Hire

Update: Crap, he is staying at Missouri. Parrish has the story on his blog.

I wish we had something to talk about today...

By the time I go on the air today Coach Cal will probably be riding on a horse all the way to Lexington. Tune in at 3:00. Actually I think I am gonna be on at 1 pm now and we will be local all day.

Dan Wetzel on the show today

Dan Wetzel (along with Adrian Wojnarowski) from Yahoo! have broken a story today that has dominated headlines. Here is the article about how UConn violated NCAA rules. Wetzel will be on the show in the first hour. Gary Parrish will be on for his regular segment in hour 2, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will be in studio in hour 3.

Get out of the way!!!!

This is just insane. It is like the kid said to himself, "I am gonna get on a Blake Griffin poster if it is the last thing I do!" This is one of the most egregious crimes I have ever seen. The kid runs as hard as he can to get dunked on. Then, to make matters worse, Grifffin stands there like a gladiator. I am gonna have a post later on the draft, because as this tournament goes on I am less and less interested in the "highly rated" players (though, of course I love Griffin) on the mocks, and more interested in the guys that are not considered to be the top 5 picks. Until then...

Go get in the 730 Fox Sports Bracket Challenge

www.730foxsports.com

I will be in it. The whole 730 Fox Sports staff will be in it. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will be in it. If you are not involved, you are a loser. The contest is free. Go fill out a bracket if you are not a loser. And then prepare to get smoked like a Philly blunt by Vernodamus.

Sunday at Dan McGuinness (Poplar and Perkins)

We are going to be at Dan McGuinness (right off Poplar and Perkins, on Spottswood) on Sunday. We will be there from 4-6 pm in conjunction with selection Sunday. Put it in your planner. Sunday, Dan McGuinness, 4-6. Get there.

Now here is a surprise...

The Grizzlies player accused of sexual assault is Marco Jaric. Jaric was recently married to Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima. Chris Mannix from SI has the story
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_mannix/03/13/assault/index.html

Update: Jaric has been cleared of all accusations. All false.

The CVERNON.COM Video Blog --- TWolves 104 Grizz 79 --- Wost. Loss. Ever.

Show delayed Thursday, Video Blog comin...

The show will be on a little later than normal. We will come on after the Miss. St/ Georgia game, which is on the station.

Also, as soon as I can get it up I will unveil the new video blog. The first episode was filmed at the conclusion of the Grizzlies/ TWolves game (so you can imagine what it is about). Keep checking back for the debut of video coming to cvernon.com.

Offensive balance is for suckers (some facts)

FACT: Lionel Hollins has coached 19 games for the Grizzlies

FACT: The Grizzlies are 5-14 in those games

FACT: When O.J. Mayo leads the team in FG's attempted, they are 4-4 (Hollins era)

FACT: When anyone else leads the team in FG's attempted, they are 1-10 (Hollins era)

FACT: That one win was when Conley did not play and Rudy Gay had a season-high in pts.

FACT: Good teams get the ball in the hands of their best player, and the Grizzlies are actually respectable under Hollins when they do too

FACT: This research is not real pretty. Therefore, these statistics, or any that put into question the coaching acumen of Coach Hollins, will not be allowed in the Commercial Appeal (per policy)

Grizzlies worst NBA organization, 3rd worst in all sports

Biz Journals did a story ranking the best and worst fanchises in the 4 major sports. The Grizzlies rank 120th out of 122, and 30th out of 30 in the NBA. Depressing.

http://www.bizjournals.com/edit_special/76.html

Vindication is mine (if only for a night)

Muahahahahahahaha! You knew I was going to be insufferable, right?
I preach the gospel, while others teach false doctrine.

I said a little prayer tonight before the Clippers game that Lionel Hollins would have a "road to Damascus" moment and he would realize the folly of his ways. Well, that moment came when Mike Conley chipped a tooth in the first two minutes of the game. Sometimes the light has to be forced on you (like when Jaric thankfully got some early fouls). O.J. Mayo dominating the ball... what a concept! The spacing was infinitely better, Rudy has his best game of the season, and Gasol is able to move and function without being under duress... truly amazing. Two big scorers and a good post player, with some role guys to do the dirty work and hit the occasional open shot. What a concept! Hollins had his hand forced but now everyone has seen the truth. 30 assists, most points all year, hahahahahahaha.
I questioned if I know more basketball than the people that get paid a lot of money to do what they do. I will never question myself again. Vindication is mine.

p.s.- This wasn't about playing the Clippers without two starters, this was about how the team looked and how they played. It was exactly how they should do it. It was actually promising.
This team has lost to bad teams that were hobbled all season. They drilled this one. Can a chipped tooth keep a player out all year? Please?

p.s.s- nice try Hollins- Greg Buckner bringing the ball up so you can act like it needs to be PG by committee with Conley out? That was laughable. Pride is a dangerous thing. This is your chance to be an NBA coach for real, and you will blow it completely if you attach yourself to Conley.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace segment, remotes

Today when Wallace was on the show we asked him about why it seems that he and Lionel Hollins have different views of Mayo's capabilities to be a PG in the NBA. Mehdi took Wallace to task, and we took your calls. The podcast is available at www.730foxsports.com. The whole show is loaded everyday right after the show ends. Check it if you missed it.

I am live @ Buffalo Wild Wings both Thursday and Friday and we are giving away tickets both days to the entire CUSA tourney.
Thursday-- Olive Branch location
Friday-- Southaven location

Show is live @ Ubees Wednesday

Come by Ubee's on the Highland Strip Wednesday. We will be doing the show there from 3-6, and then the Tigers play Houston tomorrow night. There will be food and drink specials and the whole event will probably be life changing for you.

NBA Draft '09 -- Jeff Teague: Give me that guy

Every time I have watched Jeff Teague from Wake Forest play this year I have loved him. This is not a great draft but I keep trying to find guys that I can get excited about. The idea of having Teague next to Mayo is something I like more and more every time I watch the guy. Tonight was senior night at Maryland, and they have one senior. One senior that will never be the same. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Total Nonsense

"You always like a point guard with size. The more size you have the versatility you have," Hollins said, emphatically adding that the Griz need Jaric to perform because playing rookie guard O. J. Mayo at point guard is not an option.
"O. J. is an off guard. He can push the ball in transition, but he is not a point guard," Hollins said. "I don't want to start that by any stretch. We have two point guards on the team, Mike Conley and Marko Jaric."

Why didn't Hollins just say "Even though we have the worst point guard combo in the NBA, we will not try something that might help us win. I know we just lost to the Thunder without Kevin Durant, and we have lost 7 in a row, but I am turning Mike Conley into Mike Bibby. Even if we are 5-22 when Mike plays more than 30 minutes in a game, and even though his stats are better lately but we are worse, Conley is our point guard and we will not try something else. We are going to keep Conley as the guy that dominates the ball, and we are going to continue to be horrid, end of story."

I really wanted to puke when I read the passage at the top of this post that was in the Commercial Appeal this morning. If you listen to the Chris Wallace segment on the show then you know that the coach and the GM clearly have different views of Mayo. That is the first problem with these quotes.

The second problem is that now that as this season goes in the tank, it has become evident that Hollins is bound and determined to make Mike Conley something he is not (a legitimate starting point guard that runs an offense).

I have been preaching the same thing since the season began. Now I have done it with two different coaches. MAKE OJ MAYO THE GUY. I don't care if you want to make him the point guard (even though he should be), but the offense should run through him.

Why is the concept of getting the ball in the hands of your best player so hard for this team to understand? Mayo is what you have got. Conley opens up nothing because no defense respects him. Every time he shoots the closest defender is like 40 yds away.

The Grizzlies now have somehow had two coaches in a row that just don't get it. What a waste.