Mick Malthouse, three time premiership coach at West Coast (1992, 1994) and Collingwood (2010), has finally had his time at Carlton come to an unceremonious ending, fired today after bringing the issue to a head himself the previous morning.
Malthouse coached 718 games in the AFL, passing "Jock" McHale earlier this season. But with Carlton mired at the bottom of the ladder with minimal talent, and the hopelessness and in-fighting between coach and board and media reducing the players to a shell of their former selves (effort was marginal the last few weeks, with tackle counts unbelievably in the 30s the last two games), a change had to be made. Originally, it was "we'll evaluate at the end of the season", but as things got worse it became, "well, we'll look at it during the bye week in Round 11", to which Malthouse angrily asked, "What are you going to learn about me in the next two weeks you don't already know?" Essentially, once Malthouse understood the writing was on the wall, he engineered his own early firing so as to let everyone "get on with it" (in my opinion).
Now, the situation is more clear cut, if still dire for the Carlton Blues...
- The press conference and firing by the Carlton board.
- Mick Malthouse's statement - my coaching career is over.
- Where do they go from here? Who do they get to coach? (The back-line coach takes over interim duties immediately, btw.)
- How did it get THIS bad in the first place?
Showing posts with label records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label records. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
The AFL ladder looks very strange...
Week Six down under was almost as wild as week Two was - five legitimate upsets out of the nine games, including the youngest team beating the reigning double premiers, and the fifth largest comeback in footy history by St. Kilda, of all teams!
Let's start at the end, though: the standings (or "ladder") after 27% of the season -
1. Fremantle Dockers (6-0) - alone on top, two games clear of everyone, and even more amazing, they're also 6-0 against the spread! At some point, they'll come back to the pack.
I think.
2-7. At 4-2, it's the Sydney Swans and five pretenders to the crown, none of whom were really expected to be here: Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs, Adelaide, West Coast, and Greater Western Sydney. They've all played well, with one or two weak games scattered, and all deserve to be here.
The question: how many of them will be able to stay up here? I say: Sydney, Western, and Adelaide for sure, but the other three all have a shot to hold on and make the top 8 for finals.
8-12. At 3-3 we find the five teams who expected to be up at or around the top of the ladder: Hawthorn (WAY ahead on percentage over the others), Port Adelaide, Essendon, Geelong, and North Melbourne. Presumably, even this early in the season, not all of these teams are going to turn it around and make finals - the question, though, is which ones WILL do it, and which ones won't? I say: Hawthorn, Port, and (if you force a choice on me) North Melbourne, by a hair over Essendon.
13-18. Right now, there are three 2-4 teams and three 1-5 teams which will be separated for draft order after September. I know, there's plenty of season left, but none of the two-win teams (Richmond, St. Kilda, and Melbourne) and certainly none of the one-win teams (Carlton, Brisbane, and the surprisingly bad Gold Coast Suns) have shown any potential of making any significant charge on the top eight. Keep in mind, however, that last year Richmond left round 14 at 3-10 and won their next nine games (including at Sydney) to sneak in as the eighth seed! After what the Saints did this weekend, anything is possible!
The games this weekend included the expected:
- North Melbourne over Richmond 109-74
- Fremantle over Essendon
- Adelaide beats Gold Coast
- Sydney over Melbourne
...the unexpected:
----Geelong found legs and ran down Collingwood 100-59, an outcome which was only predicted by about 25% of betters.
---- West Coast pulled away in the third and held on on the fourth quarters against Port - IN Adelaide!
---- A very similar situation gave Brisbane its first win, sending Carlton coach Mick Malthouse and his teams into another week of intense media scrutiny.
---- Despite the false claims that it was their best win ever (defeating the supposed "superteam", your crosstown rival Sydney Swans, to start last season is still #1!), coming from behind twice to overwhelm the two-time premiers Hawthorn by ten points.
...and the ludicrous: Western was up by 55 points after scoring the first goal of the second half. They had completely overwhelmed the Saints on all fronts, and led 70-15; the only two goals the Saints had in the first half were flukes, or it would have been 70-3. Suddenly, the Saints came to life - scoring a couple of what looked like token goals - then a couple more - continued to stop the Bulldogs from scoring - stayed aggressive, and got within two goals (12 points) at three quarter time - even after a pair of quick Western goals increased the lead to 23, St. Kilda held their composure like a champ and kept scoring, catching and passing the Doggies later on to win by seven points. It was the largest second-half comeback ever, the fifth largest ever, and kept Western from being alone in second at 5-1.
Let's start at the end, though: the standings (or "ladder") after 27% of the season -
1. Fremantle Dockers (6-0) - alone on top, two games clear of everyone, and even more amazing, they're also 6-0 against the spread! At some point, they'll come back to the pack.
I think.
2-7. At 4-2, it's the Sydney Swans and five pretenders to the crown, none of whom were really expected to be here: Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs, Adelaide, West Coast, and Greater Western Sydney. They've all played well, with one or two weak games scattered, and all deserve to be here.
The question: how many of them will be able to stay up here? I say: Sydney, Western, and Adelaide for sure, but the other three all have a shot to hold on and make the top 8 for finals.
8-12. At 3-3 we find the five teams who expected to be up at or around the top of the ladder: Hawthorn (WAY ahead on percentage over the others), Port Adelaide, Essendon, Geelong, and North Melbourne. Presumably, even this early in the season, not all of these teams are going to turn it around and make finals - the question, though, is which ones WILL do it, and which ones won't? I say: Hawthorn, Port, and (if you force a choice on me) North Melbourne, by a hair over Essendon.
13-18. Right now, there are three 2-4 teams and three 1-5 teams which will be separated for draft order after September. I know, there's plenty of season left, but none of the two-win teams (Richmond, St. Kilda, and Melbourne) and certainly none of the one-win teams (Carlton, Brisbane, and the surprisingly bad Gold Coast Suns) have shown any potential of making any significant charge on the top eight. Keep in mind, however, that last year Richmond left round 14 at 3-10 and won their next nine games (including at Sydney) to sneak in as the eighth seed! After what the Saints did this weekend, anything is possible!
The games this weekend included the expected:
- North Melbourne over Richmond 109-74
- Fremantle over Essendon
- Adelaide beats Gold Coast
- Sydney over Melbourne
...the unexpected:
----Geelong found legs and ran down Collingwood 100-59, an outcome which was only predicted by about 25% of betters.
---- West Coast pulled away in the third and held on on the fourth quarters against Port - IN Adelaide!
---- A very similar situation gave Brisbane its first win, sending Carlton coach Mick Malthouse and his teams into another week of intense media scrutiny.
---- Despite the false claims that it was their best win ever (defeating the supposed "superteam", your crosstown rival Sydney Swans, to start last season is still #1!), coming from behind twice to overwhelm the two-time premiers Hawthorn by ten points.
...and the ludicrous: Western was up by 55 points after scoring the first goal of the second half. They had completely overwhelmed the Saints on all fronts, and led 70-15; the only two goals the Saints had in the first half were flukes, or it would have been 70-3. Suddenly, the Saints came to life - scoring a couple of what looked like token goals - then a couple more - continued to stop the Bulldogs from scoring - stayed aggressive, and got within two goals (12 points) at three quarter time - even after a pair of quick Western goals increased the lead to 23, St. Kilda held their composure like a champ and kept scoring, catching and passing the Doggies later on to win by seven points. It was the largest second-half comeback ever, the fifth largest ever, and kept Western from being alone in second at 5-1.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Interesting Super Bowl fact #2
Tom Brady and Bill Belechick have won twenty playoff games together, going for number 21 in Arizona on February 1st.
That's more than 21 of the 32 NFL franchises have won in their history.
Add in New England's history pre-Brady/Belechick, and that's 22 out of 32. Insane.
That's more than 21 of the 32 NFL franchises have won in their history.
Add in New England's history pre-Brady/Belechick, and that's 22 out of 32. Insane.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
From ESPN Stats: Some facts about WKU's 67-66 upset of Marshall Friday...
Western Kentucky's Leon Allen (237) and Marshall's Steward Butler (233) became the second pair of opposing running backs in FBS history to each rush for over 230 yards in the same game. The other? Maryland's Bruce Perry (237) and Wake Forest's Chris Barclay (243) in 1997.
Western Kentucky and Marshall combined for 133 points today. Including today's game, SMU has scored 106 all season.
The 133 combined points ties the most ever in a game involving a ranked team (No. 9 West Virginia beat No. 25 Baylor, 70-63, in 2012).
Western Kentucky scored more points today in football (67) than it did against Marshall in men's basketball last season (64).
The 15 combined Pass TD (8 by Brandon Doughty, 7 by Rakeem Cato) breaks an FBS record for most combined Pass TD in a game. It's the 2nd game in FBS history where 2 quarterbacks threw for at least 7 touchdowns (also California-Colorado earlier this season: Jared Goff and Sefo Liufau).
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook knew there was going to be a lot of points scored in Western Kentucky-Marshall, as the 76 over/under was the 2nd-highest mark of any of the games today or tomorrow (behind the 80 in Baylor-Texas Tech).The over hit with 7:23 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
This is the first time in Rakeem Cato's career he has thrown at least three interceptions in a home game.
Western Kentucky and Marshall combined to score 49 points in the 1st quarter (28-21 WKU). That is the most combined points in the 1st quarter of any FBS game this season. The previous high was 42 by New Mexico and Boise State on Nov. 8 when New Mexico led 28-14 after the 1st quarter.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Melvin Gordon was amazing. But you knew that.
From SI's Monday Morning QuarterBack and Peter King, this eye-opening analysis of the amazing day Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon had last week against the Huskers...
Melvin Gordon, the Wisconsin running back, rushed for 359 yards Saturday … in two quarters. That was one wacky game the Heisman candidate had against Nebraska. Quarter by quarter, how Gordon set the single-season college football rushing record on a snowy Saturday in Madison:
| Quarter | Carries | Yards | Average per rush | TD |
| 1 | 6 | 49 | 8.2 | 0 |
| 2 | 10 | 189 | 18.9 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | 170 | 18.9 | 3 |
| 4 | - | - | - | - |
| TOTAL | 25 | 408 | 16.3 | 4 |
Three times in 11 weeks this season has an NFL back rushed for at least 170 yards in a game—Rashad Jennings of the Giants (176 in Week 3), Mark Ingram of the Saints (172 in Week 8) and Jonas Gray of the Patriots (199 in Week 11).
Gordon did it twice Saturday, in two separate quarters.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Notes from Saturday's games
Again, our apologies for not updating yesterday - technical difficulties prevented it. Here are some of our notes from November 15th...
First, we HAVE to start with Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, who only needed three quarters to break the FBS record for rushing yards in a game. In 25 carries, he amassed 408 yards against the freak'n University of Nebraska! It's not like they played the College of Faith or something! Averaging over 16 yards a carry, he had SIX rushes of at least 35 yards, and SEVEN in which he wasn't TOUCHED for at least 20! It was his fifth 200+ yard game as a Badger. (Finally, in contrast, Wake Forest hasn't rushed for 408 all season - they have just 341 yards on 317 carries in ten games!)
Fumbles at the goal line are becoming more and more common. After the tragic (Ole Miss) and the comical (Utah), the fumbles this week were more conventional. Of primary note was the second TD Alabama scored on Mississippi St... It sure looked to this typist like the fumble came before the touchdown, and how would THAT have changed the outcome of the game?
We wrote about this yesterday, but it bears repeating: Playing the 128th best team in FBS AND BEING SHUT OUT, South Florida had to score a touchdown with about eight minutes to go in the game to close to 13-7, force a punt, and then go on what has to be the drive of the year: twenty-one plays, six minutes, 75 yards, converting three fourth downs along the way, including 4th and goal on the two with six seconds to go, which of course they converted to win the game over SMU, 14-13. What a heartbreaking way to lose!
First, we HAVE to start with Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, who only needed three quarters to break the FBS record for rushing yards in a game. In 25 carries, he amassed 408 yards against the freak'n University of Nebraska! It's not like they played the College of Faith or something! Averaging over 16 yards a carry, he had SIX rushes of at least 35 yards, and SEVEN in which he wasn't TOUCHED for at least 20! It was his fifth 200+ yard game as a Badger. (Finally, in contrast, Wake Forest hasn't rushed for 408 all season - they have just 341 yards on 317 carries in ten games!)
Fumbles at the goal line are becoming more and more common. After the tragic (Ole Miss) and the comical (Utah), the fumbles this week were more conventional. Of primary note was the second TD Alabama scored on Mississippi St... It sure looked to this typist like the fumble came before the touchdown, and how would THAT have changed the outcome of the game?
We wrote about this yesterday, but it bears repeating: Playing the 128th best team in FBS AND BEING SHUT OUT, South Florida had to score a touchdown with about eight minutes to go in the game to close to 13-7, force a punt, and then go on what has to be the drive of the year: twenty-one plays, six minutes, 75 yards, converting three fourth downs along the way, including 4th and goal on the two with six seconds to go, which of course they converted to win the game over SMU, 14-13. What a heartbreaking way to lose!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Hal Mumme's still coaching...
He's now at a small NAIA school in Mississippi, Belhaven College, where his team is (unfortunately) on a six-game losing streak. We mention it partly because we enjoyed watching Mumme introduce the spread offense to several FBS schools, most notably the U of Kentucky; but mostly because his team lost by the monumental score of 91-14 to Lindsey Wilson College (KY) last Saturday. It was 63-0 just before half, and...well, the post-mortem is linked. Unfortunately, it's more a story of "how the mighty have fallen" than anything else...
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Steelers / Colts game reminds us:
...there were TWO great "Big Bens" on display in the NFL today! While the viability of a franchise in London is still in question, the status of Big Ben Roethlisberger as one of the ten best quarterbacks in the league shouldn't be. He became the first QB in history to have two career games of more than 500 yards passing today, throwing six TD passes in an impending victory over the Colts (whose Andrew Luck went over 400 yards himself!).
It seems unlikely he'll throw again, but he could in theory reach one of the coolest records in football: Quick! When was the "passing yardage in a game" record set? Hint: not by a current QB. Okay, then, Favre? Marino? NOPE, it was Norm Van Brocklin back in September of 1951!
It seems unlikely he'll throw again, but he could in theory reach one of the coolest records in football: Quick! When was the "passing yardage in a game" record set? Hint: not by a current QB. Okay, then, Favre? Marino? NOPE, it was Norm Van Brocklin back in September of 1951!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Congratulations to our favorite quarterback!
Why wait? In the first half of the Broncos' game against the Niners tonight, Peyton Manning passed for three touchdowns, the third one to DeMarius Thomas securing the all-time passing TD record at 509 for him. Some fun tidbits...
- No smiles after the first one, or the tying one, but after the record score, he broke into as big a grin as you'll ever see from Manning on the field.
- After the score, Thomas and two other receivers played keep away from Manning... Who obviously really wanted that special football!
- Why, I don't know, since the fella from Canton was there waiting to take the ball straight to the Pro Football Hall of Fame! (He was probably very pleased that he didn't have to wait very long tonight!)
- Being gracious, previous record holder Brett Favre posted a nice tweet, the best part of which was was the hashtag, #onto600 !
- As this post was being written, Manning threw number 510, a forty-yard shot to Thomas again to start the first possession in the second half. So, the record will just keep being broken over and over again...
- Manning on the day he signed with the Broncos, with HoF QB John Elway (Denver's GM and himself seventh on the all time passing TD list at 300), who said today, "Who knows? He may double me before he's done." When Elway and the Broncos took a gamble on a 36 year old QB with severe neck injuries and who at the time no one had seen throw a ball more than a few yards, much less at an NFL standard, it's hard to think he wouldn't have been pleased with 110 TD passes in his first 38 games, an NFL record 7 TDs in a game (last year's opener), an NFL record 55 TDs last season, and the all-time NFL record for TDs at 510 (and counting). That's brave.
- Footnote: As Thunder raced across the field wit a huge flag saying "509 touchdowns!", the eight year old said, "How did they know how many would be the record?"
- No smiles after the first one, or the tying one, but after the record score, he broke into as big a grin as you'll ever see from Manning on the field.
- After the score, Thomas and two other receivers played keep away from Manning... Who obviously really wanted that special football!
- Why, I don't know, since the fella from Canton was there waiting to take the ball straight to the Pro Football Hall of Fame! (He was probably very pleased that he didn't have to wait very long tonight!)
- Being gracious, previous record holder Brett Favre posted a nice tweet, the best part of which was was the hashtag, #onto600 !
- As this post was being written, Manning threw number 510, a forty-yard shot to Thomas again to start the first possession in the second half. So, the record will just keep being broken over and over again...
- Manning on the day he signed with the Broncos, with HoF QB John Elway (Denver's GM and himself seventh on the all time passing TD list at 300), who said today, "Who knows? He may double me before he's done." When Elway and the Broncos took a gamble on a 36 year old QB with severe neck injuries and who at the time no one had seen throw a ball more than a few yards, much less at an NFL standard, it's hard to think he wouldn't have been pleased with 110 TD passes in his first 38 games, an NFL record 7 TDs in a game (last year's opener), an NFL record 55 TDs last season, and the all-time NFL record for TDs at 510 (and counting). That's brave.
- Footnote: As Thunder raced across the field wit a huge flag saying "509 touchdowns!", the eight year old said, "How did they know how many would be the record?"
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