Black History Month: William H. Lewis

Here's someone I stumbled on late last night looking up some stuff on Jackie Robinson. I knew that Robinson was an All-American football standout and I wondered if he was indeed the first. Turns out, he wasn't (just like he wasn't the first professional Black baseball player) and the guy who was had quite a legacy.

William H. Lewis had a life worth celebrating and it's no surprise that he made history in a region that has been friendly to racial progress in this country: New England. Check the resume of Mr. Lewis in sports and law.

- The first African-American college football player when he suited up at Amherst in 1888. He was noted for his great skill on the field and off the field as an orator and the great W.E.B. DuBois attended his graduation ceremony.

- While attending Harvard Law School, he continued his career and was the first Black All-American college football player in 1892 and 1893 (he was also named Captain of the All-America team in 1893). As a center, he was praised for his quickness, maturity and intelligence and was named Harvard's first Black team captain in his final game. The legendary Walter Camp named him to his All-Time All-American Team in 1900 and hailed him for revolutionizing the position for mobility.

My Love/Hate Vibe with National Signing Day

Tomorrow is National Signing Day and I'm not completely giddy about it. It's been a conflicted issue for me since I stopped writing full time as a reporter in 2010 and as I've seen NSD become an all-day spectacle, I start wondering why. I wrote this back in 2011 expressing why I think NSD can be misleading and two years later, I feel even more jaded about it.

I love NSD because it's a kid, his family and friends celebrating him going to college. I've always celebrated when an athlete or student makes that decision because it's a big moment for them to determine the next few years of their life. When you get that acceptance letter in the mail, you feel like you've made it. When an athlete picks a school, they've made it.

I don't even mind how huge the celebrations are. We should celebrate college decisions as much as we celebrate prom or any big moment in a kid's life. Schools should celebrate it whether it's academic or athletic. 

I respect how the kids and families make their decisions. How they have to wade through the process. How kids earn their scholarships through their hard work/discipline and I especially love those seniors who had to work hard for that scholarship that final year.

What I don't like is the meat market that NSD has become. It's grown into a monster that has exposed fans are selfish jerks, the problem with the letter of intent and colleges treating it more like a business.

Final Thoughts on the NCAA FB Season (The Alabama Dynasty and Beyond)

Alabama keeps on proving everybody wrong every year. A year I thought they wouldn't get close to the national championship and they're partying in Miami.

AJ McCarron proved he's a much better quarterback than I thought. Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon proved they were worthy followups to Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Amari Cooper might be the next great Alabama WR as the Miami-born freshman capped his fine year with 2 TD's Monday.

But what does it all really say? It just reaffirms that Nick Saban is as great a college coach as anybody right now or within the last 15 years. Pete Carroll? Urban Meyer? Jim Tressel? Combined, they have as many national titles as Saban. But it's not just about winning, although DragonflyJonez made this great point.

Only thing that stopped Saban from winning 4 straight was Cam having perhaps the greatest season ever.
— D'Brickashaw (@DragonflyJonez) January 8, 2013

Holiday Bowl Preview (Return of the Video!)

Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy Holidays from here at Virgo Gumbo. I'm back on the video tip as I preview UCLA and Baylor meeting this week in the Holiday Bowl. Pardon the shine cause I got a fresh haircut and having not shot too many videos at night, I realize why sunlight helps a lot.

My Prediction. UCLA 45, Baylor 35. Too much offense and I believe UCLA's defense will make more stands than Baylor will. Just sit back and enjoy it as much as we enjoyed Baylor-Washington last year.

I'll be doing a USC one previewing them in the Sun Bowl. But I'm also busy doing my year-in-review research because I've got some goodness to reveal. 2012 has been a great year of transition for yours truly.

UCLA/USC Report: The Battle of Los Angeles

For the first time, I'm actually excited about this game. Past years, I've always been hyped but just because it's what I do. But now, I actually believe UCLA will make this a competitive game against USC. 2006 was a great win but nobody saw it coming. This time, it'll be even sweeter I believe.

But as I say in this week's video, I can't pick UCLA any more cleanly than I can say USC will lose spectacularly. Both teams are evenly matched (with obvious differences at WR) and while UCLA has the younger quarterback, he's way more steady I believe than Barkley, who's as polished as anybody and still has the tendency to force his decisions.

Anyways, enjoy the video. Apologies for the music shorting out early but we made up for it at the end.

And as always, if you miss me writing more on the Gumbo, feel free to check me out over at Rant Sports, where I've been serving up some goodness on UCLA and the drama surrounding Shabazz Muhammad. You know how I feel about saying "Free (Insert Name)" so while I won't say that, I'll just say the NCAA once again shows how lack of common sense hurts the players they're supposed to protect.

Now pardon me while I try to figure out how I'm supposed to start liking Mike Antoni as the Lakers' next coach. As my man Keith said, the Lakers have become the Suns but much older (and somewhat better defensively).

Week 9 UCLA/USC Report (And BIG News)

The UCLA Report (above) is a lot more fun considering we just watched the most exciting win of the season. UCLA's 45-43 at Arizona State is one to definitely hang your hat on and big ups to Kai'mi Fairbairn, Brett Hundley, Johnathan Franklin and the coaching staff for doing the Lord's work against the Sun Devils.

Meanwhile, the USC report (below) goes in on Lane Kiffin, his poor playcalling, his undisciplined coaching and wasting one of the greatest WR performances I've ever witnessed - Marqise Lee and his 16 receptions for 345 yards. A bit much? Nah. Long overdue if you ask me. He's no Pete Carroll - a coach who could win the games he was supposed to, recruit and develop talent and keep everyone focused AND loose at the same time.

Finally big news to share. I will be writing for Rant Sports this season for UCLA and USC hoops. It's a paid gig so I'll be glad to make some extra coin for the good folks over there. It's also a great way for me to stay focused as a sportswriter who knows the LA sports scene.

Here's my 1st story, a preview on UCLA's season. I'll be writing every day for them so every few days, I'll post several links in a separate entry here in case you can't keep up with them all on Twitter. I'm excited and truly grateful for this opportunity and you know how much I love hoops.

UCLA/USC Report (And Some Housekeeping)

As I introduce my weekly UCLA/USC report, there will be a change on the blog. The football wrap that I've written for 3 years will be discontinued and instead every Monday, I'll be uploading my video here on the blog. I enjoyed writing the wrap and finding cool tidbits, but I think to better focus myself as a writer, I need to invest more time in what works for me, which are short articles and videos.

I'll still be offering football-related thoughts as they come to mind, but they will be articles. Besides, it also frees me up to write something else on Monday or Tuesday if it comes up instead of being hamstrung to do the wrap.

Enjoy the video, where I salute Robert Woods and Matt Barkley's record-setting day against Colorado. I'm especially proud of Woods who I've covered since he was a HS junior. Here's a story I wrote about his work ethic and character back in high school.

Football Wrap Week 6A: More Irish Luck

I now have another reason to dislike Stanford, a program I've never been fond of since their basketball team was a national power in the mid-90's. As I wrote last week, they were my new Great Hope to send Notre Dame fans back into reality.

But in the rain of South Bend - a scene fit for poetry - their old conservative ways caught up to them as they lost in overtime. Three points I have.

1. Why did David Shaw call for 4 straight run plays up the middle on the 4-yard line? No creativity against a stingy defense. No running Josh Nunes for a bootleg or spreading out the offense to fool the defense. Hard-headed.

Football Wrap Week 5B: Mark Sanchez and the USC QB Curse

I start this week’s NFL wrap with a proclamation.

Mark Sanchez has thrown for less than 50 percent of his passes in every start this year. His passes were inaccurate Monday night. His decision-making was suspect. At this point, there’s nothing that says he should be keeping his job. But he is because the alternative is a cult hero in Tim Tebow who isn’t much better.

I don’t care if Sanchez went to two AFC title games and has no help around him. He’s not a NFL starting quarterback right now and he’s barely a capable game manager. But to be honest, it’s not his fault. It’s the USC QB curse.

In the 10 years that USC has been relevant, all of their quarterbacks haven’t panned out well in the NFL. Matt Leinart? Mentally wasn’t ready despite his gifts. John David Booty? Barely got any burn. Sanchez is next in line and unless something changes, so is Matt Barkley.

Football Wrap Week 5A: Notre Dame - Why I'm Not Thrilled They're "Back"

I guess it’s gotten too much to ignore. Notre Dame keeps on winning and we have to keep pretending they are still relevant because of their legacy.

I keep hoping teams will knock them out and remind folks that this isn’t the 80’s or early 90’s. But each week, they keep winning and the old echoes of South Bend keep getting louder and louder.

They beat Michigan State. They made Shoelace Robinson look silly in defeating Michigan. And now, they destroyed The U. A game that had to make all the former Miami players sick as the Irish scored 34 unanswered points.

This is the highest Notre Dame has been ranked since 2006.  5-0 is 5-0. I respect it. But I don’t have to like what it represents. Some Notre Dame fans getting high and mighty and pretentious. Media types saying Notre Dame is back.

Full disclosure. One of my last college friends was a proud Irish fan. A good acquaintance from college is a proud Irish fan. I don’t hate all fans. But I guess I dislike them the same way people dislike the Lakers, Yankees, Duke and all those hateable teams.

Football Wrap Week 4A: CFB on Steroids, Geno Smith and a Top Ten?

There were 3,160 total pts scored in 52 FBS games Tue. (60.8 PPG). Elias says that's 2nd highest avg on single day since 1937 (min. 15 gms)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 30, 2012

What happened Saturday in college football can only be described as football on steroids. An offensive explosion that showed how the game has changed up to this point. Some of the crazy numbers.

1) 5 guys passed for over 500 yards. Only 1 had done it all season so far. There were 6 performances last year total. So we’ve reached that by Week 5.

2) 2 guys had over 300 receiving yards in the SAME game. 4 more guys had 200+ receiving yards on the day.

3) Tennessee and Georgia combined for 95 points – 4 more than West Virginia and Baylor had combined after THREE quarters. Who said the SEC played defense?

Even as Beat ‘Em Down Month finally ends, that’s ridiculous. We’re seeing guys set passing records at crazy rates. You can blame the rise of the spread offenses that’s even trickled down to the HS level (and also the number of offensive geniuses in CFB).

Football Wrap Week 3A - Never Trust Clemson

Seems like every year Clemson tries to convince me that I’m wrong. I’m wrong for doubting any of their success. But no matter how hard they try, they won’t make these 3 words untrue.

Never. Trust. CLEMSON.

Clemson has followed this formula. Win great games. Get some national love. Get a prime time game and promptly find a way to crap the bed. Saturday was no different. Ranked No. 10, they faced No. 4 Florida State on ABC  and after taking a 31-28 lead in the third, they were gonna prove me wrong at my birthday bash.

Well an hour or two later, I checked my phone. Florida State won 49-37. Clemson gave up 21 straight points. 21!!! On national TV???? That sounds like some fraud business to me. And don’t tell me FSU is that good because clearly they are. This is about those Tigers acting like kitties once again.

Football Wrap Week 2A - Down Goes USC, Michigan State and Arkansas.

Usually I discuss USC and UCLA in a separate video so y’all can hear me discuss the local scene (which is still here) but I had to speak on something I noticed in the AP poll. USC’s steep decline from No. 2 to 13. 

*Also of note,  Stanford QB Josh Nunes and Matt Barkley came out of HS at the same time. I remember hearing a lot about Nunes in Upland despite Barkley getting all the hype. Almost funny how that worked out with them seeing each other*

Now as a UCLA fan, this is where I’d laugh and say they deserved it because they struggled most of the game. But a thought occurred to me. If these were two SEC teams playing a similar game and the higher seed lost on the road by only 7, would that team drop so steeply?

Football Wrap Week 1A (Pac-12 Makes a BIG statement)

(Trying something new this year - separating the Football Wrap into College and Pros. An attempt to keep both shorter and more focused. We'll see how this lasts)

Oregon State QB Sean Mannion helped the Pac-12 make big noise Saturday leading the upset over Wisconsin.

The Pac-12 has taken a lot of heat the last 2-3 years. USC battled sanctions, UCLA’s been embarrassing. If not for Oregon (and Rob Gronkowski's rise), the Pac-12 has had some inconsistent teams as the Ducks have been carrying the conference.

Well two weeks in, the Pac-12 is taking names and making statements. No. 16 Nebraska? Down to UCLA. No. 13 Wisconsin? Done in by Oregon State? And Oklahoma State? The team that barely beat Stanford last year in a bowl game. Outgunned and outmanned by Arizona and new QB Matt Scott.

Big ups to Oregon State also shutting down Heisman candidate Montee Ball, his first game without a TD in 22 games. They beat Wisconsin at their own game - ugly, low scoring and physical.

Football Wrap Week 0 (College FB returns on the Beat em Down Express)

It's baaaaaaaaaack! No, not college football season. The Football Wrap! Back to give you tidbits from the weekend in football. 

OSU head coach Mike Gundy: "Check's in the mail, Coach. Thanks for the scrimmage."

Week 1 of the College FB season is usually a Beat Em Down weekend so there’s almost nothing to get excited about. Top 25 teams and other folks battle cream puffs so it’s merely a good morale boost unless there’s an actual upset or marquee matchup.

The results are pretty ridiculous so if you’re looking for any analysis or insight, it’s usually with a grain of salt. I mean Oklahoma State blitzed Savannah State 84-0 so badly that proud booster T. Boone Pickens publicly said OSU needed to beef up their schedule.  Back in the day, I used to criticize some of these teams for playing weak when USC (in the Pete Carroll era) would always play somebody tough.

It’s also why I wouldn’t be opposed to starting college football polls after Week 2 or 3. 1) It’s hard to tell who’s the best when you play so many cream puffs, 2) It’d force more teams to play at least one tough non conference game. But then again, we don't want to shake the system up any more than it already is.

A Final Word on the Penn State sanctions

Basically, good job to the NCAA for once. There will be much debate over the sanctions but I think that overall they hit the university and football program where it hurts. Financially and in the win column. The vacated wins did shock me honestly, but I think that it's more than appropriate considering the powers that be valued football and used it as a scapegoat to cover up for their sins and worrying about reputation.

I've also included the sanctions levied against USC, Southern Methodist and Ohio State. Not for comparison, but just for information. I also include links to my previous blog posts on Penn State for perspective on how I feel.

My initial thoughts where I recall a local sports scandal that Penn State reminded me of.
 
My Final Words on Penn State's terrible coverup and what we can learn from false gods and protecting monsters

A summary of USC's sanctions from 2010

A summary of the SMU death penalty

Ohio State's sanctions from last winter

(Postscript: This is by no means a support of the NCAA as a whole. They are a corrupt, broken system bent on making money on the backs of young men and women while unfairly compensating them. It's merely a tip of the hat while knowing that they have potential to cause more harm with today's decision because these are uncharted waters.)

Gods and Monsters: A Final Lesson From Penn State

College football has long created gods who tower over the sport. The Freeh Report headed by former FBI director Louis Freeh is another reminder of danger in creating such idols as the Penn State scandal continues to shake out. Folks blatantly looked the other way or didn't report Jerry Sandusky's serial raping of young boys.

It’s not just a football problem. Any area where people give folks carte blanche to do whatever while looking the other way is ripe for corruption and abuse. There’s too much evidence of this to ignore but in sports, it seems to happen way too much and in the aftermath of Joe Paterno's fall from grace, we should take notes.

Folks turn ordinary men into gods and they have the potential to become ugly monsters. Warped in their judgment and horrifying in their fall that their supporters knowingly or unknowingly enabled.

Breaking Down Tim Tebow's Hype Machine

Since I had a rare Sunday afternoon at home, I got to listen to media feedback right after most of the afternoon games. That included having to watch the Denver-Chicago game and going from cheering the Bears re-enacting the Roman Coliseum to being stunned at another Denver comeback.

I salute Denver’s defense and kicker Matt Prater (he of the 50-yarders to force overtime and win the game). Tim Tebow played solid once again in the fourth quarter to compensate for playing like dog crap in the 3^rd quarter. But give Marion Barber full credit as well for two costly mistakes for Chicago.

I watched the Denver game stunned at the Fox announcers slurping up the Kool-Aid of Tebow. I listened to the media try to describe this in glowing terms instead of recognize another great team effort besides it. I heard Tebow do his best to deflect and praise the team’s effort.

It made me boil not because Denver won another game they shouldn’t. For the first time I actually saw and heard the hyperbole on Tebow in real time. And I wondered out loud why two months in we haven’t evolved to logical explanation.

It set me over the edge. I wrote something two weeks ago but it didn't go far enough. Let’s discuss this Tebow phenomenon for what it really is. Another example of the White Christian Narrative the media latches on to and blows out of proportion. It’s offensive to me as a sports fan, journalist, writer and a Christian.

(And let’s be clear, this is not an attack on Tebow as a person. I have never hated the man since I first saw him play at Florida in 2006. This is not about taking down a brother in Christ, it’s looking at the big picture – word to Big L)

First let me start by asking how many White Christian athletes do you know? Compare that to how many Black Christian athletes you know. I’m glad that I got to know AC Green and David Robinson growing up as much as I did Kurt Warner but right now, you’d be led to believe that the only Christians in sports are all White. Why is that?

(Taking it a step further, why was George Bush considered to be more a Christian than Barack Obama when by all accounts, both credit their faith very openly albeit Bush did so in a negative way catering towards conservative evangelicals.)

Tebow fits that narrative of White piety and while it’s simple, it also does Christians of all races a disservice. Not everyone wears their faith on their sleeve and those who do should be discussed, whether they look like Tebow or me. Not every Christian is the same and that’s what makes the Body of Christ so wonderful.

Why don’t they get more attention? It doesn’t fit the narrative? They assume the typical image of a Black athlete is flashy and more demonstrative which doesn’t fit the humble, Christian narrative? I’ve interviewed several HS kids of strong faith and you can tell it shines in their leadership.

To this day, AC Green remains one of my inspirations

I wish more Black Christian athletes got publicized for their faith. Maybe it’s me wishing they publicized it more but they should also get credit nonetheless. In general though, people who let their faith lead by example instead of being public rarely get the credit.

There are always great Black leaders in sports. Derek Fisher showed why handling the lockout. Donovan McNabb was a great leader in his prime. But no, we always have to praise the White leader as something extraordinary. Tebow’s speeches are inspiring but how is that any different than Ray Lewis, whose transformation into one of football’s great linebackers/leaders is one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen.

That’s also why the media discussing Christianity bothers me. Reaching for clichés to discuss Tebow’s success as miraculous and divine is weak and childish. There is logical explanation for his success but instead they want to act like star struck fans who say things like “Oh I’ve never seen this before” or  reach for spiritual metaphors trying to be cute.

It didn’t bother me at first but 2 months in, it’s annoying. It insults my intelligence as a writer. If I can’t be more creative after giving up sound logic, take away my pen and paper. It’s my job as a sportswriter to describe what I see, be awestruck at times and once you see something over and over – either give up and enjoy it or look for different ways to say it.

Is it a miracle? Miracles come great and small but if the same thing keeps repeating, sometimes it's not just chance.

Also, I’m sick of the media always asking if God gave folks the victory in sports. It’s a trap question that leads to ridicule and as a Christian that hurts me  - even if I should expect as much. Let me school you on something: God is all about the intent we put into our effort. Whatever the result, God will work it out for his glory. Win or lose, God was glorified by how those who served him played, just like how we live our lives.

God cares not if we win or lose, he cares about our effort and especially our intent behind it. If we do things for His glory, that’s all He cares about. I know it’s hard for the media and most to understand this so I tried to break this down.

To Tebow’s credit, he also deflects the idea that God gave Him the victory. He has the right attitude and I salute him for that. He can’t be blamed for everyone around him being irrational. He isn't God's quarterback anymore than I am God's writer. That label is dangerous cause it implies God is with Tebow only. Not true.

What he is doing is incredible. What his defense and head coach have done is equally incredible. We can describe their playmaking with sound logic without catering to illogical fans who worship everything Timmy does. I’m not going to lead the ludicrous chorus of Tebow’s sainthood when he’s clearly taking advantage of some terrible defensive strategies and making the most of his situation.

It’s okay to be in disbelief – even if Vince Young did this as a rookie, even as Eli Manning is doing it now. I’m shocked that Tebow with his weaknesses is doing it but when you consider he’s in a system built around his strengths – a system that thumbs its nose at every previous option QB who deserved a break (mostly Black) – you need to credit his coach too.

Enough stories about Tebow inspiring his defense. Von Miller is a freaky good rookie with an incredible motor and Elvis Dumervil is one of the league’s best defensive ends. Maybe they want to play better in the 4^th quarter knowing Tebow is coming but it’s a lot easier when they’ve faced some bad quarterbacking.

That leads me to the Church of Tebow. That church that started the minute he threw that jump pass in 2006. That church that got even stronger after he won the Heisman and delivered that speech after losing. That church that has turned him into a saint and won’t bother listening to reason.

Call me beyond upset at them. Bomani Jones said it best, it’s like watching rooting for a Little Leaguer to win because he fights so hard. People want Tebow to win so much that they overlook other logical factors such as his QB deficiencies.

The fact he’s being discussed an MVP candidate is hilarious. Not when Aaron Rodgers is ascending from great young QB to the best QB in the league. Not when Eli Manning is doing what Tebow’s doing but as a mature passer. It’s great but let’s not get out of hand here. He’s no different than any backup who comes and inspires his mates with an improbable run. The man he faces next week, Tom Brady, is a clear example and he took his team to a Super Bowl win.

(Edit: Heck, Cam Newton has had a similar impact on Carolina than Tim Tebow. Only difference is that Cam can't play defense. But tell me he hasn't lit up that franchise and inspired players similar to Tebow. Go ahead)

Everything he does becomes a phenomenon. Kneeling down to pray is now Tebowing. People actually buy #15 Jerseys with Jesus on them. I jokingly call this sacrilege but it's half true. It makes no sense to me. Kurt Warner didn't have this level of hype and he actually 1.) won 2 MVPs, 2) went to 3 Super Bowls, 3) had the best team in football for 3 years in a row, 4) earned his success paying dues in the Arena Football League and struggling. 

They make excuses for him that didn’t work for Charlie Ward, Doug Flutie, Eric Crouch, Troy Smith and Michael Vick pre-prison. Check Vince Young’s winning percentage. In all those cases, their flaws were discussed way more despite their ability to win. With Tebow, it’s the other way around. Why??

Heck, Denver fans act like they never saw this before. How soon they forget that their exec of VP operations was an incredible athlete and maybe the greatest dual-threat quarterback and comeback artist in football history. 

It’s a combination of everything I said. Race, his personality, his fanbase since college, the media love fest, his faith, our quickness to praise a White Christian athlete over a Black one and our love of the gritty White athlete overcoming obstacles (i.e. Hoosiers). To deny any of this would be to call yourself a liar.

Denver has a right to be excited. Tebow should feel happy. I don’t hate their excitement.I'm happy we discuss faith in the media and God's name is discussed. I just hate when illogical fans and the media fall into traps and stereotypes that defy logic because it keeps repeating.  

The more Tebow wins, the more the train keeps churning and the more I feel I need to grow bolder explaining the lunacy behind him.

Robert Griffin III: A Sign of Progress

Robert Griffin won the Heisman Trophy. A first for Baylor and the 5th Black QB to win the award. 

It's a big sign of progress for Black quarterbacks that Griffin not only won the Heisman but that he and Cam Newton before him are the modern QB these days. Big, strong, dual-threats with great arms, personality and character. Entering the NFL in the post-Vick/McNabb generation facing less stereotypes.

You can trace the modern evolution of how the Black QB is perceived looking at the 5 guys who won the award. Andre Ware and Charlie Ward were phenomenal quarterbacks who never got a shot to succeed in the NFL due to the times and not fitting the mold. 

In between them and Troy Smith, Tommie Frazier and Michael Vick took college by storm. Steve McNair and Donovan McNabb proved they could be dual-threat quarterbacks who could pass first and think. They followed the footsteps of James Harris, Marlon Briscoe and Doug Williams, who made bold statements in Tampa Bay and Washington.

Smith was still a victim of perception even though he won the Heisman with an overwhelming vote. He was undersized despite the fact that he proved himself and no chances were made for him. He had a few flashes in the NFL but never had much of a shot. That's more than the guy who beat him for the national title, Chris Leak, can say as Leak didn't even get drafted.

Cam Newton is standing on the shoulders of giants. The fact that his NFL career is treated like a normal hyped rookie QB and limited worries about racially coded coaching moves/language in describing him (although it still exists), is a sign of progress.

After the Bowl game he could have 40 passing TDs, 4,000 yards and 10 rush TDs. Insane. 

Robert Griffin is even more progress as the well-spoken, poised, team-oriented leader usurped a lot of the buzz from preseason favorite Andrew Luck. If you know me, you know I'm a diehard Luck supporter and believe in his gifts. I didn't think most people would be behind Griffin but here I was hearing folks all over root for him over Luck for not just the Heisman, but the No. 1 overall pick.

RG3 had a phenomenal year from Day 1 when he beat TCU and then went on to beat Oklahoma and Texas. The only Texas team they didn't beat was Texas A&M and he still had 430 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. It was more important than record, he had a better season than A. Luck. 

(I'm hoping that Tim Tebow's success paves the way for option QB's to have coaches willing to change for them but I doubt it since 1) Tebow's success is a misnomer and 2) Black QBs have typically little wiggle room anyway so why suspect one anomaly will lead to more when they never did it before.

Plus it's an insult to Griffin to say that. He's a better passer and at 6-2 (ironically the same size as Charlie Ward), he has better size to stand in the pocket. He's no option quarterback if you peep his stats above. Watch the connotations of that)

The Black quarterback has made a lot of progress. There is still plenty of work to do with the perception of them as thinkers and quarterbacks, not just athletes with super arms. There is still a belief that QB's have to fit a certain mold or type and if they look a certain way, they have to do (X, Y, and Z).

But Robert Griffin is another sign of Black quarterbacks succeeding and it being less and less of a surprise how they do it. A friend of mine said it best last year: Future Black QBs are going to want to be Cam Newton and Robert Griffin type field generals who have intelligence and skill.

It's also progess for the Baylor sports program. 10 years ago, Baylor men's basketball had a terrible scandal involving a teammate killing another teammate and his coach slandering the dead player as a drug dealer after reports indicated. Now they have the best football player AND the best female basketball player in the country AND a successful men's basketball program that can recruit elite talent.

Cheers to RG3 and here's hoping some team in the Top 10 takes him to a similar impact to Andrew Luck. Finally something good to cheer about after this strange college season.

State of the Bruin: How to Fix UCLA Football

I was all set to write about how happy I was that Rick Neuheisel was fired as UCLA football coach. As great a guy as he is, he struggled to live up to his promising debut win and couldn't recruit or develop prime talent away from USC. He ran off his top two assistants and installed a pistol offense that lacked the personnel to pull it off.

But I realized something. This isn't about Neuheisel. It's about a program that hasn't recovered since they gave Edgerrin James his breakout performance in that famous shootout with Miami in 1998 that cost them a shot at the BCS title.

Since 1998, the Bruins have gone 80-78 and have only finished in the Top 3 of the Pac-10/12 once. If you take away the year they were nationally ranked and went 10-2 in 2005, that record looks a lot worse. I can count the top NFL products on two hands and none of them are quarterbacks. Besides Drew Olson in 2005, no QB has even been decent since Cade McNown went to the Heisman ceremony in 1998.

1998 was also the last year they beat USC. Since then, it's been as one-sided as it's ever been, save for a fluky win in 2006. The 50-0 beatdown this year summed up that USC has an iron fist on the LA football scene. Even when USC had guys like Chris Claiborne and Keyshawn Johnson, UCLA still had comparable talent and found ways to win the only game that mattered.

Basically since I was a freshman in high school, UCLA has been either irrelevant or average. I remember that 20-game winning streak in 1997 and 1998 fondly but that's a distant memory to folks now. I'm not saying UCLA needs to be elite but can decently competitive be a standard worth holding? Here's my advice to the athletic department.

1. Hire somebody outside of the UCLA family. Open the pocketbooks and find a coach who'll utilize the players he has and coach them up to be better. I don't know who that is but now isn't the time to be safe. It's time to re-establish the pedigree with a new breed instead of in-house options.

2. Find a Quarterback. Brett Hundley was the QB of the future for the pistol. But with Neuheisel gone and a new offense in place, I don't know if the new administration will trust him (why I don't know). Hundley appears to be an answer and considering UCLA hasn't started a Black QB since 2007, it's worth a shot. Yet it's a shot that should inspire them to find other top notch QBs because the last few years has been embarrassing.

3. Recruit the inner cities. This is a problem because of UCLA's strict academic standards. They usually end up with good nice students who don't always play well on the field. But it's no surprise that UCLA's best players include Johnathan Franklin (Dorsey), Datone Jones (Compton) as well as kids from Orange County or the San Fernando Valley.

Having covered that area for 5 years, UCLA is letting prime talent slip away instead of reach out to them. It's similar to what UCLA basketball has done - poorly evaluate local talent and watch them leave out of state to thrive elsewhere.

In 2008-09, UCLA had one of the top recruiting classes in the country. It hasn't panned out well three years in. Meanwhile USC's class from that year has already seen guys thrive. They, Oregon and Washington are scouting the inner cities for prime talent and luring them away to watch them thrive. It's time UCLA recruits harder - something that was a hallmark of the Karl Dorrell era.

4. Open up the offense. USC and Stanford are thriving in a basic, pro-style offense. Oregon is thriving in a spread. UCLA has wasted 4-5 years of great WR talent not utilizing them. We're in an era of QB's throwing the ball like never before and it's time UCLA joins the 21st century with some offensive balance. Where have you gone Danny Farmar, J.J. Stokes and Brian Poli-Dixon?

Ultimately, we need to give recruits a reason to come to UCLA. Right now, they have none. They see UCLA as an inferior little brother who has a Napoleon complex due to past glory. It's time to stop being entitled and realize that you need to fight to maintain tradition instead of living off it with false expectations.