Archive for May, 2010

Show Me the Money…Show Me the Wins: Are SEC Coaches Salaries Worth It?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about SEC coaches’ salaries. According to USA Today, nine of the 12 head coaches rake in at least $2 million a year, and four make at least $3 million! It’s hard to believe that just ten years ago there were only two SEC coaches bringing down $1 million or more.
Topping the salary list is Urban Meyer at a cool $4 mill…and a 9 – 0 record, followed by Nick Saban with $3.9million and also a 9 –0 record. And in the middle of the pack is Mark Richt, with a $3 million salary and a 5-4 record. And Richt raised the stakes for defensive coordinators when he hired former Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham for a reported salary of $750K, making Grantham tied with Alabama’s Kirby Smart as the highest paid defensive coordinators in the SEC.
Even first year Tennessee coach Derek Dooley—replacing Lane Kiffin who made $2 million last year before moving to his Southern California job—is being paid $1.8 million.

And how about Florida? UF will have the highest paid coaching staff in Gator history. They’ll pay nine assistant football coaches a combined total of $2.66 million this year, according to Florida Today. And that doesn’t count bonuses for SEC and Bowl appearances. Look, the Florida Gators football program is totally separate from the University. And because they’re autonomous, I think they should be able to spend their money as they see fit. They must be doing something right.
So are these megabucks SEC salaries worth it? I do think salaries play a big role when it comes to winning football games in the SEC. And Florida’s salaries are comparable to Alabama, Auburn and LSU and look at their records. I guess you could say “you get what you pay for.” Let me know what y’all think…
Switching gears to the NBA…the Suns got their first win Sunday night at home . My MVP pick: Stoudemire, with 42 point and 11 rebounds. Nash looked good with17 points and 15 assists. And Kobe went for 36 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. But that still wasn’t enough for them to win.

And how about the Cav’s Head Coach Mike Brown who took them the Playoffs five times. Wow…he didn’t get his $4.5million! Makes you wonder who’s next to coach King James… if he stays that is.

So what’s more important to winning football games…big salaries or big muscles? Keep an eye out for my special locker room report on conditioning and training in the SEC.

Latest Hockey Player Reaches His Goal…All LeBron, All the Time…and We’re Covering Georgia Better than Ever with Dawg On It…

Okay, so maybe I should have played hockey instead of football.  Look at Nicklas Backstrom who just signed a 10 year deal with the Washington Capitals worth—what’s that–$67 million?   That’s a pretty sweet deal, although it’s nothing compared to the 13-year, $124 million contract extension teammate Alex Ovechkin inked in 2008.  Man!

Backstrom talked about why he wanted to stay with the team, “We want to win the Cup.  I think we have a good mix on our team and I wanted to stay and everything, so there was nothing to think about.”

Over the weekend, it was all LeBron, all the time.  If you sat down to watch Game 1 Boston vs. Magic like I did, you couldn’t help but feel like you were watching a LeBron infomercial at every timeout!  The fans want to know where he’s going to end up next year, and they got plenty of reminders of what’s made him such a winner over the years!

Lebron James Dunks On Delonte West

Unfortunately, LeBron play highlights weren’t the only news surrounding King James.  As I reported over the weekend, Terez Owens cited a reliable source who alleged that LeBron’s Mom, Gloria James was having an affair with one of LeBron’s teammates—and maybe not for the first time–and that LeBron found this out just before Game 4.  I’m not into sleazy reporting, but when you look at the fact that LeBron’s scoring went down from Game 4 to Game 6 and that Delonte West was benched during those games, it’s hard not to put two and two together.  
Even ESPN was talking trash about LeBron’s leadership and performance in those games.

Okay Georgia Bulldogs Fans…due to popular demand, we’re debuting a new section on kelinjohnson.com.  We call it Dawg On It…and it’s everything related to the Georgia Bulldogs and all UGA Sports.  Also, be on the lookout for my Kelin’s Korner interview with Fred Gibson, who was one of UGA’s top receivers when he left for the NFL in 2004.  Gibson talks about what it’s been like to be back at UGA as a student, and what he plans to do after he graduates in December!
And speaking of people who are moving on…I’ll have an update from Zach Mettenberger on how his visit to Cincinnati went and what happens when he takes his visit to Troy State this week. And I’m working on a story on Bulldog spring conditioning and the future of the coaching staff.  Remember, if it involves the Dawgs…we’re on it!

Crazy and disturbing details are winging around the internet to explain Lebron James’s breakdown.   The reason for Lebron’s play in games 4, 5 and 6 according to Terez Owens is very personal and very troubling.

This is definitely NC-17 rated material, and I am working my sources to get to the bottom of this and will tell you what I find out in my next Kelin Johnson Sports News Direct.

Here is the unfiltered news direct from the source:

HTTP://wcwpsports.com

More on this next week.

More Exclusive Breaking News on Former UGA QB Zach Mettenberger…Nail Biters in the Playoffs…and Mind Over Fairways…

It’s still a rollercoaster ride for Zach Mettenberger, the ousted UGA QB, who learned the day before his visit to the University of Louisville that the Cardinals were taking a pass on him. Why? Well Mettenberger tells kelinjohnson.com exclusively that the school bigwigs told him they’re still trying to recover from the media frenzy surrounding last summer’s “sex scandal” involving Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. They told Mettenberger that “it’s a bit much for them to handle right now” as far as recruiting a player with his own recent misdemeanor sexual battery charge. Zach’s response: “They have to do what’s best for them, I understand.”
The good news for ZM: Cincinnati is still on board and Troy State just put an offer on the table. He takes a visit to Troy after he gets back from Cincinnati later this week. What I like about Troy is that their coaches have had the opportunity to get to know Zach on a personal level—they spend time with UGA coaches and the team every year, either on their off week or during Georgia’s Spring Camp. So they’ve seen firsthand that Mettenberger is a great player, both on and off the field.
Speaking of great players…do we have any on the Atlanta Hawks? C’mon guys, please WIN one Game! The Magic is having its way with the Hawks. I wrote in my last blog that Hawks fans were booing them at the series game against Milwaukee, but then they came back and beat the Bucks 95-74. It’s not looking that way for the Hawks, after last night’s Magic 98-84 victory over the Hawks. I guess they really gave their fans something to boo about now. Magic leads 3-0 in the fight so far.

The Celtics and the Cavaliers: Tonight’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference series is one to watch: two great teams fighting it out. In Sunday night’s game, Boston’s point guard Rondo had 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Celtics beat King James 97-87. We’ll see what LeBron decides to do when he becomes a free agent in July.

I’m not sure if you guys are fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or not, but Kimbo Slice got the pink slip after his Saturday night loss in the PPV bout.

Kimbo Slice. Need I say More?

 ”I didn’t know Kimbo, I just knew what I saw,” UFC president Dana White said of Slice’s previous pro MMA fights and his work on YouTube. “The first time I ever met him I said, ‘this is going to be an interesting meeting, with the [expletive] I’ve said about him over the years.’” When he first came on the scene, Kimbo got lots of attention as the street fighter who beat everyone up, but he just couldn’t stick with the big dogs!

You know, there are sports that are more physical than mental and there are some that are more mental than physical. As an ex football player I always used football as a stress reliever when things were on my mind. When I had a long day at school I couldn’t wait to go workout or to practice. If I had problems at home, when a coach got on me about a blown coverage and challenged me in the meeting to do better, I couldn’t wait until practice so I could fix it, even if my girlfriend at the time was giving me a hard time about something. It didn’t matter what I had going on in my mind I knew once I got around football it would make me feel better and my mind would be clear and I would perform better. I used stress as my motivation to do better!

Which gets me thinking about Tiger Woods. I was talking to a friend last night about how golf is such a mental game, and how Tiger is trying to play through this tough time in his personal life. Tiger stopped after six holes in the Players Championship round for a neck Injury. At first, I thought to myself that he just needs to keep playing and he will feel better. But no. Golf is a game where your mind has to be free at all times. Tiger has SO much going on outside his sport right now that it’s affecting his game. He needs to take some more time off to clear his mind and regroup. Golf is not a sport you can play well and be at the top of your game while you’re having major problems in your personal life. You can’t take your aggressions, problems, fear, and emotions out on the golf course like you can on the football field. You can’t play golf mad or uptight or you’re going to find yourself hurt. Look, I can understand he still wants to play, but he just can’t be on tour right now…for his health and for his name! Tiger can play all the golf he wants, but he needs to play with his coaches and friends until he’s comfortable again with his life and family situation.

Sports and real life…you can’t separate them. Just ask Tiger. And ask Zach.

BREAKING NEWS EXCLUSIVE from KELIN JOHNSON

May 5, 2010 Athens, GA– Former UGA QB Zach Mettenberger Confirms School Opportunities Exclusively with Kelin Johnson on kelinjohnson.com 

Things are turning around for former UGA QB Zach Mettenberger, who confirmed exclusively with kelinjohnson.com on Tuesday, that he has at least two scholarship offers on the table: One from the University of Cincinnati under Head Coach Butch Jones and Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach Mike Bajakian.  Zach confirms he’ll take a visit to the Bearcats on May 13^th. And he’s looking at a second offer from the University of Louisville, under Head Coach Charlie Strong and Quarterback Coach Mike Groh. Mettenberger will visit the home of the Cardinals on May 7^th.

“I’m excited to have another opportunity to live out my dream of playing Division 1 football,” Mettenberger said, speaking exclusively to kelinjohnson.com. “Both schools have new coaches. Louisville went to the Orange Bowl recently and Cincinnati had a great season last year.  They aren’t Georgia, but I will have the chance to throw the ball more at both universities because of a spread offense.” 

Mettenberger tells kelinjohnson.com that he’s had heavy interest and calls from other colleges and universities, including the University of Tennessee, USC, Texas A&M, UK, Troy State, Memphis, and Colorado, and that a number of schools have been calling to get the scoop on Mettenberger from Bulldog Offensive Coordinator, and former winning UGA quarterback Mike Bobo. 

Mettenberger, who was dismissed from the team by UGA Coach Mark Richt last month, is looking forward to putting this chapter behind him, after pleading guilty to two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery Monday in Lowndes County, Georgia, where he was sentenced to probation and community service. 

“ I know I made a mistake and I’m not going to mess up again,”  the 6’ 5’’ Mettenberger tells me.  “The people who are judging me don’t really know who I am.   “The people who are close to me are the ones that really matter.”

 As a former UGA athlete with some firsthand knowledge of what it feels like to mess up and let down the people who believe in you, I think I know exactly how Zach is feeling.  But I also believe in second chances.  And right now, he’s being given a major one. 

Stay connected to kelinjohnson.com for more exclusive reports on Zach Mettenberger…on the road to redemption and to a new team where he can fulfill his potential as a winning QB.

Kelin Johnson Sports News Direct

Are Atlanta Hawks fans fair weather friends?  It was pretty chilly last Wednesday when the Hawks took the court to the booing of their own fans!  As a player, that’s not a good feeling, trust me, I know! Milwaukee led the series 3-2, but after two straight wins from the Hawks things warmed up for Atlanta fans.  It was Bucks 74 Hawks 95! Round two for the Hawks.

Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans bringing the ball up court against the Houston Rockets during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif

For more than 50 years, the NBA has been giving out the annual MVP award, and this year there were no big surprises…Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James won his second straight…with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant second…

Orlando’s Dwight Howard as defensive MVP… Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year and Kings star Tyreke Evans was NBA Rookie of the Year!

In boxing:  did you guys see Money vs. Sugar? 

Fireballs land on Sugar. Mayweather won every round after the second.

The first two rounds he won hands down, with 10’s in both rounds. Sugar came out hitting Money with jabs and rights, but once the bell rang at the start of Round 3, it was all Money Mayweather for 10 rounds. Money was too fast and in too good shape for Sugar. If you ask me, Mosley should “take the Money” from this fight and hang it up. He’s just too old and slow.

Will Favre return to NFL play in 2010?

Tough times for Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre and his fans… Dr. James Andrew says he needs surgery to repair his left ankle. Now this is a big deal that could definitely have major impact on the 41-year old’s  19 year career and maybe come back.