At Sports Ruckus we like alert you to anything we may come across that may enlighten you even further than we already so brilliantly do. The Dec. 28 issue of ESPN the Magazine has an interesting article on the practice of redshirting in college football. It talks of how it originated, why some teams use it and others rarely do. It gives particular insight into the Wake Forest program and the effect redshirting has had on alumi such as Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith and other present and past NFLers. It also contains explanations as to what greenshirt, blackshirt, grayshirt and the short lived pinkshirt refer to. its a great read and worth your time. The title is ‘To Play Or Not To Play’

When Tony Dungy left the sidelines I was very skeptical about any involvement he would have in the media. I assumed he would be bland and vanilla, because a guy known to be that classy wouldn’t be frank enough to be interesting.  I assumed wrong, one thing is already apparent, class and bland are not synonymous.  While Dungy seems to be even classier as a broadcaster than he was as a coach, he is not afraid to offer his candid opinion. While most feel that they need to be controversial or bombastic to be heard Dungy goes for substance. Finally, while many of these ex-coaches are angling for their next job from the booth, Dungy gives off none of that vibe.  Dungy is hands down my nominee for rookie of the year in broadcasting.

Sports Illustrated just put out a list of top broadcasters and other media types. Interestingly, Dan Shulman was rated as the best play-by-play man in the business, edging out the likes of Al Michaels and the highly over-rated Joe Buck. Its about time that this true pro gets the recognition he deserves. His ability to do baseball and basketball equally well and work seamlessly with whomever he is paired with makes him a stand out.

Let’s get one thing straight coming out of the box, I love sports movies. If you are looking for ruthless objectivity you have come to the wrong place. I am a sports guy reviewing a sports movie not movie guy who is more concerned about where this movie ranks next to Citizen Cane (which, by the way, stunk).

The Blind Side was based on the Michael Lewis book of the same name. It recounts the story of Michael Oher and his life. It focuses mostly on his relationship with the Tuohy family. The story itself has it all. The life of this young man was truly a tragedy. The scenes that involve Michael and his biological family are truly poignant. His mother’s situation is heart-rending and the movie does a great job of portraying, whether accurately or not, the hopelessness of situations like Michael’s. The transformation of his life and his resiliency in the face of it all are amazing. Too, watching the way the Tuohy’s cared for him remind me of the inherent goodness we are all capable of. The only time I was really uneasy during the film was the cameo’s of then Tennessee coach Phillip Fullmer, and then LSU coach Nick Saban. Having a litany of recruiting coaches parade through the house was a little schmaltzy, especially the Saban one, as he looked about as comfortable as Danny DeVito in a speedo. While on the one hand it was pure fromage and looked like these guys agreed to the cameos only to further today’s recruiting, it is a sports movie, and that kind of stuff is allowed.The other acting was quite good, Bullock was excellent and Quinton Aaron,the young man who played Michael was compelling. Tim McGraw wasn’t too bad either. You can tell he has a ways to go as an actor but he didn’t embarrass himself at all and the dude undeniably has charisma.

All in all it was a great movie and is a must see for anyone who likes a great story.

What to Look For

Lou Holtz – By far the most natural and comfortable of all the cameo’s, even if he is a little crazy.

Nick Saban doing his impersonation of a cross between a wooden plank and a cardboard cut out.

Finally, my favorite scene, where Bullock’s character Leigh Anne in high heels goes out in the field and delivers a Vince Lombardi-like speech to Michael, the QB and the running back.

One of the things we do in this section is provide reviews of the latest sports books that you may want to pick up, or warn you of the ones to leave on the shelf.  This week we go back to Michael Lewis’, “The Blindside” which is four years old but is back in the public eye as it happens to have its debut as a major motion picture today. We’ll review the movie for you next week, but as for the book, this really is one of the unique sports-reads of the last few years. 

“The Blindside” tells the now well-known story of Michael Oher (pronounced “oar”) who plays right tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, but who had a very difficult childhood and would likely have remained an anonymous tragedy in the inner-city of Memphis, Tennessee were it not for his incredible size and athletic ability and the assistance of a wealthy Memphis family who took Oher into their home. When Lewis’ book came out the story was not complete as Oher was then just in his freshman season at the University of Mississippi and his NFL success was only a potential outcome.  What makes the book different from other human interest stories in a sports setting, is the fact that Lewis weaves throughout his narrative a fascinating history of the Offensive Left Tackle (thus the title ”The Blindside”) position and it’s importance in the game.  Lewis’ position is that the horrifying injury to Redskin’s Qb Joe Theissman, witnessed by millions on Monday Night Football, changed forever the way GMs and coaches in the league viewed that previously, relatively unimportant position.  The writing is engaging and the book reads more like a work of fiction than the biography/sports textbook that it actually is.  My only quibble with the author is the portrayal of the family that took Oher in, the Touhy’s.  Lewis seems to accept completely at face value that this family are the caring, humanitarians that selflessly take in a poor, homeless boy from the projects with no ulterior motive whatsoever.  The fact that Oher selects as his college Ole Miss which happens to be the alma mater of both Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy and rejects a host of other offers, including from all of the most potent football factories in the country is never really addressed or explained satisfactorily.  I’ve met Sean Touhy who happens to be the “color voice” of the Memphis Grizzlies and he comes across as incredibly sincere and honest, but for this book to be complete some digging probably would have been in order, even just to prove that nothing underhanded was involved.

Nonetheless, this is a great read and it feels like you’re getting two books for the price of one.  Enjoy!

If you’re anything like me, maybe you have been perplexed by the general inability of rookie WR’s in recent years to make an impact. Running Backs usually quickly assimilate the offense as do many other positions, lately though WR’s have struggled. I’ve often thought ‘how hard can it be? You know the pattern you are supposed to run, just go out and do it.’ In the November 2nd issue of ESPN The Magazine, Seth Wickersham provides  some great information with the help of Hue Jackson the QB coach for the Ravens and general wide-out guru. The article is Passing Fancy and has some great insight. Give it a read.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=4577668&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4577668

I was trying to think of a way to get people to actually read a piece that had something good to say about Millen, so I figured I would have to make something up to pique your interest. I apologize but my hands were tied. Yes, even though he was  an unmitigated disaster as a GM, Millen is an elite level colour man. This past weekend he worked the Ohio St./ Penn St. game and I was reminded of the insight this guy has and also the rare ability to share it in an entertaining way without being irritating or condescending. After listening for an hour I found myself thinking, ‘man, this guy really knows football. Why doesn’t someone give him a shot as a GM?’ Well okay, maybe not, but sucking as a GM doesn’t mean you’ll suck at everything. Welcome back Matt, you should never have left.

In one of the most difficult mediums to succeed, Patrick again proves why he is the best. There is no one who can get the interviews that he gets and while he treats guys with dignity he never shies away from asking the hard questions. Today in an interview with recently dispatched Larry Johnson, you got insight that you rarely get. Listen to this link and you decide if you think Larry is sincere and has figured it out and more importantly listen to a broadcaster at the top of his game.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/?eref=sinav

Fox made a great call with having Troy do the colour for this weekends Vikes/Packers game, Troy does colour like he QB’d, with class and without drawing to much attention to himself. He succeeded in the impossible Sunday, he found a way to give the game context and allow the situation to speak for itself most of the time. He didn’t overblow Favre’s greatness and didn’t fall into the ‘pity Aaron Rodgers’ trap. He called it like he saw it, highlighting each of their strengths as well as their flaws. While almost everyone makes it obvious whether they are a ‘Favre Guy’ or a ‘Rodgers Guy’, I have no idea after the game what kind of a ‘guy’ Aikman is. Isnt that how its supposed to be ?