kyyote

Irony

Kugler’s announcement as new head coach.

12/10/2012 12:00:00 AM

Three paragraphs into his speech is his first person thrown under the bus, his wife;

“If you’re wondering why I don’t have a sports jacket, I’m going to call my wife out right here, she’s home watching this on streaming video. Patsy, I love you, but you should have packed my jacket. I’m the first coach in the history of college football to go to a press conference without a sports jacket, so I apologize for that.”

Moments later;

“I do want to say that I’ve been UTEP’s biggest fan from afar from the time I’ve left until now and I hope to just build upon what Coach Price has done here. I’m Mike Price’s biggest fan and I think he’s an outstanding coach. The energy and the enthusiasm he brought to this program and the job that he’s done is outstanding, and again, I just hope to build upon that and help our program become better. ”

Then;

“That’s my No. 1 goal as a coach, to have a team go out there each week and represent the City of El Paso and go out there and represent each other as teammates and do the best job they can week in and week out. ”

I was looking for his own words about how much of a dumpster fire he had inherited and how there was no Div 1 talent on the roster. It was really his throwing the previous head coach, and more importantly, the players that he was calling trash under the bus that instantly turned me against him. It was what people I know call, “low class”. Isn’t it ironic how it seems that he has left Price with a roster of very fine young men from local high schools. And the question many have is are they fine students but in over their heads against other teams. I don’t know if that is true or not. I do believe that the have always tried hard to overcome the stupidity of the play calling. At this point, I don’t know if it is talent that is the trouble, the recruiting done to accommodate the system, both, the recruiting to a horrible program where receivers don’t receive and passers don’t really pass, pass blocking is for sissies? Hell, I don’t know, but they do fight hard, I think.

Now, it is Mike Price’s turn. Ask yourself if you have heard any of that kind of thing from him. No, that isn’t how a head coach acts. A head coach absorbs the punches and defends the family, with his life(practically-see Mike Gundy press conference). The reason that it is an act of heroism on Price’s part to take the abuse for the second half of the season is that. The old soldier came out of retirement to take the abuse. He did it not for the money. He did it knowing it would only add losses to his final tally. He did it because the school laid it on the line for him, once. It is an act of love and a payment on a debt that can never be paid. UTEP gave him his self-respect back by taking a chance on him. He repaid it long ago. That is why this one is an act of love. The bill had already been paid in full. This was a thank you, UTEP, from the bottom of his heart. If he could find a way to win a game or two, it would be for the same reason.

I thank you, Mike. UTEP did the same thing for me many ears ago and my love for it runs to the center of my being. I think maybe that is why I have been such a fan of his since the first time I saw him, and Eric eating a lunch put on b the Southside El Paso Miners Fan Club. I thanked the two for coming to UTEP to try and help. I have considered them both to be as fine a people as I could ever hope to meet ever since, and was able to spend some time around them. So, as Mike Price nears the end of this emergency term at the helm, I thank him for again coming to the aid of my school, our school.

Compete Versus Competitive

Coach Kugler up until the very last assured those who were listening that his players would compete, and they did. But they were still serving as a speed bump for the teams they played. They barely slowed teams down and didn’t move at all when they had the ball. Yet, as Kugler said, they were competing. They were competing pretty hard as best as they were able.

Last Saturday, the same players and coaches went out and were not only competing, for the first time in a very long time, the team was competitive. The speed bump became a road block and the offense that had rusted from lack of use cranked up, and sputtered to life. It was no Lamborghini, it was more Briggs and Stratton, but is showed it was still capable of motion and functionality. Head Coach Mike Price allowed that the whole game was all about the players and coaches, and that he had nothing to do with it. Of course, he was right. Mike Price was just there because the team needed a responsible adult. That is the quintessential Mike Price. He speaks the truth. He is a master at how he speaks the truth and about which truths he speaks. He is masterful in choosing different speech, and truths for different people. He also happens to have shown himself to have a deep understanding of the game and an ability to do more with less over his career. Coach Price was very busy on Monday, at the Media Luncheon. He was doing some of his best coaching. He was coaching up his players, coaches, media, and fans. The kids and players were great players and coaches, the fans were still the best fans, he was just there to hold down the fort and it was nice to see old friends in the media. Every word was the truth. Every word was heart-felt. It is that holding down the fort part that is the key.

If you were one of the fans in the Sun Bowl last Saturday, you know that there was an intangible difference. The players were playing differently. The crowd was different. Even before the game there was an anticipation and perhaps some hope in some of the fan’s minds and hearts. As the first half played out, that was fed by the play and play calling that seemed to be a bit more inspired. As the team left the field to delirious chants of UTEP from the sparse crowd, the crowd sensed a difference. The players may have been motivated by something else, but the fans were responding to the difference they could see, and one of the differences was the old coach with a bit of a hitch in his get along pacing the sidelines and encouraging the players. Who knows how much if any effect Coach Price’s take over of the helm may have had.

Today may give us a better idea, but those who believe that everything was in place and nothing changed and those who believe that Mike Price had an instant impact will still plead their cases. There may be little evidence in this game for either one, as Southern Miss has usually played UTEP tough and are always very physical. So, there will be the physicality that Kugler tried to build and at this point left questioning matched against the physicality of Southern Miss, perhaps the Achilles’ Heel of Mike Price’s offense of the past. So, that will be a twist that throws the arguments into full on debate mode after this game. Perhaps.

So, today’s game should be a fun one for Miners fans. There is finally something to talk about other than how bad things are. I didn’t believe the Miners would be able to do more than compete at the beginning of the season. The first five games the did that. The next game, the didn’t just compete. They were competitive. I don’t know if it was because of Mike Price. Here is the thing. When Mike Price got here, UTEP football was not competitive. They competed. Somewhat. Mike Price made the UTEP Miners instantly competitive. The one thing that he did that was different from other coaches was that even when the team wasn’t winning enough games toward the end, the team was always competitive! Even when the team played the big boys, it was fun, because when we lost, it was us just laying down. It was fun, throwing haymakers and knocking the Hell out of the best of them. We may have lost the fights, but the other guy knew he had been in a fight.

That is what I will be looking for, today. Will they compete or will they be competitive. If they just compete, I will be shocked and disappointed. If they are competitive, I will be even more convinced that Mike Price has brought back that competitiveness that was gone, again.

It is way too early to let this kind of talk get started, but I can’t resist. If Mike Price were to somehow get the Miners Bowl Game eligible, would he not have the rightful claim to the Best UTEP Coach of them all? I know. Bobby Dobbs and the Flyin’ Miners beat Ole Miss. I am talking about coaching. If he did it with Nord’s players and then did it with Kugler’s kids, after the start to this season, it would be quite an accomplishment. This could be the ultimate motivational tool. For Sean, and for Mike, let’s get to a bowl game!

That is how the Kyyote howls when the Miners give me hope. And it doesn’t take much. Come on, Miners. Let’s shock the world!

Go Miners!

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

I will try to keep the lies and damned lies to a minimum. I have had some time to look over some numbers, though. Let’s start with some contextual numbers. The Hilltoppers were 18 point favorites. Odds makers in Las Vegas and the money bet had decided that the resignation of Sean Kugler and the hiring of Mike Price would make little difference in the points and outcome of the game(this could be a lie, but I don’t think so and it is unintentional if it is). The final score was 15 to 14 for the team from Western Kentucky, a single point deciding the outcome of the game. So, for the mathematically challenged, the Hilltoppers were 17 points shy of winning by enough to pay off for those who had bet on them and given the 18 points.

Here is what leaps out of the numbers and most of you don’t need anyone to state the obvious, but I am going to point out the irony of it. The Miners had averaged 201 yards of offense per game in the first 5 games. The offensive genius of Mike Price raised the offensive output a mere 86 yards. The Miners had averaged 14 points per game, and last night the Miners scored 14 points. There were field goals missed that maybe should have been made, and perhaps the extra 86 yards could equate to the field goal and the extra points it could have produced. But the offensive output in the number of yards produced aren’t the numbers that jump out at you, and don’t represent some complete reversal from what had been. At best, the numbers would indicate a modest improvement in offense.

No sir, the big difference was on defense. Yes, the offensive genius of Mike Price cut the offensive output of the Miners opponent just almost in half of what it had been. Opponents had been averaging 502 yards per game of offense against the same defense that held the Hilltoppers to just 282 yards of total offense last night. You have to let that sink in for a minute. More importantly, the Miners had been averaging allowing opponents to score over 45 points per game. Western Kentucky got 15 last night. But, that could be a lie wrapped in a statistic, couldn’t it be? Different teams average different points per game. The ‘Toppers had only averaged 23 points a game in their first four games before the Miners. There, I have cleared my conscience on that score.

Now, here comes the lies, maybe. Because anyone who was in the Sun Bowl last night could sense the difference. There was a difference in the team, and the fans in the Sun Bowl were a little different. There was anticipation, and there were questions. The defense had looked alive at the beginning of games before, and they looked very much so right from the start. But, on offense, the Miners looked different from the very first play. The Miners made it clear that the Hilltoppers had better back their asses up! Then came the slobber knockin’. No more brick wall. You wanna go!? Let’s go! There was a very well manner, very sporting and sportsman like fight going down and the opponents were pretty evenly matched. In my opinion, and maybe here is where the lies come in, but in my opinion that is the key, because what didn’t happen is that the defense didn’t eventually crumble. It maybe a chicken and egg kind of thing, but the offense was mixing it up, fighting hard, and the defense wasn’t falling behind on the scoreboard. As a matter of fact, it was the Miners offense that was getting the best of it. The first half was the Miners, and even though not by a lot, it wasn’t a fluke either. They were out there fighting like hell! What ever was different, was different in the second half, too. It was growing. Instead of fading and getting upended in the second half, the defense was taking up the challenge to finish it out, just as the offense was. The players were in to win it. It was there, too. Oh, yeah, it was building. Maybe it was coming back would be more accurate, because it is more of a belief thing. It wasn’t Frazier and Ali but for the first time in years we weren’t playing Sonny Liston to every other team’s Cassius Clay. This was more like Sue and his Pap. Maybe even like a couple of third graders. There was a lot of fighting and maybe not a lot of real damage done. I would caution the person who thinks this was a pillow fight at the Playboy Mansion, though. There was serious blows being thrown, and landed. My guess is that practices this week will have a much different energy than they had had the past five weeks. This fighter, which ever one you think it is, is going to be spoiling for another fight next Saturday, and my guess is they are going to show it in the preparation and execution in practice and in the next game. You know how they say the a football takes funny bounces? Well, UTEP’s football has just taken a bounce. We are going to find out if it is a fun one or a funny one in the next few weeks. Buckle me in and double check that safety bar. I want to take the ride! Go Miners!

Sunrise At 6 P.M.

After a long period of darkness, darkness that even the banks of stadium lights couldn’t penetrate, the sun rose over the mountain and shed its light and warmth down on the people, and teams. The nightmare was over. Six P.M. signaled a new day. It was a great day, because things didn’t turn out as hoped, but make no mistake, resignation to misery had turned into the hope of the possible. No more boxer stepping into the ring wearing a straight jacket. This time the other guy had to worry about getting hit back. It was a close fight, and the other guy won on points, but looked like he had had the worst of it. Our guy was just elated to finally be able to hit back. I want you to think about that. There is a huge difference between a prize fighter and a sparring partner. One takes a beating for money. The other fights for a prize that goes to the winner. One has no hope. The outcome is pre-determined. There is no joy, no fun, no chance, no hope. There is pain, humiliation, and an erosion of dignity, spirit, and honor. The other one has a chance to win and all that goes with it. The prize being perhaps the least of it.

Our sparring partner turned fighter did well enough last night to know that he had made the right decision. A little sore, a bit banged up, he is walking around today sporting a big ole grin. He knows he can fight if given a chance. He sees other fighters in the gym that he is thinking he can beat, now. This fighting thing could be a whole lot of fun with a win here and there. Training is going to take on a whole new meaning. Instead of rehearsal for a public beating in an exhibition of the other guy’s skills, training has become working on the right that got there just a little late from not being able to use it in sparring sessions. The next guy is the poor bastard that’s going to find out that the right is sneaky fast, and can knock the shit out of you.

Price removed the straight jacket. It was fun. In three days of training, Price convinced our fighter that he was better than a sparring partner. He convinced him that he should stop taking beatings for a living and fight. How do you say how huge that is? There were six more sparring sessions scheduled, but they have been turned into fights. It is going to be interesting to see how our one-time sparring partner does now that he is allowed to actually try to win fights.

It was great to see light in the Sun Bowl, again. The fans had fun, and more importantly perhaps, the players had fun. They had fun and came up one punch short of a win, but just wait and see what that does now that the proof is there for them and they aren’t just hoping that the new guy can help. Last week, they were hoping. Next Saturday they will go into the game knowing! Knowing with a week’s worth of preparation of knowing. Remember Larry Holmes. He was Ali’s sparring partner before he became Champion of the World and even beat his one-time employer who paid good money to beat on him. Things change. Things have changed at UTEP. The sun came up.

One final note. This would be one hell of a story about the coach, if it was a young new coach. Instead, it is a coach that is just holding down the fort. He isn’t using this as a try-out for the job. But, make no mistake about it. It was one hell of a try-out for Eric Price. UTEP is searching during this time for a new Head Coach for next year. Eric Price has to be a candidate. He has the qualifications to fill the position at UTEP. He is actually a made for UTEP candidate. Mike just made his bid for the job. Eric will bring Price football. He is a very different person from his dad, and I don’t know how well the differences would play out. But, the football is the same. I think the next few weeks could be huge in the coaching position search. Mike Price is an Eric Price tryout. The community response to Mike will go along ways in determining the response to a hiring of Eric. Since I know Eric to be as fine a man as you could ever ask for, and I believe a damned good football coach, I would welcome Eric with open arms. The known as opposed to the unknown, untested. That doesn’t mean I am closed to others. It means I am damned sure open to Eric.