Quick Takes
Last week’s NFL playoffs in order:
*KC’s head coach Herm Edwards, offensive coordinator Mike Solari, and QB Trent Green all suck! The KC defense should sue all three for lack of support.
*Great Seattle-Dallas game! Seattle is still in the hunt, but their weaknesses were exposed. The media wrongly crucified Buckner; now they’re doing it to Romo.
*Too much Patriots precision from head coach to QB. Watch Eric Mangini and the Jets next season. The Jets have lots of salary cap room, and they’ll use it.
*Philadelphia won, but the Giants performed far better than I thought they would. Classic highlight was Shockey pulling off Coughlin’s headset to make his point.
Urban Meyer was the Florida key, pardon the play on words. He prepared his team for weeks for the BCS title game. Most so-called experts thought the Gators were going to lose that game. Many, including me, didn’t think they even belonged there. And moments into the biggest game of the year, Florida was already down by seven to a huge favorite. They could have caved right then and there, but they didn't. It was virtual domination by Florida after that opening kickoff, and great credit has to go to Urban Meyer.
Leonard Little is a defensive end of
the St. Louis Rams. He’s a nine-year veteran of the NFL, with Pro Bowl
credentials and a Super Bowl ring. They love him in St. Louis. Well, not
everybody; the Gutweiler family doesn’t love him, and for damn good reason.
In October of 1998, Little killed a St. Louis woman while
driving drunk. Little ran a red light and collided with a smaller vehicle driven
by Susan Gutweiler. Gutweiler, who was 47 at the time of the accident (I call
it murder), left behind a husband and a teenage son. Little pleaded
guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 90 nights in jail, 1,000
hours of community service, and four years probation. The conviction was wiped
from his record.
In April of 2004, he was arrested a second time for drunk
driving. He was found not guilty. What a shock!
Leonard Little would be in a prison cell somewhere this
minute if he were not a celebrity. Unfortunately, the treatment of Little is par
for the course as it relates to our judicial system’s handling of celebrities,
no matter what the crime.
Every so often, I’m offered fight tickets, and every so often I go. And I invariably find myself recalling what boxing used to be, when all eight weight divisions had quality champions. There are now 17 different weight classes and four different title belts within each. In the old days, I knew all eight champions and top challengers. Not anymore! Today, boxing is terribly watered-down, like all sports, and its substance pales by comparison to its hype, like most things. It's all about money; it's only about money.
Story of the Week
THE JONES BOYS
At 6'-4", SAM JONES was the prototype of the tall guard who could run the floor, bang the boards and had a rangy offensive game that gave opponents fits. One of the "Jones Boys" in Boston, Sam teamed with K.C. in the Celtics backcourt to create havoc in NBA arenas around the country. Jones favored an unorthodox but highly effective "bank shot" that became the muscle behind his and Boston's 10 NBA championships, including eight in a row (1958-66).
As a collegian, Jones was an offensive firehouse scoring 1,770 points while playing for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon at all-black North Carolina Central College. Jones wasn't a collegiate All-America and was a relative unknown, but that didn't sway Red Auerbach, who drafted Sam in the first round of the 1957 draft. Jones didn't disappoint the Boston faithful. His 12-year NBA career included five All-Star Game appearances, 871 regular season games and 154 playoff games.
Considered one of the NBA's most prolific graceful shooters, Jones scored 15,411 points (17.7 ppg), plus 2,909 (18.9 ppg) more in the playoffs. Considered one of the fastest NBA guards with superb court vision and savvy, Jones led the Celtics in scoring three times, averaging a career-high 25.9 points in 1965.
An extremely popular player, in 1970 Jones was selected to the NBA Silver Anniversary Team (1970), a composition of the greatest NBA stars of the league’s first 25 years. He later would be named one of the top 50 players in history when the NBA celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1996. Sam Jones is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Sam Jones:
871 Games, .456 FG%, .803 FT%, 4305 Rebounds, 4.9 RPG, 2,209 Assists, 2.5 APG, 15,411 Points, and 17.7 PPG.
Success is no stranger to K. C. JONES. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a basketball personality who has been more successful than Jones. A hard-nosed playmaking guard and defensive specialist, Jones enjoyed a phenomenal collegiate career playing with Bill Russell and for Hall of Fame coach Phil Woolpert. As a ball-hawking guard at the University of San Francisco, Jones and the Dons won 57 of 58 games and won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956. The success continued as a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic gold medal team before serving two years in the U.S. Army.
After the Army, Jones rejoined Russell with the Boston Celtics. Dressed in green and white — also the colors of USF — Jones played admirably on eight consecutive NBA championship teams (1958-66), making a huge impact as a scrapping defensive player.
Jones retired after nine seasons and became the head coach at Brandeis University (1967-71). In 1971, the pro game beckoned and Jones became assistant coach to former teammate Bill Sharman with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers captured the 1971-72 NBA crown and Jones earned his first head-coaching job with the ABA's San Diego Conquistadors.
After one season with San Diego, Jones joined the NBA as head coach of the Washington Bullets (1973-76), leading them to the NBA finals in 1975. After one season as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach, Jones returned to Boston as an assistant from 1978 to 1983 and was named head coach in 1983. K.C. added to his championship ring total (12 in total) by guiding Boston to the 1984 and 1986 titles. In five seasons with Boston, Jones compiled a 308-102 record, a .751 winning percentage. In each of those seasons, the Celtics won the Atlantic Division title.
In 1986, Jones was elected to the Bay Area Hall of Fame and the Celtics retired his number 25 jersey. K. C. Jones is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
K. C. Jones:
676 Games, .387 FG%, .647 FT%, 2,399 Rebounds, 3.5 RPG, 2,908 Assists, 4.3 APG, 5,011 Points, 7.4 PPG.
Last Week’s Trivia
He is the brother of a famous football player. He played 12 seasons in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2002 as the league's all-time leader in career receptions (972) and second all-time in receiving yards (14,359). During his career, he scored 66 touchdowns, averaged 14.8 yards-per-catch, and played in four Grey Cups, winning twice. Who is he? He’s Darren Flutie, younger brother of Doug.
Trivia Question of the Week
There were two sports franchises named the Boston Braves. They are viable franchises today. Trace their history. Who are they? You’ll probably know one of them, but I suspect you won’t know them both. See next week’s Sports Junkie for the answer.