Things I've learned Recently, 11-23-09

It's been a little while since I've done one of these and I've done a lot of learning in that time. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of it. That's what happens when I don't do these columns and get the stuff written down.

But here they are, the things I've learned recently:

1. Kansas football is going to have a hard time recruiting in the years to come. - Especially if they keep Head Coach Mark Mangino around. The stories coming out of KU are downright disturbing. The reports are using language you never want to hear swirling around anyone in a leadership position, especially someone in charge of guiding young men. You can read all about specific incidents of emotional and physical abuse directed at former players all over the place, but the thing that bothered me the most was what was said by the KU athletic director. He said Mangino was being investigated because of a "menacing approach to discipline." If I'm the father of a mid-western high school football superstar and I have the coaches from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska coming into my living room those words, "menacing approach to discipline," will be going through my head. Aside from that, he's a fat load. He makes Andy Reid and Mike Holmgren look svelte.

2. Brandon Jennings is for real. - 55 points in the 7th game of his NBA career. That is the fewest number of games into an NBA career a player has needed to have a 50 point game. Only four other players have scored at least 50 points in a game in their rookie seasons. Elgin Baylor, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and Wilt Chamberlin. That's it, that's the list. You know what else each of those men have...NBA Rookie of the Year trophies and busts in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Now, I'm not saying Jennings is bound for Springfield (Massachusetts, where the HOF is located). Nor am I saying Jenning will win the ROY trophy - I'm still holding out hope for Blake Griffin to come back from injury and fulfill my pick - but he is off to a damn good start.

3. Notre Dame has become an amplified UVA. - In other words, it is almost impossible to have elite academic standards and a football team that competes for the national title. Here is a sentence that sums up both schools...They want to be Harvard from Sunday to Friday and be Oklahoma on Saturday. The difference is that the leash is a lot shorter at ND. These schools should try to be Stanford. Go 7-4, beat what is historically the best team in your conference every year, and your fans will love you forever.

4. Allen Iverson needs to humble himself. - Because if he does, he can win a ring. Imagine this scenario: A.I. becomes a back-up 1- or 2-guard on a contending team. He comes off of the bench with a group of reserves who will let him run his game. He could give a team 15 to 18 minutes of instant offense and probably score 10 to 12 points a game. A.I. was a legit superstar when he was in his prime. The problem is that there is a certain amount of I'm-the-man that has to go along with that. No one gets as far at anything as he did in the NBA without an ego. He needs to tone that down now and be a role-player. He needs to realize he is on the downside of 30 and can't keep up with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, or Tony Parker.

5. Omar Vizquel is still alive. - And apparently still able to play baseball. He just signed a one-year deal to play with the White Sox.

6. Speaking of smart teams who can't play football - I subjected myself to the Harvard-Yale football game on Saturday. These guys are among the smartest athletes on the planet will end up leading the world and being captains of industry, but apparently the boys from New Haven don't know that running a fake punt on 4th-and-22 from your own 26 yard line when you have a 3-point lead with 2:25 left in the game is a bad idea. Yale should have won, but deserved to lose.