTEP At Memphis
Uhhhhh, that defensive coordinator position at South Carolina might be looking pretty Damn good to Ellis Johnson right now!
Our recommendation to Ellis Johnson: Somehow find a way to win 6 of your last 9 games this year OR very simply we here at Coaches Hot Seat won’t have to put your rear-end on the HOT SEAT….because the Southern Miss fans will do it first!
Mike Riley, Oregon State vs. Arizona– The Great Coach Tom Osborne once pointed out a truth about coaching football or for that matter life in general when he said:
“The odds are always against you no matter what your previous history is. You have to overcome the tendency to relax.”
With Mike Riley’s Oregon State team starting the season at 2 – 0 with wins over Wisconsin and UCLA this week’s game at Arizona is a classic game where one might “tend to relax” and that is something that Riley and his Beavers must fight against because there is only one way in football and life and that is…
FORWARD
…and only by beating Arizona can Oregon State keep their season moving FORWARD especially considering what comes after Arizona for OSU:
Washington State AT BYU Utah At Washington Arizona State At Stanford California Oregon Nicholls State
Hell, with those remaining games if Oregon State “relaxes” this week and loses to Arizona they might not even make a bowl game so…
