Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in timgreen's LiveJournal:

Friday, August 18th, 2006
12:04 pm	USC's Ellison ready to prove himself all over again Bill Cizek Daily Breeze Preparations for USC's football season begin in earnest today as fall practice commences. And while mind-numbing drills might be the order much of the day, Kevin Ellison will delight in them as if he was playing on a carpet of dollar bills. Ellison, you see, now has a profound sense of appreciation for being on the field and playing the game he loves. When we last saw him, Ellison was in civilian clothes at the Rose Bowl, watching transfixed as Vince Young ran with abandon through a secondary he used to patrol. Ellison remembers being in a state of shock as he saw Texas' Young sprint away with USC's bid for an unprecedented third straight national championship and what would have been the first for the then-true freshman safety. "I remember standing on the benches to see over the players. I wasn't moving too much, just taking it all in," Ellison said. "It was not a great feeling; it was a bad feeling." The former Redondo High star and Daily Breeze Player of the Year was in street clothes that day because of a left knee injury suffered while helping the Trojans extend that national title bid. Late in the fourth game of the season, with Arizona State driving for a potential go-ahead score, Ellison intercepted a tipped pass only to slam knees with a teammate and suffer a season-ending injury -- stretched ligaments and a fractured tibia in the knee. He was a hero, but a fallen one. So it was that Ellison had to watch the Rose Bowl and wonder what he might have been able to do to help the Trojans make history. When Texas horned in on that quest, the pain in Ellison's knee paled to that in his heart. "It was tough to be a part of that; it was hard to see that happen," he said. "But it wasn't just the Rose Bowl. It was difficult just watching all the games. But when you're winning games, it's not as bad as when you're losing and not being able to help the team." All that frustration vanishes at practice's first whistle today for Ellison, who says his left knee has been 100 percent for about a month. "I can't wait," the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder said. "I'm gonna have fun. I can't wait to get back with the team. I've never sat out before." Ellison, once the understudy to All-American Darnell Bing, is slated to be the starting strong safety in a young and mostly inexperienced secondary. But after his injury stole what promised to be a breakout freshman season, he's taking nothing for granted. "Nothing set in stone," said Ellison, who seems more mature than his 19 years after graduating from Redondo in January of his senior year of high school to enroll at USC early last year. "I've not played since last fall and have got to prove myself every time I step on the field. I can't relax and say, 'I'm there; I made it.' I feel I have everything to prove and I'm working for it right now." He laughed at the suggestion he could return as a tailback -- where USC is also young and inexperienced with untested Chauncey Washington (South Torrance High) as the probable starter -- though Ellison rushed for 3,063 yards and 47 touchdowns his last two years at Redondo. "Naw, they ruled it out after high school," he said with a chuckle. "It was a coaches' decision. I'm fine with that, very fine with that." Ellison cherishes the responsibility and variety of playing strong safety. "Because you can see everything in front of you," he said. "Plays develop and you anticipate and read the quarterback. You line up in the box like a linebacker or you play back. You blitz, you cover tight ends ... and you're the last line of defense." Ellison will team with junior free safety Josh Pinkard and a combination of cornerbacks Terrell Thomas (junior), Kevin Thomas (sophomore) and Cary Harris (sophomore) in USC's starting secondary. Only Pinkard has significant experience, though Terrell Thomas started two games before an injury ended his season last year. Coach Pete Carroll, a former defensive back himself, said no one should be fooled just because his secondary is a little green. "This is the biggest, fastest secondary we have had," he said at Pac-10 media day. "Ellison played well as a freshman, and we think he'll make big plays for us. ... I think this is going to be a fantastic secondary for us." Said Ellison: "We have a chance to be a really good secondary. Yeah, were inexperienced, not a lot of us have really played a lot. But we feel we're intelligent and great athletes, and once we get out there and prepare, we have a chance to be really good." Yes, it's all about getting on the field for Ellison after last season, carpet of dollar bills or no. "It showed me how much I love playing and not to take anything for granted," he said. "It was tough watching every play. I love football with a passion. I gotta be out there." (Comment on this)
Friday, August 11th, 2006
11:25 am	Scoring by quarters One of the biggest complaints Michigan fans had about the 2005 team was that the Wolverines could not seem to hold a lead and/or close out a game. Many theories abound to explain these difficulties but suffice it to say that as a result of last year's struggles Michigan is boasting new Offensive and Defensive Coordinators for the upcoming season. Taking a (sometimes painful) look back at last season's results, here is the 2005 team's scoring by quarters: 2005 Michigan 94/1st 123/2nd 38/3rd 81/4th 9/OT 345/TOTALOpponents 51 71 22 97 3 244 By way of comparison, here are the scoring by quarter figures for 2004: 2004 Michigan 78/1st 70/2nd 105/3rd 99/4th 18/OT 370/TOTALOpponents 66 64 55 84 10 279 The 2004 team finished 9-3 and played in the Rose Bowl while the 2005 team finished 7-5 and played in the Alamo Bowl. Yet, scoring-wise the two seasons were very similar. The 2004 (30.8 pts./game) and 2005 teams (28.8 pts./game) scored roughly the same number of points (370 vs. 345). Likewise, defensively the two teams yielded roughly the same number of points(279 in 2004 vs. 244 in 2005). Overall, the 2005 Wolverines outscored its opponents by a margin of 101 points while the 2004 Wolverines outscored its opponents by a margin of 91 points. However, as previously noted, the 2004 team won two more games and went to the Rose Bowl. Four of U of M's losses last season were by a margin of four points or less (a fact that Wolverine fans seem to be able to recite with as much ease as they recite the lyrics of "Hail to the Victors!"). U of M got beat late in games. In fact, in 2005, the Wolverines were outscored in the 4th quarter by the score of 97-81. This was a virtual flip-flop from the 2004 season when the Wolverines outscored their opponents in the 4th quarter by a score of 99-84. Everyone knows about the "4th quarter collapses" but it is also interesting to review what happened last year in the 3rd quarter with respect to a reduction in scoring. Traditionally, Michigan owns the 3rd quarter as the coaching staff makes adjustments at the half and emphasizes having a strong 3rd quarter to set the tone for the rest of the ballgame. The 2004 season was a typical dominating Wolverine performance as U of M outscored its opponents 105-55 in the 3rd quarter. However, last season the Wolverines only managed 38 third-quarter points and only outscored its opponents by the score of 38-22 for the season. Thus, the Wolverines were not entering the 4th quarter with big leads and this repeatedly spelled trouble for U of M when the play-calling became conservative as the game went down-to-the-wire. To remediate last year's difficulties, Coach Carr has ordered the players to become more svelte so they will not wilt in the 4th quarter of close games and he has, as previously mentioned, hired new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, these changes will be enough to get U of M back on the winning track in 2006. Go Blue! (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
6:20 pm	The Al Davis Comedy Hour Welcome to the latest in our 32 part series, Better Know a Football Team. If the NFL were Hollywood, the 2006 Oakland Raiders would be Snakes On A Plane. Every simpleton (even Sean Salisbury) knows that both are destined to fall flat on their faces, most likely in their opening weekends. At times both the Raiders and Snakes will range from uncomfortable to terrifying. More importantly to our cause, both projects have the potential for levels of humor not seen since the 1980 duo of the Raiders championship and Airplane!. As always the story of Raider Nation begins with Al Davis, the League's resident hemmorhoid. The past three seasons have resulted in the Norvian average of 4.3 wins; once again the aged one spun the wheel of NFL coaches. Much like a contestant on The Price Is Right, Davis failed to complete a full spin on his first few tries and missed out on his top choices. With Bob Barker looking on the producers allowed the decrepit Davis to take a default, he was eventually able to retain Art Shell (you remember, he's the guy that replaced Mike Shanahan, and we all know how well that's going). He will soon go down as the first coach to begin his initial season on the hotseat. For those who find the pathetic management of the front office too tragic to laugh at (pussies), I proudly present you Aaron Brooks. Mere words cannot do justice to the sheer majesty of Ron Mexico's cousin. Before we go further I'd like you to watch this YouTube clip as a friendly reminder of his exploits and future potential. The bright spot of this franchise is the offensive talent surrounding their new play maker-upper. LaMont Jordan is a proven talent but he's yet to prove his longevity; combine that with a depth chart thinner than J.E. Skeets, and there could be trouble at times. The real strength comes from the speedy and sure-handed stable of receivers. Although Randy Moss is a pain in the ass he's got all the talent he needs to carry the offense... but more importantly he's got a smoothie franchise (I recommend the OG Kush). Unfortunately for Brad Gilbert and any other Raider fans out there, Jerry Porter is already bitching about his new coach and his role on the team. His future in Oakland is currently in question. A popular option is last year's injury victim, Ronald Curry. Some of you may know him better as the best football/basketball combo that a Virginia high school has seen since AI's day. He went on to stab UVA in the back to play quarterback at UNC... where he sucked. Now he will try to join Porter to recreate the dynamic duo that outed Chump Bailey once and for all. The defense was the obvious cause for concern in the offseason. Despite losing perennial underachiever/injury victim Charles Woodson the Raiders were able to shore up the beleaguered eleven by raiding the Rose Bowl rosters. They acquired two elite college safeties, Michael Huff of Texas and Darnell Bing of USC (apparently they will not be played by Hank Azaria and Matthew Perry despite what you may have heard). Thus far in minicamp the Raiders have been featuring Bing at outside linebacker, another defensive hole as of late. Oakland is headed for a long season that will be rife with despair, truly the only ecstasy you'll find in that locker room will come from Sebastian Janikowski's stash pocket. Their best bet is to share that shit with the guys in the Black Hole and pray they don't riot. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 31st, 2006
10:19 pm	Nites of the Roundtable: Volume 2 Post-Spring BlogPoll Roundtable brought to you by Burnt Orange Nation Which offseason story are you most tired of, and, on the flip side, interested in? (e.g. Reggie Bush's house, Jimmy Clausen, etc.) If I lived in a perfect place, besides the Porsche in my garage and the Kate Beckinsale in my bed, it would be taken as concrete fact that those who favor college football to the NFL were lovers of the highest caliber, blessed with immense intellect, a 98-mph fastball, the culinary skills to make bouillabaisse, and an ability to run the 100-meter dash in less than four seconds. First round selections in the Pro draft wouldn’t go as slowly as something Herman Melville wrote; Ron Jaworski’s talents would join Kirk Herbstreit’s; and the mouths of every NFL fan scolding my manliness for only paying attention to the games on Saturday would go silent, their lips locked around bottles of lukewarm Bud Light. But that is too ideal; too ideal for reality. Instead, smiling at the insignificant dysfunctions of the NFL rather than fighting to argue its more prominent frailties are the only solace I can find. For that reason, the Reggie Bush situation was tolerable. For the past two years he was arguably the world’s most entertaining football player, and he was playing in college instead of the pros. More than anything, I look at it as the NCAA is giving damaged goods to the NFL. And, as the date of the events would have it (just a week prior to the draft), Bush was damaged in transit, not by the previous owner. Once he finished the Rose Bowl, he became the NFL’s problem. He was a booby-trapped gift – the Trojan Horse, if you will. USC will be forced to figure its shit out eventually, but if someone told you ESPN manufactured the entire story just as an excuse to get Mel Kiper 20 minutes with an oxygen mask and a fresh bottle of Dasani, would you be that surprised? Essentially, instead of talking about how fat and lazy LenDale White was, you heard about how much trouble Reggie Bush was getting in. I’m pretty sure ESPN even showed us one of those patented camera shots, with Shelly Smith in the foreground, the Bush house in question in the background, and a few moving guys piling shit into a van in between. Because that’s the formula for “commotion”, obviously. (And to be honest, the most frustrating part about it was probably how the all of these roundtable discussions just had to be had concerning whether the situation affected Bush’s draft stock. You know, as if getting your parents into a nicer house made the best football talent since Barry Sanders – with much more marketability – a character-issues liability. I mean, people don’t hesitate to buy a Ferrari just because the previous owner got a speeding ticket with it.) As for Lord Clausen, Ian nails it. Though for Michigan fans, it wasn’t so much the praise he got, but how little the other recruits got in comparison. Shit, Scout.com didn’t even think Clausen was the second best prospect in his class, and I think we all agree ESPN’s about one step from making a “Who Should Jimmy Take To The Prom?” poll on SportsNation. The way I look at it, if you’ve reached the point of hating something, why would you want that hatred to be tarnished? Just imagine if you found out the guy your girlfriend cheated on you with was blind and cured cancer in his spare time. So for me, the fact that Clausen’s virtually a clone of every douche bag I knew in high school does nothing but confirm Notre Dame’s predilection for things I don’t like. Unless you’re a masochist, or a Penn State fan (which I guess is sort of the same thing) that just needs a reason to be angry, you don’t need to bother with oversaturated news content. I’d die if I had to read a thousand of these articles about Jeff Scja;kedizja being a first round baseball player (even though his ERA is poor (4.30), he has fewer strikeouts than innings pitched, and threw the most innings on the team, which rules out the “well he was too busy being an All-American receiver at the beginning of the baseball season” rebuttal) but I don’t have to acknowledge it if I don’t want. As for what I am interested in, Erin Andrews’ rumored interest in being my girlfriend is a clear number one on the list. Well, most of that sentence is a lie, but I look at her and I see a girl I could fall in love with. Almost too much of that blond hair, enough confidence to blush on camera, an accidental charisma that sucks you like a time warp back to adolescence, and one of those voices you’d want to hear talking quietly to you before you fell asleep every night. Two years ago when the Cardinals lost Game 5 of the NLCS to the Astros I saw a woman wearing grey pants standing at home plate. Jeff Kent had just hit a homerun off of Jason Isringhausen to win it in the bottom of the ninth, and the woman wanted to talk to him. You knew Jeff didn’t want to be standing on the field anymore – away from the girls he probably deserved, and the cigar smoke he wanted to inhale. And you could see it on his face, the “I’ll be there in a second” glance back at the dugout and the impatient smile that came with it. But then he finally turns toward the camera for a minute – all of that detonated firework smoke every movie in the 70s seemed to be filmed in hanging in front of his face – and it’s not Chris Myers holding the microphone up to his mouth. It’s the woman with grey pants, but she’s in focus now. It’s Erin Andrews. And she was never just one of those hired vixens who could enunciate well, either, but Erin Andrews. The kind of girl I would have held hands with for six months just to earn enough of her trust to kiss her for six minutes. I guess she asked him a few questions or something after that, but for a short time, watching her lips move, I was almost a little jealous of Jeff Kent. I love the Cardinals almost enough to let them cause me as much pain as Michigan does every October, but I have to say, when Fox ended its telecast and started with the M.A.S.H reruns, it was Erin Andrews who I couldn’t stop thinking about. The off-season story is her disappearance from my Saturdays, and how much I can't wait to see her when she comes back. Sideline reporters have 200 seconds per game to do their jobs, and more often than not you know whether they’re worth listening to within 10 of them. They have to be almost perfect, because when you’re watching them you’re not watching the game. They won’t win that fight. But with Erin, she never needed to win; she wasn’t fighting anything. She was a reason to watch. Your head coach comes down with a mystery illness and has to step aside. You get to hand pick the replacement for the 2006 season. Who gets your vote? Since this is purely a hypothetical and all, I’d take the stoicism of Lloyd Carr, the militaristic demeanor of Charlie Weis, the swagger of Urban Meyer, the tan of Chuck Amato, the ebullience of Rick Mangino, the audaciousness of Steve Spurrier, the reputation of Joe Paterno, the grandfatherly innocence of Bobby Bowden, the pantry of Phil Fulmer, the exuberance of Pete Carroll and the visor of Bob Stoops. Coaches are always depicted as caricatures, whether out of sheer convenience on the part of frustrated fans, the coach’s own appreciation for actually having a defined persona, or in the case of a guy like Lloyd Carr, simply growing more stubborn and socially conservative with age. Bowden, Carr, Paterno and Mack Brown are of the Senior Citizen classification that – like the grandparent you respect too much to force into a nursing home – has a career of achievements that basically makes them invincible. Pete Carroll hops around in his mock-turtle necks and windbreakers as the guy who 25 years ago would have been doing everything in his power to smoke someone else’s weed and get laid without making a next-day phone call. To me, I just envy that USC has a coach who really seems to fucking enjoy his job. When USC’s done winning a minimum of 11 games a year, Trojan fans may plead for an approach like Weis’s. Meyer is all business, but where is his passion? And Spurrier is damn-near flawless, but where is the part of him that realizes he isn’t? I think that’s always been my biggest issue with Lloyd. Not that he nine wins is the best I can get, but that he doesn’t care enough to try and turn Lloyd Carr the Coach into someone who can give me more than that. Diversity and open-mindedness are not gimmicks. Lastly, we'll mix the football and the blogging together here. If you could have anyone switch allegiances and start covering your team, who you gonna pick? Ian, and the EDSBS boys are two of the best reads you’ll probably find anywhere – sports or otherwise – but I don’t know that they’re the kind best suited to cover Michigan. For that, I have to say the Bruins Nation. UCLA and Michigan are similar in a lot of ways, from their history, to their disliked coaches, to their second-class standing in conferences with powerhouses well ahead of each of them. It takes a lot of talent to capture the emotion wrought from underutilizing talent while getting your throats stepped on by your rivals. I think Nestor would do it right. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
5:10 pm	Bon Voyage Today is departure day for my brother and Dave...they are meeting up in Germany...and my cousin S from London is meeting them there.... Dave received the stash of stuff I sent for their crazy fun times during the games.. and he promised to take pictures of them wearing the wigs, facepaint, and all the hoopla... I am jealous. Dammit... but I am proud of them for going. Driving home yesterday I chatted with my brother who just finished STEP III of his boards.. (WHOHOOO!), we reflected on the awesome sports events we've been to...from the NBA finals, to flying my mom out for Reggie Millers last game at the Garden, to me going to the Rose Bowl, to my brother flying out for the Angels World Series winning games 6 and 7....we've had some great memories...and hopefully more fun times to come... next year I'm getting tickets for the Final Four since they'll be played in Atlanta...and 2008 I'll hopefully be in China attending the Olympic games... And in 4 years, i'll be done with all these damn exams and such, and will go to the World Cup... work hard, but play harder. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
11:13 am	For All the Daughters Who are Their Father's Sons In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing the following essay with Latina Lista readers. It was written several years ago after my father died and published in local newspapers. I soon discovered that there were mas hijas (more daughters) like me. A lot has been written about the father-son bond. Documentaries have been produced, books have been written, academic papers have been published, and talk shows even have devoted full hours to discussing the topic. Yet hardly anyone discusses the father-daughter relationship - at least in a positive light. The only time you hear about the father-daughter bond, it seems, is when it has been violated. Maybe that is why those of us who have had good relationships with our dads have come to regard them as very special attachments. Being my father's daughter, and the oldest of two girls, meant juggling my mother's demand for lady-like manners with my dad's desire to share his keen appreciation of sports. Instead of being called "Daddy's Girl," I was lovingly referred to as "Moose." And while my friends spent Saturdays sprawled in front of a blaring television, enjoying music dance shows, I adjusted the volume on play-by-plays crackling from the radio while Dad switched from muted TV channel to muted TV channel, watching snippets of all the televised games. Being my father's daughter, I learned how hellish the Korean War was. I heard how a 19-year-old left his studies at the University of Michigan and his dreams of playing one more time in the Rose Bowl as a Wolverine to enlist in the Air Force and fight in a battle that has become known as the "Forgotten War." While my friends enjoyed lazy sun-soaking afternoons, I trekked up blistering metal ladders to get a three-minute peek into the cockpits of parked jets at the annual air shows at the local Air Force base. Summer evenings were reserved for my dad's makeshift detachment, composed of my sister and me, marching around the neighborhood block, following my dad's lead and keeping step with boot camp tunes. Being my father's daughter, I learned that the sun wasn't always your friend. It was a hard lesson to abide by when we lived in Florida. Fair-skinned, Dad would erupt with fever blisters if he challenged the noonday heat. So, before dawn, we all piled into the family car and cruised the deserted bridges until we came to our private, palm-tree-framed stretch of beach. With blankets, towels, shovels, snorkels and goggles in tow, we shuffled through the cool sand until we found the perfect spot not too far from the surf. Once we laid out the blanket, we donned our snorkels and goggles and screamed as we dived into the icy water- just us, the fish and the seagulls. Being by father's daughter, I learned that big men do cry over the silliest of things. When I was little, the theme music from the TV show Lassie could make me unleash a flood of tears. The picture of that collie, with her paw hanging in midair, struck a sensitive chord in me - and my dad. We would point and laugh at each other as tears streamed down our faces. Being my father's daughter, I developed an appreciation of fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Weekends were special when Dad drove us across town just to get a fresh batch of those glazed delicacies. When the first outlet of the popular doughnut chain opened last year 25 miles from us, I was excited. Neither my husband nor my kids could understand why I would be so thrilled to have yet one more temptation to break my diet, but Dad did. Being my father's daughter, I learned never to stop believing. Dad was an entrepreneur who put gusto and faith into every one of his endeavors, even when they didn't pan out. But he never stopped believing. His last project was putting all of his faith into a stock that hadn't risen more than 3 points from when he bought it more than a year ago. He kept vigil on the company as diligently as my mom, sister and I did at his bedside when he passed away in April. The week after Dad died, the stock began climbing steadily. It continues to gain. I believe it will go even higher. I am my father's daughter. (Comment on this)