The Fake Lonnie Finch

This is the Post of the Year...and I don't even have to read whatever gets posted for the remaining 337 days of 2010 to know it!

Told one of the ladies this morning. Awful. Just awful. She was only part-time. The one Friday morning will be worse. It's a salaried position. Still holding out hope, but it's a long shot now. The numbers just aren't there. Our clients are hurting, so we're hit as well. Our hits aren't fatal, but they were deeper than expected. Had a couple of customers - formerly high dollar customers - go bankrupt, and another had one of his main properties foreclosed. I don't know, guys, but it just doesn't seem to be getting better. And, Texas has it better than most states. In commercial insurance, we see the front lines of how the economic battles are going because the majority of premium rates are based on either sales or payroll. When those are down, it's a sign of trouble. Premiums remain flat so far on our 2010 renewals, an indicatinos that sales aren't improving and payrolls aren't expanding. The banks are so tight with money and aren't in the mood to loosen up with all of the harsh rhetoric against them coming from D.C. Worst of all is that Wall Street seems to have rebounded without stronger sales and employment numbers. I fear that's a sign that they expect a slow recovery and have adjusted their expectations to match it.

Voted okay. Orr and Antonio Johnson are legitimate day one players at a non-BCS program. I also like the pickup of Jamison Hughes. Everything else is average or long term projects. Two - Dunham and Vincent Eddie are probably wasted scholarships. Neither would have been given an FBS scholarship anywhere else. In the long run, such shots in the dark hurt depth. I'd like Dodge and the staff to be more serious about where they spend scholarships when I see stuff like this. Depth is important and these guys likely won't be ready for at least three years, if ever. Eddie has some outside talent and should have gone JUCO, a la former Oklahoma Sooner and Atlanta Falcon Darnell Walker, who also came of high school at shorter than 5-10 and in the 140-150 range. Eddie needs live snaps, even if just against JUCO competition. He won't get it here and will probably languish on the depth chart as a result. The big minuses are the absence of one or two quarterback prospects and two to three defensive tackles. Either Dodge doesn't see the light here, or he is unable to nail down recruits. Oh yeah...glad to see soon-to-be fellow Lloyd V. Berkner alum Zach Olen on board. Hopefully, he'll be as much of an asset as former Ram Scott Davis was here back in the day.

We'll be making our first ever layoffs this Friday. Sad. Hard to do. But, nothing's changed since last year. The tight credit is killing businesses, and we're a company that deals 80% in businesses and only 20% to individuals. I really wish the government would stop hassling banks. It's doing nothing but hurting businesses. I don't understand the disconnect between politicians and basic economics. It's maddening.

Agreed. At a true 6-5 or 6-6 and 260-270, Johnson has the frame and talent to grow into an elite offensive lineman. This where it's good that we have Charr and Lefty. Now, if we can nail down Canales!

Many assistant contracts are just year to year, so there probably is no problem in getting him here. Also, as was pointed out during the Lincoln Riley vigil, $90,000 a year is more than $0 a year. The thing I like about Canales is that he's been part of building a program (USF), coaching QBs to the NFL (Philip Rivers), and understands JUCO-level talent (Snow JC) so that he can probably separate the men from the boys in recruiting those types. If we get this guy, I don't think there's any way possible for us to have a losing season in 2010. He brings so much to the table; and, it comes from experience is at a higher levels than the Sun Belt...or high school. This is the type of hire we've been waiting/clamoring for.

This is a great get. Scouts, Inc. rated 77. That means they believed he could start three years at a BCS school. This and the Orr commitment are excellent!

If this is the hire, it's very exciting! This guy will bring reality back to the offense.

Look, here's the problem - businesses need banks to make loans for capital growth. It gets no simpler than that. So, what is Obama doing - tightening the screws on banks who are already extraordinarily tight with their money these days? In order to please to most liberal of his constituency, he is risking send the recession back into deep waters. I honestly don't believe there is one person in the Obama White House/Administration who understands what collosal f-ups they are when it comes to all thing economic and financial. They have no clue. And, further, I don't think they care. I think they want the country to tank and clamor for more government. Obama and his cronies don't know how to do anything else but spend other people's money. Punishing the banks further will do no more than further punish struggling businesses - large, medium, and small. And, all for the sake of his dwindling, liberal consituency. It's insane.

Because coaches who have spent their careers sending kids to the NFL, like Price and Miles, have probably gotten in his ear and told him his best shot beyond college is at another position. What I can't fathom is why our bar is set so low at quarterback. Get the Taylor kid for Denison. His QB upside is far greater than either Dodge or Hall. He's bigger, he's stronger. He's raw and will sit for a year. But, I like the idea of him training with Charr Gahagan for a year or two and getting into the 215-225 range. I think Taylor a longshot, but I'm glad we're looking in that direction.

Scott Hall was 6-2 and 210-215. Riley is 5-9 or 10 and 180 if he's soaking wet with rocks in his pockets. Yes, I'll take Scott Hall any day of the week over Riley Dodge at QB.

Well, we're about to find out, aren't we? Scouts, Inc. was on the money in their assessment of Riley. And, I'm sure it will be no different with Javia. Fortunately, I think we'll have a different head coach before we have to cross the bridge - someone who will have sense enough to move both Riley and Javia while signing some legitimate FBS-worthy quarterback prospects.

I'd love to get to a point where going 8-5, winning a bowl game, and having other schools considering our assistants is imploding. Please, please. I'd love for us to be imploding to that degree.

It's relevant to us because we view ourselves as equal or better than La Tech in the college football food chain. It is a good, regional comparison. To me, it demonstrates that other schools in our similar situation (financially, non-AQ) can go after coordinator-level guys at AQ schools. Thus, we will have no excuse for not doing the same when our position opens again.

It really doesn't take all that much effort. You just read scouting reports prepared by coaches and scouts, and look at the kid. Yes, I know this varies from believing the stat geeks and journalists at Rivals. But, it is what it is. The fact remains, if Hall stays with us, he'll be miscast at QB. If he goes to LSU, or elsewhere, they'll move him to a position where he can succeed in the college game. In that, Todd Dodge is different than the other 119 other FBS coaches - he likes his QB to be too small to play the position. He doesn't seem to mind the interceptions, fumbles, and injuries that come with trodding that path. Other coaches assemble teams to win and put players in the best position to do so. We'll have such a coach in 2011.

Soonerfans.com are saying Wilson to La Tech isn't true: http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthrea...9351&page=2 But, who knows? If they do get someone of his caliber, then there's no excuse for us not to go after BCS-level coordinator for our next hire.

NEWSFLASH: LSU wouldn't use him as a quarterback. They'd redshirt him, and sit him a year beyond that to get some weight on him, while moving him to WR or DB. We're the only FBS school in the country that will use him there...just like with Riley.

A good move for Stockstill. He's likely waiting on a bigger, better offer - especially having just seen Derek Dooley go from La Tech to Tennessee. He's now turned down two CUSA schools - Memphis and ECU - and interviewed for Big East/AQ school South Florida. I bet he'd have taken the USF job, had it been offered. I could see Stockstill at NC State in 2011 if O'Brien keeps tanking the Wolfpack (three consecutive losing seasons). LSU fans are (amazingly) unhappy with Les Miles, and you wonder how short his leash is. Ralph Friedgen at Maryland is also on a short leash after losing seasons in two of the past three years, and four of the last six. His three consecutive 10 win seasons from 2001-2003 are now distant memories. And, at South Carolina, Spurrier could hang it up at any time. He's not setting the world on fire...and likes golf more than coaching these days anyway. He's not nearly as fiery as he was with Duke and Florida. Of course, Colorado is the big job to watch in the Big 12. And, there are a couple of other that will likely open out west, Arizona State and Wahsington State. But, I don't see Stockstill leaving the South. He's played and coached there his entire career (high school: Fernandina Beach, Florida; college: Florida State; coaching: Bethune-Cookman, Central Florida, Clemson, South Carolina, MUTS). A good handful of ACC and SEC jobs are likely to be open after the 2010 season. And, if MUTS puts together another 9 or 10 win season, Stockstill will get some interviews there.

Even though the North Texas school lost, the Plano East comeback...then failure in 1994 has got to be in there. My first wife was an East grad and we went to the game. Her brother played football and her parents were in the booster club. They left with Tyler JT up 41-17 and about three minutes to go. For whatever reason, we decided to stay. And, man, we were gald we did! It's the best high school football game I've ever seen. Recap here: http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/...tory?id=3789110

Good move for BLM. Eastern Washington has become a regular in the FCS playoffs. And, their QB graduates, so he'll likely be the starter. The backups were a couple of freshmen who didn't see much playing time. EWU runs an offense similar to SMU. His experience at SMU was good - he started on an FBS team, got a trip to Hawaii, and a bowl ring...and he's only halfway through his career. Not a bad experience for a kid, I'd say.

What my friend whose dad coached with Vince Dooley said of Derek in his e-mail back to me: "yep, i wore his hand-me-downs, saw him about every Sunday in the player's dorm cafeteria. he is alittle bit older than us. I don't think he had a very good year last season at La. Tech, but i haven't had a chance to look at his records. i think Tenn. got alittle desperate after being turned down by a few first choices.. i knew Derek would get to the SEC eventually.... "

I don't know. Would I have to see him every day?

Hmmm. Well, Cutcliffe was an assistant at Tennessee for 19 years...and was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for some slackoff named Peyton Manning. Won a national title with Tee Martin at the helm. And, coached another half-as*ed QB at Ole Miss named Eli Manning. Just luck, I'm sure. Probably just stood there all those years and had the people around him do all the work.

Makes sense. His dad in an SEC coaching legend. In college, I roomed with a guy whose dad was Dooley's secondary coach for 16 years at Georgia. I'll hit him up today and see what he knows.

Actually, it's the "Damn-everyone's-getting-a-new-coach-but-us-board"!