There is a terrific tournament on tour this week with the top 15 players in the world and most of the top 50 competing at the World Golf Championships Workday Championship at the Concession. The Concession Golf Club is a course in Brandenton, Florida, a city on the southern west Florida Gulf coast between Tampa and Sarasota. It is a 7,474 yard, Par 72. This WGC Tourney is 1 of 3 this year along with the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event March 24th-28th at Austin Country Club and the WGC FedEX St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis, August 5th-8th. This is the start of the Florida Swing. Next week is the Arnie Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Club, then The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. commences March 11-14th with one of the most spectacular fields and tournaments in golf, the “Fifth Major” as the players like to say. It means a ton to those guys, both financially and for legacy. The Players will be followed by the Honda Classic at PGA National, the Champions Course, a Jack Nicklaus design, featuring the vaunted and difficult “Bear Trap,” holes 15, 16 and 17. That takes place March 18-21st. Then the WGC Match Play at Austin CC. followed by the Valero Texas Open April 1-4th, in San Antonio. And then the Masters commences April 8-11th. So some phenomenal golf is forthcoming starting this week.

The Concession Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin design. Jack seemingly designs most courses throughout the country and they’re all gems. . The Concession name is contributed to Nicklaus conceding a 3 foot par putt to Jacklin on the 18th hole in the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England that guaranteed the first tie in Ryder Cup history. The U.S. still took home the Cup because they had won the competition over Europe 2 years earlier in 1967 at the Champions Club in Houston. It was considered an amazing act of sportsmanship on Jack’s part in a Cup that was ironically characterized by acrimony and a lack of sportsmanship. Per Wiki, Britain’s captain, Eric Brown, had instructed his players not to search for the opposition’s ball if it ended up in the rough. American Ken Still, in the first-day foursomes, had deliberately and regularly stood too close to Britain’s Maurice Bembridge as he was putting. On one of the 4 balls on the second day, both captains had to come out and calm down their respective warring players. Now, that was some serious competition. Too much, most likely. . Sam Snead was the captain of the U.S. team and he was incensed that Nicklaus conceded the putt to Jacklin. Nonetheless, the U.S, retained the Cup and Nicklaus and Jacklin became close friends and designed the Concession course in 2006. Bryson DeChambeau won the 2015 NCAA Championship at the Concession and Bryson, of course, is in the field. Dustin Johnson is the +650 favorite after the Genesis Invitational, won by Max Homa. More on that a little later. Jon Rahm is at +1000, then the next higher tiered players are between +1600 and +2000. Rory and Xander Schauffele are at +1600. Justin Thomas, who was visibly shaken up yesterday after the Woods’ accident, and Patrick Cantlay, are at +1800. DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton all come in at +2000. Rory and JT missed the cut last week at the Genesis. Some other players of note are Viktor Hovland at +2500 and Brooks Koepka at +2800. Koepka at +2800 would seem like a steal as Koepka is on his home turf in Florida. Last week’s winner, Homa ,and Pebble Beach winner Daniel Berger are also in the field. Sungjae Im, who seems to play every week, and that’s phenomenal, is also in the field.

Back to the Genesis, Homa defeated Finau in a playoff. Home hit a wedge on the 72nd hole in regulation to 3 feet and looked to have the tournament closed out on the final hole of the tournament. But he didn’t factor in the break and gagged it. But he held on strongly. After driving his ball against a tree on No.10, the 315 yard par 4, he chipped to the front of the green and 2 putted for par. Finau hit an awesome drive, but his chip landed 7 feet away and he missed his birdie putt., which broke about 2 feet left to right Homa parred 11 and Finau bogeyed it from 14 feet to give Homa the championship. Mike “Brownie” Brown, predicted Homa as his sleeper pick. Great job by Brownie. He picked Rory to win, but still getting it somewhat right is well done. Better than the rest of us. Getting a golf prediction right can be seemingly next to impossible at times, so Brownie did well. An amazing stat about Finau was flashed up by Golf Channel after the tournament. Since the 2016-17 season, the most top ten finishes are Justin at 43, he’s won 12 times, Rahm, at 41 and has won 5 times. DJ, at 38, and he’s won 12 times, and Finau, at 37 with 0 W’s. Finau last won in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open, his only PGA Tour victory, and has been a runner-up 8 times, including 3 playoff losses and has 21 top 5’s to go along with his 37 top 10’s. What does Steve Perry say, “Don’t Stop Believin.” That’s got to be the 31 year old from Salt Lake City’s mantra.

All the excitement of this WGC event came to a screeching halt yesterday after Tiger Woods crashed his Genesis SUV in Southern California at 9:12 AM CT/ 7:12 AM Pacific Time. He has major injuries to his left leg and Leigh Steinberg, his longtime agent, said he has major leg injuries, although nothing was reported on his right leg. He has more than one fracture in his left leg. The police used an ax to smash the windshield and remove Woods from the vehicle. The speed limit was 45 on that descending hill and the sheriff said that Woods may have been traveling at a much higher rate of speed. So it’s another not so stellar moment for Tiger. He just can’t seem to get out of his own way. He had his fifth back surgery in December and was hoping to get back for the Masters. But this shuts the door on that attempt. Jack’s 18 majors are seeming very secure now. The 45 year old Woods has 15 with his last coming at the 2019 Masters, but he could be done. Not ruling him out totally to at least come back and play, but he’s an older guy now, and he’s pretty fragile physically. Hope he can come back from this, but right now there is just rest and rehabilitation ahead for Tiger, and an attempt to figure out how it happened. The LA County Sheriff said they would be investigating for the next 2 to 3 weeks, and the Sheriff said Tiger did not seem impaired when he reached him in the SUV, though that’s not certain. Woods was on his way for a practice session film shooting with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. So, stay tuned. The soap opera that is Tiger Woods is the gift that keeps on giving. Hoping for him to recover, but he just can’t seem to get it right these days.

Winner at the WGC

Weather, super, high 70’s Thursday, mid 80’s Friday-Sunday, winds in the 10-15 MPH range throughout ,so should be a factor on this course that features a lot of water, as you would expect in Florida, and over 6 dozen sand traps. Jack likes water and sand to test the best players in the world. No. 17 is a 610 par 5 and No.18, a classic finishing hole, is 486 par 4 with water coming into play off the tee and on the approach. No.14 is a 222 yard par 3 that challenges you with water and wind. The players will be challenged with their club selection and driving and approach accuracy. The greens will stimp at 12. They are Bermuda greens as you would expect in the warm climate of Florida. Bentgrass is pretty much not a factor in Florida as it is too hot to save those type of greens. Bentgrass is viable here in Alabama, with Birmingham Country Club, Mountain Brook Club and Shoal Creek among the most recognizable courses, feature them. But the greeens have to be maintained constantly to save them from the summer heat. The greens should be excellent at the Concession.

TV: Thursday, 12-5 PM CT, Golf Channel. Friday, 12-5 PM CT, Golf Channel. Saturday, 11 AM-1:30 PM CT, GC, 1:30-5 PM CT, NBC. Sunday, 11 AM-1:30 PM CT, Golf Channel, 1:30-5 PM CT, NBC.

I’ll take the 27 year old from Modesto, California by way of SMU. He’s the reigning U.S. Open Champion where he scorched the field at the venerable Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. I like the fact that he won the NCAA Championships here in 2015. I also like, as Walter and Spike like to say, the horse for the course. So give me,

Bryson DeChambeau

Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter need a combination moniker, so I’m going to call them Thunder and Lightning. The dynamic duo were lights out yesterday at Hawkins Field, as we swept the Wright State Raiders, 14-1 in game 1, and 1-0 in game 2.

In game 1, Kumar pitched 4 innings, gave up 1 hit, 0 runs with 3 walks and 8 K’s. Kumar was hitting 94-95, he has developed a cut fastball, the cutter, in the low 90’s, which looks scary good, his slider was typically un-hittable, and his off-speed stuff worked well also. Sam Hloboki came in and pitched 2 innings of 1 hit, no run ball with a walk and 2 K’s. Sam is going to be an incredible asset for us this season, either out of the bullpen or as a starter. Chris McElvain pitched the final 3 frames giving up 3 hits, 1 run with a walk and 5 ring ups. Kumar threw 67 pitches with 39 for strikes against 26 balls. His stuff looked strong.

The hitting was spectacular in game 1 as we scored 14 runs on 14 hits. Isaiah Thomas, our great junior, was 3 for 5 with a deep shot to left for a solo homer, a triple, and 3 Ribeyes. Jayson Gonzalez had a really good day at the plate. Our senior third baseman cranked one out to deep central field in game one and was 3 for 3 in game 2. We have a really electric freshman center fielder in Enrique Bradfield. Enrique from American Heritage High School in Hialeh, FL. can really motor. If there are such things as house calls in baseball, maybe for stealing bases and scoring runs, Enrique is a house call waiting to happen. He was 2 for 3 in game 1 and stole a base. His first at bat of his college career, Enrique hit a sharp grounder to short and missed beating it out by an eyelash. He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s dynamic. We’re really going to like Enrique. Designated hitter Parker Noland had an exceptional day at the plate as well in game 1, going 3 for 3 with an RBI double and 2 runs scored. Parker, a sophomore, has a heckuva bat.

The only miscues were 2 errors in game 1. Overall, it was an exceptional start.

In game 2, Jack was beyond spectacular. Hitting 96-98 consistently, even hitting a hundge in the 2nd, Jack went 5, gave up only 1 hit with 0 walks and 8 K’s. He threw a terrific curve ball, everything was working for our sophomore stud. Jack threw 69 pitches with 46 for strikes against 23 balls, a perfect 2:1 ratio. Thomas Shultz, Nick Maldonado, Luke Murphy and Ethan Smith finished it off to close out the 1-0 victory.

Gonzales , who’s struggled with injuries but looks to have put it all together with his unlimited talent and his boxing workouts during last summer that helped him shed 20 pounds, was 3 for 3 in game 2 as stated earlier. Awesome sophomore shortstop Carter Young was 2 for 4 in game 2. When I talked to Corbs, I said Carter reminds me a lot of Connor Kaiser the way he is a slick fielder, but his bat is more potent than Connor’s was. Carter is a superb player.

No errors in game 2.

Corbs liked what he saw out of both Rocker and Leiter. He said Leiter “looked pretty good.” You know he was stellar when Corbs says, “pretty good.”

So superb performance by the team. Wednesday we’ll face Western Kentucky at 4:30 PM CT on SEC Network+. The Hilltoppers are 1-2 after taking 1 of the 3 games against North Dakota State over the weekend. They hit .302 as a team. Their designated hitter, Richard Constantine, is hitting .429 with 6 hits in 14 plate appearances. Opponents are batting .297 against WKU pitching.

Unclear who’ll be on the mound for us. Maybe Ethan Smith, although Corbs may want to save him for the weekend against Georgia State, a team that took 2 of 4 from No.23 West Virginia in Atlanta this past weekend. The Panthers look like a formidable opponent after WKU. We play Georgia State Friday at 4:30 PM CT, Saturday at 1 PM CT and a doubleheader Sunday starting at 1 PM CT. All 4 games will be broadcast by SEC Network+>

So a big week still ahead of us. We are now No.3 in the country per the D-1 Baseball rankings. Ole Miss is now No.1 in the country after defeating then No.3 Texas Tech, then No.9 Texas and then No.10 TCU at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, TX this past weekend. Arkansas is No.2 after sweeping all 3 of those teams as well. Mississippi State went 2-1 in the Showdown with their only loss coming to TCU. State is now No.5 in the country. The SEC went a combined 8-1 against the Big 12 in that tournament. Pretty strong statement for this once again highly formidable conference. Louisville is No.4. Florida, after going 1-2 over the weekend versus Miami, is No.7. Miami is No. 6. LSU is No.11, South Carolina is 17, Tennessee is 18, and Auburn is 21. Every team in the conference is talented.

A lot of good stuff coming up for our baseball team. Need to take care of business tomorrow at home at 4:30 PM CT on SEC Network+. Can’t let up. Need to stay sharp. Pitching will be interesting. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.

Will have continuing coverage on VU Sports Confidential.

Coach Tim Corbin enters his 19th season as head coach of Vanderbilt Baseball where he has achieved extraordinary success as the head man.

Corbin has taken his teams to 15 NCAA Tournaments in his 17 seasons with his only 2 misses being his first season in 2003 and his 3rd season in 2005. Last season, 2020, was cancelled after 18 games due to COVID. It was a season in which the Commodores were 13-5 and gaining momentum for another run to Omaha, but was unfortunately cut short by the pandemic.

Before 2020, Corbin had taken his team to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2006-2019, including 14 regionals, 8 Super Regionals, 4 College World Series appearances in 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2019, and 2 of his teams won it all in 2014 and 2019. His 2019 team, led by seniors Ethan Paul, Stephen Scott and others, finished 59-12 and 23-7 in the SEC, winning the SEC regular season title, the SEC Tournament Championship, which it had also done in 2007 with David Price and company, won the Regional, the Super Regional and the College World Series by defeating Michigan in 3 games. Vanderbilt Baseball is the Gold Standard of College Baseball. Corbin has had 16 of his players drafted in the first round of the Major League Draft, with two of them, Price in 2007, and shortstop Dansby Swanson, in 2015, selected as the first overall picks by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively. Both have and are excelling at the Major League level, Price, who won the World Series in an epic pitching performance for the Red Sox in 2018, and now with the LA Dodgers, and Swanson excelling with the Atlanta Braves. There are currently 12 players from Vanderbilt playing in the Majors. There are 4 San Francisco Giants, Mike “Yaz” Yastrzemski, Curt Casali, Tyler Beede and Sam Selmon, which had Corbin telling me, “They ought to be called the San Francisco Commodores.” There are 30 to 40 former Commodores in professional baseball including the majors and in the minor leagues. Also, there are executives and coaches in Major League baseball along with former Corbin assistants as head coaches of major college programs.

It’s astounding stuff.

And we have 2 starting pitchers this season who are projected by D-1 Baseball, the premier college baseball website, to be selected No.1 and No.2 in the Major League Draft this June. That would be the great junior Kumar Rocker and sophomore Jack Leiter.

Going back to 2019, Rocker helped take his team on his considerable shoulders in the postseason. After losing game 1 to Duke in the Super Regional in Nashville, and getting shellacked at that, Kumar put on a pitching performance for the ages in game 2, throwing a complete game, no hitter, in which he walked 2 and struck out 19. He threw 131 pitches, and was exhausted but exhilarated after his masterful performance. We defeated Duke the next day to advance to Omaha. At Omaha, Kumar pitched 6 innings of 1 hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 6 in our 6-3 victory over Mississippi State allowing us to keep advancing at TD Ameritrade Park. And, after losing game 1 in the National Championship best 2 out of 3 series to Michigan, Kumar hoisted his team on his shoulders once again in game 2, pitching 6.1 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 1 earned run with 2 walks and 11 K’s in a 4-1 Commodores victory. We won it all in game 3. Jack was a guy, like Kumar, who eschewed the Major Leagues out of high school as a high draft pick, to come to Vanderbilt, get an elite education, and enhance his skills. Leiter went 2-0 last season in 3 starts with a 1.72 ERA with 8 walks and 22 strikeouts. Kumar was 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA with 8 walks and 28 K’s.

The 2021 season starts today with a doubleheader versus Wright State with first pitch for game 1 at 12 PM with Kumar on the hill. Game 2 is set for 30 minutes after the conclusion of game 1.

Our outfield looks sharp with Cooper Davis, who hit .348 last season, the great Isaiah Thomas, who is ready to break out and hit 4 homers and 13 RBIs last season, and stellar freshman Enrique Bradfield Jr. Jayson Gonzales, a senior who has battled injuries, but who is loaded with talent, will man 3rd, while the slick fielding, excellent hitting and speedy Carter Young will play short. Tate Kolwyck, whom Corbs is very high on, will play second, and Dominic Keegan is the leader to play first. The talented C.J. Rodriguez, who hit .289 last season and plays stellar behind the dish, will start at catcher. Another starting pitching candidate is Ethan Smith, who went 3-0 last season with a 1.42 ERA with 9 walks and 23 K’s. Kumar is throwing mid 90’s on his fastball and can get it up to 96-97. Jack and Ethan are around 93-94. Kumar’s slider is still sensational. Looking forward to watching our stud mix his heat with his slider. Sam Hlibioki is a stellar middle reliever as a sophomore. Hliboki had an 0.00 ERA in 5 appearances last season with 2 walks and 16 K’s. He’s got a spectacular potential season ahead of him. Hugh Fisher, one of our seniors, is back after an arm injury kept him out of last season. Hugh could very well be our closer. He throws 94-95, and if his control is on, he can dominate. Hugh, as a closer, will be critical to this team’s success. Thomas Schultz is another big bullpen arm. Schultz had an 0.66 ERA in 4 games and 13.2 innings, with 3 walks and 17 K’s. Michael Doolin posted an 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings with 4 walks and 18 K’s. Nick Maldanado is another. Nick posted a 2.70 ERA with 1 walk and 6 K’s. And there is more depth with some returners and the No.2 recruiting class in the country. The only reason we weren’t No.1 is that 2 of our top prospects were selected in the first round of the 2020 draft along with the great Austin Martin, who was selected 5th by the Toronto Blue Jays. Florida was rated first, but that has a disclaimer with our 2 stellar commits going in the 2020 first round.

Our 2022 recruiting class is now rated No.1 by Perfect Game.

We were ranked No.4 by D-1 Baseball preseason rankings behind Florida, UCLA and Texas Tech. Florida already has a 1-2 record. We were ranked No.3 by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, NCBWA, behind Florida and UCLA. And we were ranked 3rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll behind Florida and UCLA. In the polls, Ole Miss was ranked 6th, Mississippi State 7th, Arkansas 8th, LSU 12th, South Carolina 18th, Tennessee 19th, Auburn 23rd and Alabama 25th. So the competition is once again fierce in the Southeastern Conference.

But our team is stellar and has the makings for another deep Omaha run and has a shot at winning it all.

We’ll play Wright State twice today at home, then Western Kentucky comes to the Hawk Wednesday for a 4:30 PM CT contest. Friday through Sunday we’ll host Georgia State. Friday’s game is at 4;30 PM CT. Saturday will be a twinbill with first pitch of game 1 at 1 PM CT. Game 2 will commence 30 minutes after completion of game 1. And Sunday’s first pitch will be at 1 PM CT. All 7 games will be broadcast by SEC Network+ on your computer, phone, Ipad or Smart TV.

We have 11 games scheduled on the ESPN family of networks. We’ll start with the second game of the South Carolina series at the Hawk on Saturday, March 20th at 2 PM CT on the SEC Network. Then we’ll be @ Missouri Thursday, March 25th on the SEC Network, with game time to be announced. Then on Thursday, April 8th, we’ll play Georgia at home with a 6:30 PM CT start on the SEC Network. We’ll be on ESPNU on Friday April 2nd at 7 PM CT @ LSU. The final 2 games of the Tennessee series, Saturday-Sunday, April 17th and 18th, will be televised. The SEC Network will broadcast the Saturday game at 6 PM CT, and ESPNU will televise the season finale at 1 PM CT on Sunday.

The first 2 games of the Mississippi State series at home, Friday Night and Saturday, April 23rd and 24th, will be broadcast by ESPNU and ESPN respectively. Friday Night’s 6:30 CT game will be telecast by the U, and Saturday’s 2 PM CT game will be broadcast by ESPN2.

The Friday Night game @ Florida on April 30th at 5:30 CT, will be telecast by ESPNU, while the Sunday, May 2nd game, with first pitch at 12 PM CT, will be featured on ESPN2.

Vanderbilt’s final SEC TV regular season appearance will be @ Ole Miss on Friday, May 14th at 6:30 PM CT on the SEC Network.

Additional “wild card” games in the final weekend of conference play, when we play Kentucky at home, will be determined at a later date. We do play Louisville, which has a preseason ranking of No.5, at home Tuesday, May 4th at 6 PM CT, and there should be television for that game as well. Will keep you posted on that.

So another superior baseball season in store for the Commodore Nation. VU Sports Confidential will give you complete coverage throughout what should be another magical season on the West End.

We gave the No.8 Crimson Tide, a 2nd seed in the NCAA Tournament as of today, everything they wanted and just missed pulling out the game, just falling 82-78 at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa this afternoon.

Alabama is a very good team, but I believe we’ve become a very good team. We lost to Kentucky at home, 82-78, Wednesday Night, but Kentucky just blasted No.19 Tennessee, 70-55, at Knoxville this afternoon. Kentucky is starting to come into their own in the SEC at 7-7. So we are playing really good basketball right now.

Scotty poured in 24 to go along with 4 assists. Max Evans added 18, including 4 of 5 from trifecta. Dylan dropped in 17 and pulled down 15 boards. We didn’t get a lot of help from anybody else though Jordan Wright and Issac McBride did some good things. We were missing Clevon Brown today, he was out with an injured knee that Stack said wasn’t a major deal, but Stack wanted to hold him out for future games this season, hopefully starting Wednesday. Braelee Albert did a great job on the boards in Clevon’s place, pulling down 6 and also played terrific defense and buried a crucial trifecta in the game. It’ll be good to get Clevon back, hopefully Wednesday at home against those guys from the East, 8 PM CT on the SEC Network.

Stack was pleased with the performance and sees us finishing strong. I agree with the head man. We’ve got home games left vs those guys from the Eastern Bloc on Wednesday, Ole Miss at 2:30 PM CT next Saturday, Feb. 27th on the SEC Network , and a road game vs LSU Tuesday, March 2nd at 7:30 PM CT on the SEC Network. Then it’s the SEC Tournament. We can do well in all of those games, especially if we can get Clevon back as soon as possible. We will probably be able to make up a postponement or 2 before the SEC Tournament starts at Bridgestone Arena Wednesday March 10th. The SEC tourney concludes Sunday, March 14th at Bridgestone with the championship game at 12 PM CT on ESPN. SEC Network and ESPN will televise throughout. We had 2 games postponed with Texas A&M, one at home, one of the road and one on the road at Missouri, so we could maybe make up an A&M and Missouri game before the tourney starts. We would have 8 days after the season ended March 2nd before the Tournament starts March 10th.

So, we’ve got a lot of basketball left. Kentucky is now 7-7 in the SEC and playing as well as anybody. We just need to figure out how to get over the top in these close ones. I see us as ready to do that.

Scotty and Dylan are spectacular players, and if they would come back next season, we would be a special team. If I am Scotty and Dylan I would weigh this, do I want to be a superstar player in college, my junior year, have a superb season, enjoy college life without COVID, be with my teammates and become very high draft picks after the 2022 season or get drafted after this year and sit on an NBA bench for a year or 2. It just seems like a much better deal to learn as much as you can from Stack and become an elite player as a junior, and work toward a Vanderbilt degree, which is a major thing in life for any athlete or student who has ever gotten a degree from our prestigious university. Just need the guys to come back and help us become an elite program once again.

I love what Stack is doing with this team. We have grown into a very good basketball team. A few more free throws converted, a few more rebounds pulled down, and our record could be very respectable. Our record is 2-10 in the SEC and 6-12 overall, but we’re a much better team than that. And we’ve got a lot of basketball left to win games and do well in the SEC Tournament. We’ve got super players, a super coach, and we’ve got the ability to excel the rest of this season. We’ve just got to keep believing. I like our chances Wednesday Night and going forward.

Tomorrow on the Blog

Baseball season starts at 6 PM CT tomorrow at the Hawk with the No.3 ranked Vandy Boys, D-1 Baseball Rankings, hosting Wright State from Dayton, Ohio. The game has been moved from Friday and today to tomorrow due to inclement weather in Nashville these past few days. But we’ll be good to go tomorrow. Kumar most likely on the hill for us. SEC Network+ will carry the game on the computer or on the ESPN app on your TV or phone. We will have a game Monday versus Wright State and quite possibly a doubleheader on Monday.

I will have my conversation with Coach Corbin on the blog tomorrow in the afternoon before the game starts, probably around 3 PM, as Coach assesses a team that, as always, looks very promising in the 2021 season as we aim for another trip to Omaha and to excel once we get there..

I’ll have more on Women’s Tennis, which is also elite at No.8 in the country, Men’s golf at No.13 under our great Coach, Scott Limbaugh, Women’s Soccer, which won the SEC Championship in the Fall and will compete this spring as the team tunes up for the NCAA Championships. Will talk to first year Women’s Tennis coach Aleke Tsoubanos, who has taken over for the great Geoff McDonald, and has our program cookin at 8-0 after a 4-2 victory over then No.9 Georgia Tech last Sunday at Tech. Really exciting team. Coach Limbaugh’s team will be playing in the LSU Invitational next weekend with a stacked field of SEC teams. Looks like another phenomenal season for Vanderbilt Men’s Golf and we have 2 exceptional signees coming in next season whom Scott and I will talk about. Darren Ambrose has been a stellar coach for our Women’s Soccer team, and after an SEC Championship in the fall when we went 4-0 in the SEC Tournament in Gulf Shores, AL., Coach Ambrose is preparing us for the spring and the chance of being very special in April at the NCAA’s.

And, I’ll also be reviewing our football recruiting class, talking about our present players and our new elite coaching staff, led by our great head coach Clark Lea.

All of that coming up in the next 2 weeks. Of course, will stay on top of Stack and the bball team. Like what I’m seeing and what we can accomplish the rest of the way.

Pacific Palisades and Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles is hosting this week’s stellar field competing in the Genesis Invitational.

World Number 1 Dustin Johnson, with his 24 PGA Tour victories, along with his second major at the Masters last November to go along with his 2016 U.S. Open victory at Oakmont Country Club and a recent worldwide victory in the Saudi International, headlines a star-studded field. Jon Rahm, world No.2, is in the field, as are U.S, Open champion (Winged Foot) Bryson DeChambeau, who says he’s getting 8 to 9 hours sleep in preparation, smart in general, and ready for what he calls a “Bomber’s Paradise.” Waste Management Phoenix Open champ Brooks Koepka is also in the field. 13 time PGA Tour winner and 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, the rejuvenated Jordan Spieth, 2020 PGA champion at Harding Park in San Francisco, Collin Morikawa and 4 time major winner Rory McIlory are also in the field along with defending champion Adam Scott and 2014, ‘16 and ‘18 champ Bubba Watson. 2019 champ J.B. Holmes is competing, too. So should be a spectacular event. Young stallions Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland are also in the field as is consistent top 5 performer Xander Schauffele.

Last week’s champion at Pebble Beach, Daniel “Whata” Berger, withdrew due to back stiffness, but will be playing next week at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at the Concession played at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, on the Florida Gulf Coast near Tampa. Berger sank an electric 18 foot eagle putt last Sunday at the par 5 18th to finish at -18, 2 shots clear of Maverick McNealy, to capture the trophy at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. There were no amateurs playing this year at Pebble Beach, and which was very nice. They just get in the way.

The WGC-Workday at the Concession is taking the place of the WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City due to COVID measures.

Key holes

The 315 yard 10th, par 4

A go for it hole for all the players with the majority of the players using a 3 wood. If the pin is in the middle or back right, players who drive it in the back bunker will have trouble getting up and down. Eagle is possible, birdie very possible, and so is double bogey. The signature hole on the course along with the par 3, 6th with a bunker in the middle of the green.

The 12th, 13th and 15th are challenging par 4’s measuring 475 yards and the 18th is a classic 475 yard par 4 finishing hole at Riviera with a blind tee shot to an elevated fairway, that is a tight driving area, and an approach to a narrow, lengthy green with trees guarding the right side. The Poa Annua greens will be stimping at around 12, pretty quick with 13 getting real slippery. But 12 is certainly challenging. And the Kikuya grass in the rough will be at 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Driving accuracy on the 7,100 yard Par 71 course is necessary, being a bomber like DJ and DeChambeau, JT and others are a major bonus along with strokes gained on approach being crucial, and, as always, the flat stick.

Weather

Really nice in Pacific Palisades. 69 Thursday, low 70’s Friday, low 70’s Saturday and 78 on Sunday with winds pretty minimal at 5 to 7, though they can be tricky at times coming off the Pacific though the course is a couple of miles from the ocean.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 11 AM-1 PM CT Golf Channel. 1-5 PM CT Golf Channel. Friday, 1-5 PM CT Golf Channel. Saturday 12-2 PM CT Golf, 2-5 PM CT, CBS. Sunday, 12-2 PM CT, Golf, 2-5:30 PM CT, CBS.

Winner

It’s hard to go against Dustin. He seems to win almost every time he tees it up with DeChambeau picking up the remains. But I’ll take the 28 year old from nearby Long Beach, California, by way of UCLA. He’s won 3 times on tour, including the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at Las Vegas in 2017, The Memorial Tournament in 2019 at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, and the 2020 Zozo Championship last October at nearby Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA. He finished tied 3rd last week at Pebble Beach. He also shot a 61 on Sunday at the American Express in January at PGA West in La Quinta, CA. and finished 1 shot back of champion Si Woo Kim. He played some terrific golf in the Presidents Cup in Australia, a U.S. comeback victory over the international team sans European players. I’ll take this stellar player to win at Riviera.

Patrick Cantlay

Sleeper Pick

I’m going to go with the 25 year old young stud from Mobile, Alabama by way of the University of Alabama. He, along with Trey Mullinax, were the best players on the 2013-14 consecutive national championship teams at Bama. He’s shown signs of being a factor on the pro circuit. I like,

Robby Shelton

There is a a resurgence on the Southside at Bartow Arena. UAB basketball has put itself back on the national map and the orchestrator of UAB’s reemergence is first year coach Andy Kennedy, a very familiar face on the Southside as he was one of the best shooters of all time for the Blazers. After successful stints at Cincinnati for a season and at Ole Miss for 12 years, Kennedy worked at the SEC Network and ESPN for 2 years and got a unique perspective of the game. He went from watching one team every day and his opponents, when his teams played them, to watching hundreds of games with almost every team in the country competing. He’s taken that experience along with his coaching acumen and talent and has the Blazers at 16-2 and leading the C-USA standings overall at 9-1. The Blazers are projected to be in the field of 68 come March as a 13 seed according to the great Joe Lunardi. “Brackets” has the Blazers squaring off with No. 4 seed Iowa in Indianapolis. All tournament games will be played in Indy this season, a bubble-like environment to protect the players against the virus. The Final Four will be April 3rd-5th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy. Alabama is currently a 2 seed by Lunardi and is scheduled to face Northeastern, a 15 seed. The Crimson Tide has played good basketball this season though they’ve struggled somewhat lately. They are leading the SEC at 11-1 and are 16-5 overall and ranked 11th in the country. They defeated South Carolina at Columbia last night, 81-78. The Auburn Tigers have a lot of work to do. They did defeat Vanderbilt last night on the road, 73-67, to move to 11-10, and 5-7 in conference, but there is an NCAA investigation still hanging over the program and the program self-imposed a ban from the NCAA tournament this season, so the Tigers look like they’re playing for pride.

But the Blazers have been very consistent this season. They’re a pretty solid offensive team and an exceptional defensive team. The Blazers are scoring 74 points per game and only giving up 58. They shoot 46% from the field and 31% from trifecta, and their opponents are only shooting 39% from the field and 30% from triple. The Blazers shoot 70% from the line, out-rebound opponents 37-35 per game and average 8 steals per game. They only give up 10 turnovers per game and get 16 per game themselves.

It’s a collective effort on both ends of the floor. Guard Michael Ertel leads the team in scoring at 13.. Tavin Lovan, a guard, averages 12.4, guard Jalen Benjamin adds 11.6. Guard Quan Jackson averages 10.6 per game, guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson averages 8.6 per game, and 7’0”, 260 pound center Trey Jemison, a Clemson transfer and a junior, averages 8.1 ppg, 7.4 rebounds and has swatted away 43 shots.

So “AK” has developed the chemistry in this group, they’re playing with a lot of confidence, and know how to win games. The Blazers have a key 2 game set at Louisiana Tech this Friday and Saturday. LA. Tech is in third place in the West at 8-4, 2 games back of the Blazers overall, but 3 in the loss column. They are 15-6 overall. Friday’s game tips off at 6:30 PM CT with Stadium Network broadcasting. Stadium is an online network. Saturday’s game is at 3 PM CT and Stadium will also carry the game. Stadium will have UAB’s following 2 games vs Old Dominion at Bartow on Friday, Feb. 19th at 6:30 PM CT and Saturday, Feb.20th at 3 PM CT. The Blazers’ final 2 regular season games will be on ESPN+. The team will be at UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) Friday Feb,. 26th, at 6 PM CT, and Saturday, Feb 27th, at 3 PM CT. Conference USA is doing this doubleheader-like system to protect the players and coaches as much as they can. The Conference USA Tournament is Wednesday, March 10th-Saturday March 13th at Frisco, Texas. The championship game will most likely be broadcast by CBS. Will have more details on that later this month.

I got a chance to speak with the architect of the Blazers’ resurgence. AK is trying to get this program back to the glory days under the late, great Gene Bartow, where the NCAA Tournament was an annual event, and Sweet 16’s, and an Elite 8, and a shot at Final Fours were very legitimate. AK has the passion and the drive to return this program to elite status in the near future. This season has been a building block for that goal of renewed greatness. And this season has been very promising. You get to the tournament and you never know.

Here’s my conversation with AK.

DW: How’s life treating you right now?

AK: Just grinding right now. I’m in the middle of my grind. Just day to day you know.

DW: You had a nice career at Ole Miss and before that a year at Cincinnati. How did those 2 jobs shape you to become the coach at UAB?

AK: I was real fortunate. A lot of times we’ve got these grand plans and life takes us on a little detour. I’m here working as an assistant for Murry (Bartow), and then went to work as an assistant for Bob Huggins at Cincinnati. I had the opportunity to sit at the right hand of a guy who I consider a future Hall of Famer. We were in the top 20 every year. Then Bob was unceremoniously let go early in the fall before we started fall workouts and I had my first job. It was the first time I had been a head coach at any level. That led me to 12 years in my home state (at Ole Miss). Was blessed to lead a program in the SEC for 12 seasons. When that ended, my family and I could have moved anywhere in the country, but we decided to move to Birmingham. I had a daughter who graduated from Samford and my younger daughter went to Auburn. So we did the ESPN thing and the SEC Network, which was really good for me as it allowed me to really exhale a little bit and see things from a different perspective. And when this opportunity came about, it’s my alma mater, and Birmingham has always been my home away from home, and I was excited about having the opportunity.

***Note***AK was the head coach at Cincy for the 2005-06 season and finished 21-13 and 8-8 in the Big East Conference which Cincinnati was a part of in those years. At Ole Miss from 2006-18, he went 245-156, 61%, and 102-98 in the SEC, 51%. He won 20 games in 10 different seasons at Ole Miss. His final year was a tough one and people have short memories and he was unfairly let go. But the 52 year old Louisville, Mississippi native did spectacular work for the SEC Network and SEC. His commentary was always interesting and entertaining. Then he was called home to UAB.

DW: Did the SEC Network experience help you for coaching?

AK: It helped from a perspective standpoint. You’ve got to understand, David, as a coach, you are so focused on your team and building with your team literally 24/7, 365, and even when you watch basketball you’ve viewing the game from a critical lens of a coach, what kind of action can I run with this. So when I got to TV, I didn’t have a team. I was just observing the game differently. I also had great exposure to coaches who gave me access to their teams’ practices and to their film sessions. So I learned some things and saw how other people did it and continued to shape my perspective on what I wanted to do moving forward. And now, given the opportunity, I have the ability to implement those things that I learned.

DW: Was it fun at the SEC Network?

AK: it was good. I actually had no idea what I was doing initially going into the TV world. Somebody said to me, you don’t ever lose a game when you’re doing TV. And I said, you don’t win one either. You’ve got to take the good and the bad sometimes. I could see myself down the road venturing into that full time and i did enjoy it. Great people at the SEC Network and great people at ESPN that gave me a tremendous platform.

DW: Coach, you came home in a way to UAB. You had a great playing career at UAB, your stats as a player were phenomenal. Tell me what it’s like to come home and coach at your alma mater?

AK: Well, it’s obviously special. I had the opportunity to play for the founding father, the late great Gene Bartow. I experienced what UAB basketball can be and what it means to this city and this community. And I’m on a mission to get it back to that Gene Bartow standard. It’s been so bizarre this year. I get the job and I think 2 or 3 days later the pandemic hits. And here we are 10, 11 months later still fighting the fight. All the things that I wanted to do, engage the community, engage the student body, create the excitement, build momentum, spread the word in recruiting, you can’t do any of those things. The only thing I can do is work daily to make sure our kids are protected and safe and try to continue to improve. Through 18 games. we’re 16-2, 9-1 in the league, best start since the 80’s in this program. I’m pleased with where we are, but we have a lot of work to do moving forward.

DW: How have you guys navigated through the pandemic?

AK: I’ve got good guys and they’ve been really disciplined for the most part. Just kind of staying to yourself. Kids are kids, so it’s got to be driving them crazy because college is about social interaction, developing ideas and who you’re going to be as a person. This is just odd. We’ve got to continually preach COVID discipline day in and day out. As a coach, the first thing I think about when I get to the office and the last thing I think about at night is, man, I hope those tests come back clear and I don’t lose anybody, I hope everybody is good, I wonder what our opponent is dealing with, will they show up, are they going to show up. It’s what we’re all going through. It’s not ideal, but we’re still blessed to have the opportunity to play.

DW: Sounds harder than ever to try and navigate through this.

AK: I’ve been a coach for 24 years and this is my 14th as a head coach and I was an assistant for 10 years and I’ve never been through anything like this. None of us have any experience in this and you just deal with it day by day.

DW: Are you getting fans in the stands?

AK: Bartow Arena has a 15% capacity, so around 1,200 fans and we’ve been getting around 1,200 every game as of late. We’ve got a great fan base, and many of our fans with season tickets are choosing not to come for health reasons and I understand that. What you’ve got to realize as a first year coach and trying to come in and change the way things are done, you’ve got to be careful not to keep the players from enjoying what they’re doing. Typically, you can get the extra motivation from the crowd and their peers. Now we’ve got 1,000-1,200 fans, and on the road sometimes there are no fans. So you’ve got to generate your own motivation. So, it’s a very, very bizarre year.

DW: You know the tradition Gene Bartow started, you played for him, and you know what this program can be. What are your goals for this program at this point?

AK: I graduated here in 1991 and when I left UAB it was literally a commuter college. You wouldn’t know campus from the city unless you were there for a specific reason. Now as I come to work every day, I am simply amazed at the transformation of this campus. It’s now a thriving, vibrant campus in a thriving, vibrant city, and I think our basketball program can chart along that same course. I think it has great potential. I have experienced it first hand, I know what UAB means to Birmingham and I know what Birmingham means to UAB. Once the world gets back on its axis, we can lock arms and move this program forward.

DW: What do you attribute your success to so far. 16-2, 11-1 in conference, that’s impressive.

AK: Our guys have bought in. I’ve been most impressed with our approach. Guys have come in every day with a willingness to work and a willingness to learn. We’re a continual work in progress. Defensively, we’ve been pretty disruptive. I think that’s the nature of defense, be disruptive. We rank at the top of Conference USA in most defensive statistical categories. With our ability to play in the open floor generating offense from our defense has really been our strength. Offensively, we’ve got some work to do. We’ve struggled some with our perimeter shooting, which was unexpected quite frankly. That’s our greatest range of growth, we’ve got to continue to get better offensively and we’ve got to get healthier. We’ve had a number of key injuries, but guys are starting to battle back and get healthy. I’m pleased with their approach and I’m pleased with the way they come in every day willing to work.

DW: Do you feel like that offensive game can come around and be what you want it to be this year?

AK: I think that it can. We’ve got a couple of guys who are struggling to make shots at the range they’ve shown they are usually capable of making. As a coach, you go through a game and you quantify the quality of your shots. Is that the right shot for us? What can we do to help create better shot selection? We’ve got continue to rep and put them in a position to be successful.

DW: You may have been the best shooter in UAB history, so you know what it takes to be a good shooter. Do you do anything technically with the guys?

AK: When guys get to this level, they are usually developed. When they’re younger they’re more apt to change. But they wouldn’t have been able to get to this level to a program such as ours if they’ve never had success. So it’s a work in progress, but we’re constantly trying to tinker with offensive execution so we can get them to be in a place every day where they can be the most proficient.

DW: I’ve been studying the teams in this conference, Western Kentucky, North Texas, LA Tech, you’ve got some good teams in this conference. Talk about the conference.

AK: It’s my first time through the league. Because of COVID, we’re playing opponents on back to back nights at the same venue, which is incredibly difficult from a number of standpoints. So I’m not getting a true feel for the league based on circumstances. But I do know, if you look at numbers, and as Bill Parcells says, you are what your numbers say you are, the league is rated 12th in the country (out of 25 conferences in the country), which is the highest it’s been ranked in 5 years. We’ve got 5 teams currently in the ESPN/BPI top 100. We may have 5 in the NET ratings. The league, despite not having non-conference opportunities, we lost games against Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and those hurt us big picture wise because we didn’t haver the opportunity for quality non conference games. At the same time, I think the league is really good, especially at the top and I think that will be proven in March.

DW: What makes it so difficult to play those back to back games.

AK: First and foremost, you have a week to prepare, I almost feel like a football coach. But the physical grind of playing back to back nights, and I’ve seen it with our team, we just don’t have the same energy in game 2. And it’s difficult to beat somebody 2 times over the course of the year much less two times back to back. It’s demanding physically, it’s challenging mentally. No fans, not much energy in the building, you’ve got to create your own energy. It feels like scrimmages, but you’re just scrimmaging someone else. That’s the mentality that you feel like based on how strange this year is.

DW: I know the goal is to win C-USA, make the tournament and then you never know, once you do that, who knows, you can go on a run. What do you think it’ll take for you all to do that this year?

AK: Right now, we’ve got to continue to grind it out game at a time. I know this sounds like Coachspeak, but we’re just living in the moment now.

DW: Sounds like you’re liking your group though?

AK: I’ve got good kids. They’re trying hard. There are some things that can only be improved through recruiting. This year we had to recruit via Skype, phone calls, and FaceTIme, and lean on people and seeing these kids on video until they’re on our team. I’ve been on the job 11 months and not stepped foot off this campus to recruit. Hopefully, the world will get right and we’ll get back on the road soon.

DW: Talk about your group. It’s older, maybe not playing as much together, but an older group of guys. How much does that help?

AK: We brought back a handful of guys from last year. Tyreek Scott-Grayson is in his third year in the program. Tavin Lovan is in his third year in the program. So they’ve been through some battles and they understand what it takes to be successful, and they’ve given us good guidance and leadership. And we brought in two post grads in Michael Ertel and Quan Jackson who have obviously played a lot of basketball. And young man Trey Jemison, who played 2 years at Clemson. So the combination of those guys, they are more mature and it gives us the leadership that we need to put the work in.

DW: Trey Jemison is a big guy at 7 feet, 260. I know that helps.

AK: He gives us a presence. We are playing him 28-29 minutes in league play and here’s a guy who played 3 or 4 minutes in his previous position at Clemson. He has a high basketball IQ. He plays with a high motor. He’s getting much more comfortable with his role which has allowed him to play longer stretches at a time.

DW: How are your freshmen doing?

AK: We’ve got some guys who’ve done well. Rongie Gordon has played more than the other guys because of the situation, some guys haven’t played as much. But we have guys who we feel like are going to be good players when they get the opportunity to mature and continue to develop and learn.

DW: How’s recruiting going for 2021? What’s going on there?

AK: We’re doing everything we can do. We’re not allowed out, kids can’t come on our campus. We’re waiting to see when those restrictions will be removed in the spring recruiting period. But we’ll be very, very active in the transfer portal and we’ll be very, very active on the recruiting base because at the end of the day, our goal is to get the best player possible and reach our goals.

DW: Andy, finally, once everything clears out and people are safe from COVID, what do you see is the future for your program?

AK: I think we can be as good as we allow ourselves to be. That’s been proven on this campus. I came back here with a mission to make UAB Basketball nationally relevant again and that’s what we’re working towards every day.

Beth and I were discussing in the fourth quarter last night whom would be the MVP of Super Bowl LV. It was a bit painful to talk about since I had predicted Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to be the victors.

Tom Brady was our choice of course and he was the selection by the media. But I said to Beth during our discussion, “What about this Tampa Bay defense?” There was linebacker Devin White (12 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 int, runs a 4.42 40 at 6’0”, 237 pounds), linebacker LaVonte David (6 tackles), safety Antoine Whitfield, 6 tackles, an int, and safety Sean Murphy-Bunting, 6 tackles and 3 interceptions in the postseason overall. The defense was beyond stellar in leading the Bucs to the dominating 31-9 victory.

Then this morning, Beth sent me a column in The New York Post, best paper in America, by sports columnist Mark Cannizzaro. Cannizzaro said that the real MVP of Super Bowl LV was Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. His column was very convincing. Bowles, the 57 year old from Elizabeth, New Jersey, was masterful in confounding Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense. He kept mixing up corner and safety blitzes with pressure from both sides and totally shutting down the electric Chiefs offense. The secondary had tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill blanketed throughout the game. Mahomes is having toe surgery very soon, so he was banged up some with a turf toe suffered against Cleveland in the Divisional Round, and it’s probably worse if there is surgery involved. He looked a little slower to me. And the fact that the Chiefs starting 2 offensive tackles were out, was a major advantage for the Bucs and Bowles and his front four and defense made the Chiefs pay.

Brady was spectacular, no doubt. He was 21-of-28, 75%, for 201 yards, 3 touchdowns against 0 interceptions. Superbly efficient. His quarterback rating was 125.8, which is outstanding. 158.3 is perfect and anything over 120 is terrific. And TB12 was Tom Terrific once again. Mahomes quarterback rating was a paltry 53.2, but he did have drops and had no time to throw. Bowles and his defense just took everything away from Patrick and his offense. But also, how about the play of Gronk, 6 receptions, 67 yards, 2 TDs? And Leonard Fournette was amazing, rushing for 89 yards on 16 carries, 5.6 yards a pop, including a beautiful 27 yard scamper for a TD. And that offensive line of center Ryan Jensen (6’4”, 298, 29 years old, Colorado State-Pueblo), right guard Aaron Stinne (6’3”, 312, 26, James Madison), left guard Ali Marpet (6’4”, 307, 27, Hobart College, brains on this line), right tackle Tristan Wirfs (6’5”,320, rookie, Iowa), and left tackle Donovan Smith (6’6”, 338, 27, Penn State) were beyond impressive and totally dominant.

So it was a totally perfect team effort by the Bucs. I’m not knocking TB12 getting the MVP. The quarterbacks certainly get the glory when their team win a Super Bowl, and Brady has now been to 10 and won 7 in his 20 years in the NFL at 43 years old. By the time Tom is done he could have a ring for every finger on both hands. That might be a stretch, but he’s such a motivated guy, who keeps himself in spectacular shape and if this team can stay together, they have more Lombardi Trophies in store for themselves.

But I, like Cannizzaro, want to give Bowles a tremendous amount of credit. There is still the Rooney Rule, which requires each team when they’re looking for a head coach, to interview an African American Coach. But there are only 3 minority coaches in the NFL and 70 percent of its players are black. Bowles may be an African American coach, but the other real issue here is this guy is a superb football coach and deserves another shot. He was head coach of the Jets from 2015-18, and went 24-40, but the Jets have been such a dysfunctional organization through the years, that it’s a coaching graveyard. Give this man a shot. He deserves it. And for that matter, so does offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Leftwich, the 41 year old from Washington D.C. handles the Bucs offense superbly. He is another African American coach who deserves a shot. Eric Bienemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator at 51 years old from New Orleans, is another. He, Andy Reid and Mahomes got schooled by Bowles, Devin White and company, but he keeps on putting together stellar offenses. These talented coaches need an opportunity. For Bowles, it would be his second attempt, but Mike McCarthy at Dallas and Ron Rivera at Washington got second chances. The NFL is comprised of 70 percent Black players, so it needs to be represented by more than 3 minority coaches in Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers and Rivera of Washington Football Team. Rivera’s father is Puerto Rican and his mother is of Mexican descent. Bowles, Leftwich, Bienemy and 61 year old Leslie Frazier, the outstanding defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, who was head coach of the Vikings from 2011-13, all should be head coaches in 2022 if there are multiple openings.

Bowles certainly proved his worth to the NFL yesterday. It’s too late to hire a head coach now as all teams have their new coaches in place, and that’s a shame for these guys. But next year, all four of these men deserve head coaching opportunities. They don’t need preferential treatment. They just need an equitable opportunity. If they can’t get the job done, the owner and general manager can move on. But these guys are elite coaches and have earned the opportunity to become head coaches in 2022.

Regardless, Bowles proved what an exceptional defensive coach he is yesterday at Raymond James Stadium. He and Leftwich deserved the MVP just as much as Tom Brady did. And I’d put 68 year old head coach Bruce Arians in there too. Brady and the players love the guy. He’s terrific as well.

Australian Open

The fortnight in Melbourne, Australia started last night central time in the U.S. and continues on to Sunday February 21st, as the best players in the world compete for the professional tennis season’s first major, the Australian Open.

The weather in Melbourne will be pleasant. Thursday will be a little hot at 91, but temperatures will mainly be in the high 70’s and low 80’s as it is summer in Australia. Many times it gets up to triple digits during this tournament and this is a 2-week forecast, so it’s subject to change. Right now, it looks outstanding weather- wise with very little rain chances.

ESPN2 and ESPN will televise. Coverage started last night on ESPN2. And live coverage on ESPN2 continues tonight from 8 CT-6 AM CT tomorrow. ESPN2 will have most of the coverage later at night and into the early morning this next 2 weeks. The women’s semifinals will be on ESPN2 on Wednesday, Feb. 17th from 9 PM CT-1 AM CT on Thursday. The first men’s semifinal is on Thursday Feb. 18th from 2:30 AM-5 AM CT or however long it lasts on ESPN.The second men’s semifinal takes place Friday, Feb. 19th, from 2:30 AM-5 AM CT on ESPN.

The women’s final is Saturday, Feb. 20th, from 2:30-4:30 AM CT on ESPN with the encore from 7-10 AM on ESPN2. The second option sounds a little more reasonable unless the weather is good and you want to play golf or get outside for other purposes.

The Men’s Final is Sunday from 2:30-5:30 AM CT on ESPN with an encore from 7-11 AM CT on ESPN2. There may be some Church interference on the encore, but you can have Church on your computer and have the volume down on the TV with the action on. Because with the competition in the women’s and men’s games right now, these semifinals and finals matches should be exceptional. The whole fortnight should be superb with time being the only detriment. Taping is advised unless you’re a serious night owl.

Roger Federer is not playing due to injury and Rafa Nadal is tied with Federer with 20 Majors to his credit. Novak Djokovic has 17, so he’s right on the heels of both men. Djoker has won 8 Australians and is going for 3 in a row. The 8 titles at Melbourne is a record. Rafa has 13 French titles which is by far the record. So the competition is even more rich. So who do I like.

Here are my predictions for the 109th edition of this Australian Open, tennis’s first Grand Slam of 2021..

Men’s

Semis

Djokovic over Dominic Thiem 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3

The top seeded Djoker survives the 27 year old No.3 seeded Austrian, U.S. Open Champion who came back from 2 sets down to German Alexander Zverev to capture the Open last September, 2020 in a herculean effort, one for the ages. It was spectacular. The 33 year old Serb moves on in pursuit of his 9th Australian and 18th career major. This will be a rematch of a 5 set final last year at the Australian that Djoker won.

Daniil Medvedev over Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

I like the soon to be the No.4 seed, the 25 year old Russian, he turns 25 this Thursday, to outlast a tough effort by the 22 year old No.5 seed from Athens, Greece.

Final

Sunday, February 21st, 2:30-5 AM CT, ESPN 7-11 AM CT ESPN2 (Encore)

I’m going to take the upset. Medvedev is ready to take the next step. It’ll be a classic. The Russian has a great personality. Never takes himself or anyone else too seriously. His irreverence is refreshing.

Medvedev over Djokovic, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6, 6-4. 3-6, 7-5

****Rafa Nadal is the No.2 seed, and he, of course, won another French title last at Sept. of 2020, but this hard surface at Melbourne is not really his thing. He’s only won once at Melbourne in 2009 and he’s got some back issues, so I’m seeing Tsitsipas knocking him out in the quarters. But Rafa won’t be down for long. Roland Garros is in late May and he owns that surface, where he has won 13 times, and does well at Wimbledon, where he’s won in 2008 and 2010, but gets to the semis a lot with a shot to win it all many times. And he’s won the U.S. Open 4 times in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. So this will be a temporary blip on his radar. The Nadal-Djokovic rivalry for the all time career majors victories is a fascinating one. Federer may be done winning majors at 39 years old and battling through a variety of injuries , though I don’t count him out at Wimbledon, where he’s won 8 times, with the latest in 2017, his last major title.

I’m not totally counting Rafa out here, I just don’t see this as his best surface and he’s a little nicked up.

Women’s

Semis

Victoria Azarenka over Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

The 31 year old 12th seed from Belarius outlasts the 24 year old top seeded Australian. Azarenka won the U.S. Open in 2007 and the French in 2008, and lost to Naomi Osaka in the final of the U.S. Open last Sept. of 2020. Her best finish in Melbourne is a finals appearance in 2007. She lost at the U.S. , but has been on a comeback tour after dealing with some personal problems involving her young son and her derelict former husband. She gained custody of her son and is in an excellent place in her life right now and playing like it. I heard a quote last night that said, “Are you happy because you win or are do you win because you’re happy?” I like the latter and Azarenka is a great example of that.

Serena over Osaka 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

This will be a major battle as 10th seeded Serena goes for her 8th Australian title and 24th overall Major breaking her tie with Margaret Court for most majors won all time. Third seeded Osaka is a major talent at 23 years old from Japan, she grew up in America. But I’ll take the 39 year old veteran Williams.

Final

Saturday, Feb, 20th, 2:30-4:30 AM CT, ESPN, Encore 7-10 AM CT, ESPN2

Azarenka over Williams 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-5

Like Victoria to break through in her comeback bid in another classic.

Here’s a super commercial with Brady and Gronk.