Nov. 10, 2011
Quick Slant is an array of brief insights and occasionally opinionated overviews of collegiate athletics in general and the Vanderbilt Commodores in particular.
Jordan Rodgers told the media the other day that he frequently talks to his older brother Aaron (Green Bay Packers quarterback) and that the most common advice has always been to work hard and be ready when your chance comes. Those are words of wisdom that all of us could put to good use.
If you ever wondered why ESPN and CBS awarded such a lucrative contract to the Southeastern Conference last year, we offer the ratings from last week’s LSU-Alabama game as Exhibit A. That SEC West contest was the most-watched regular season game on CBS since 1989 with over 20 million viewers. If last year’s Tide-Tiger battle was a ratings winner, this game’s viewership was up 160%! By the way, that 1989 ratings blockbuster was Notre Dame-Miami.
Was it just our imagination or did it not seem as though our men’s basketball team had a lot of big guys on the floor during Monday’s exhibition win? We’re talking about strong as much as we are tall; someone remarked that our guys now look like the ones we used to play against.
Did you notice that bowling star Brittni Hamilton began the season by beating 119 competitors and winning the New Jersey Jamboree last weekend by a wide margin?
A tad busy…in addition to Saturday’s Kentucky football game, Vanderbilt will host six basketball games in as many days starting with Friday’s doubleheader.
Sophomore defensive back Nick Aguirre is set to sing the national anthem on Saturday’s football Senior Day.
The sports world and everyone else paying attention is sickened by the heart-breaking news out of Penn State. It is difficult to comprehend a more disgusting scenario – assuming the charges and reports are accurate. (Remember the Duke men’s lacrosse fiasco?)
In today’s world it is astonishing just how quickly Coach Paterno can be transformed from legend — the icon of college football — to disgrace in many eyes. Remember, he has not been charged with anything and in our rush-to-judgment society, none of us (including the media) know all the facts as they relate to him.
This episode will likely become a significant portion of the first sentence of his obituary. Could there be a worse exit personally for a man who legions will testify loved his school and otherwise seemed to be a good and decent leader for over six decades?