Wolf Pack Guest Column: Idaho
Wolf Pack Guest Column: Utah State University
Wolf Pack Guest Column: Fresno State University
Nevada ended up losing by eight, 49-41, at home against Fresno State. As usual the numbers don’t tell the whole story of this very lopsided affair. Ultimately this game showed a lot of dents in the Wolf Pack’s armor, mainly their defense, special teams and overall coaching/strategy.
One must begin to wonder if head coach Chris Ault has put too much emphasis on beating UNLV ….. to be continued in this week’s edition of the Wolf Pack Guest Column: Fresno State @ Nevada
Wolf Pack Guest Column: Nicholls State
Volume III of the Wolf Pack Guest Column and some feedback from the good folks hearted at Wolf Pack Chat.
- maybe everybody in the WPC should send an e-mail to the sports editor at the RGJ about discontinuing the use of DPC for the guest columnist position or maybe even a petition I’m sure that if there is enough of a backlash they stop using him… I for one will send out my scolding e-mail the editor
Posted on 9/17 5:15 PM | IP: Logged
- Until today, I haven’t really had a problem with too much that DPC has written in his guest columns: He hasn’t really expressed any criticisms that haven’t also been openly discussed on this board. But for some reason today’s article got under my skin. (I’m a bit crabby today, anyway.)
So, I emailed whoever is at the other end of the link that appears on the bottom of the article. Here is what I said:
“I can’t understand how your selection of the Wolf Pack guest columnist helps do anything but perpetuate the feelings and perception in the community that the RGJ has an agenda regarding the University in general and Wolf Pack Sports specifically. While I appreciate the fact that your Wolf Pack coverage has improved somewhat recently (”improved” from putrid, which makes this very much a relative statement), the continual use of your paper to protract criticism of of the local University, it’s teams and coaches (read: Ault) reflects poorly on the paper and its editorial staff.“The concept of choosing a guest columnist is not a bad one. However, turning it into a critical, public forum for an agenda-driven blogger continues the RGJ’s history of building non-support within the community. That’s not news - it’s not even new.
“What would be refreshing is to hear the perspective of actual fans and boosters - those who actually bleed blue and silver and support the program. Maybe you feel it wouldn’t sell papers, but I’ve got news for you: you’re not selling papers now.” Posted on 9/17 1:44 PM | IP: Logged
Adios, Dan Patrick
The Farewell For Now tour ends today as Dan Patrick leaves ESPN after 18 years. Strange and or hokey as this will sound but I have spent my entire life as a sports fan with Patrick in one capacity or another. Initially as a Sports Center anchor and then through his radio show. The main reason I am a Patrick fan is the simple idea that he is not a know it all, condesending, antagonist journalist.
Even after I left northern California for Reno and eventually Phoenix I still listened to KNBR, The Sports Leader, via their Internet simulcast. After a decade or so I have come to the realization that successful radio and TV personalities (or talk show hosts) are very even handed for the most part. Or they make my listening experience a lot easier. At KNBR you get you get both ends of the spectrum. Ralph Barbieri and Damon Bruce seem to play the role of 
antagonist radio hosts that have a bottomless anger because they were not blessed with God given ability to be athletes. So accordingly they spew venom at those not related to San Francisco sports (which is a given due to their employer’s relationship with the 49ers and Giants) or they maintain a simple “I know more than the public” stance.
Gary Radnich and Tony Bruno both take the stance, as a tag team or in their solo endeavors, that the public can provide great entertainment when granted their 15 minutes of fame and that you can never take yourself or sports too seriously. Both shows are informative and entertaining but they are not broadcast from an ivory tower.
Patrick parlayed aforementioned qualities into a tip top 18 year run on ESPN and I never remember blowing his top at a caller from Lodi that maintained Dwayne Murphy was better than Barry Bonds.
Pacman (Fever) Update 15.0
Though brief, Pacman Jones made his professional wrestling debut last night on Spike TV’s TNA Wrestling via a series of previously taped segments.
“You don’t know me … Nobody knows me … misunderstood. Nobody knows who I am. A player, a gamebreaker, a risk taker, a man,” Jones said during last nights broadcast.
Final Countdown: 7/8
During my four years at the University of Nevada I ended up taking bowling three times. One could assume that this amount of professional instruction would make me a dominate bowler but I still average about 140-150 each and every time. I will admit that the classes did help out my form but I’ve had the same average since I took up the sport six or seven years ago.
It turns out that there were a few other bowlers at work and two teams were set up to compete at the nearby AMF Deer Valley Lanes. Our employer, despite being one of the largest commercial insurers in America, refused to sponsor our squad. Despite paying the $15 a week league fee this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we had free reign to bowl our own way and to bestow a name upon our squad as we saw fit. The Son’s of Ron Mexico were born as a fitting tribute to everyone’s
favorite quarterback Michael Vick. It is still unclear why I thought it was a good idea to name a bowling team after Vick but we had matching shirts from PhatPimpClothing.com and for the most part no one had any idea what our name meant.
The season started off bad and ended worse. By the fourth week two of our teammates quit and we were hovering towards the back of the pack. Truthfully we were ridiculously inconsistent, when I had a good week my only teammate would tank and vice versa. By the final week we were in 19th place, out of 20 teams, but we if we could avoid a sweep we would avoid the cellar. We were swept by some middle age women.
Our team never got back together under the proposed name Ron Mexico United but we did foreshadow Michael Vick and to a certain degree Marcus Vick’s future. As I type this blog Marcus is out of the NFL after trying to become a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins and Michael is facing dogfighting charges.
Nevada Basketball Update v 2.0
Marcelus Kemp has decided to return for his senior year at Nevada, his sixth season overall due to injury, and Ramon Sessions has decided to stay in the NBA Draft after a positive showing at the NBA’s Pre Draft Camp in Orlando. Sessions decision has raised some eyebrows, mainly mine,due to his uncertain draft status and the popular word is that he’ll end up in the second round at best.
There is the possibility of four Nevada alumnus in the NBA next season:
Of the four players mentioned only Snyder has a guaranteed contract but Fazekas will likely be a first rounder. Pinkney’s future is a bit uncertain but he had a positive showing in his brief time with the Celtics and Sessions, as previously mentioned, is in limbo but he seems to be gaining a lot of momentum .
Notes On The First Day Of The 2007 NFL Draft
*Due to cancelling cable last month I was forced to listen to the ESPN Radio coverage of the 2007 NFL Draft.
The Good:
Oakland Raiders:
JaMarcus Russell is the prototype Al Davis quarterback and is an upgrade out of the gates over Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter. Zach Miller was a good grab in the 2nd round. Also on Saturday night they traded their 4th round pick (105) to Detroit for QB Josh McCown and WR Mike Williams.
Cleveland Browns: Grabbed the most coveted OL in the draft Joe Thomas wiith the 3rd pick and wheeled and dealed to get another 1st round pick, 22nd from Dallas, and grabbed Brady Quinn. Their is the possibility of two franchise players with their first two picks.
The Bad:
Miami Dolphins: Ted Ginn Jr. with the 9th pick was an odd choice when they needed to address their QB issue and Quinn was available.
Detroit Lions: I realize they got the best player in the draft in Calvin Johnson but they should have dumped traded the pick to garner more choices and fill many pressing needs.
The Ugly:
Brady Quinn: He fell from a likely top 10 pick all the way to 22nd. I thought Leinart got shafted last year but Quinn’s recent drop blows it out of the water. On a positive note he went to the team he wanted to but lost some serious
cash in the process.
THE Ohio State: Criticism has already been thrown towards Ginn Jr. Antonio Pittman was once conisidered a 2nd round pick and fell to the Saints in the 4th round. Troy Smith went from Heisman winning darling to tanking in the BCS and is now an uncertainty in the draft. On a positive the other Tony Gonzalez went to an ideal situation with the Colts.
Paid In Full
University of Nevada football head coach Chris Ault receives an annual salary of $360,000, which does not include various bonuses or incentives. Ault is the fourth highest paid coach in the WAC and his contract with Nevada includes these fringe benefits:
- Reimbursement for travel and out of pocket expenses incurred for job related activities.
- Two loaner cars for him and Mrs. Ault. Coach Ault doesn’t pay for the insurance on his loaner car but Mrs. Ault must pay the insurance on hers.
- Twelve season tickets for a skybox at Mackay Stadium.
- Four season tickets for men’s and women’s basketball.
- A membership at Hidden Valley Golf Course.
- Profits from football camps and apparel contracts.
- $15,000 for a WAC Championship
- $10,000 for a bowl appearance
- $10,000 for being ranked in the top 20 in USA Today’s season ending poll.
- $5,000 for WAC coach of the year.
Nevada finished fourth in their conference and appropriately that’s where Ault’s salary landed amongst his WAC brethren. For the money paid to Ault, not including the aforementioned fringe benefits, Nevada could have brought in and saved money with these coaching options:
- Dick Tomey, San Jose State, $342,100
- Dennis Erickson, Idaho, $214,643
- Larry Blakeney, Troy, $226,750 - Sun Belt Conference Champions
- Joe Novak, Northern Illinois, $212,496 - Lost to TCU in the Poinsetta Bowl
- Frank Solich, Ohio, $262,172 - MAC East Champions
- Brian Kelly, Central Michigan, $184,897 - MAC West Champions
- Bill Cubit, Western Michigan, $188,000 - Lost to Cincinnati in the International Bowl
- Jeff Bower, Southern Mississippi, $349,983 - Conference USA East Champions
The University of Nevada has cheaper alternatives and in some cases with either bigger names or with more succesful D1 coaches. It seems to me that Ault is not the great bargain that the media portrays him to be and that if the school goes in another direction after Ault’s tenure ends there is ample talent floating about and at bargain prices too.
