Numbers Seven Through Five

First off, I would like to wish all my loyal readers (Anthony, Darren, and Jacque) a very happy thanksgiving. Don’t eat too much turkey but do watch a lot of football. Secondly, and this is probably best served to be discussed in a separate article, but I need to know why Deron Williams dominates Chris Paul when they play head to head. It is like a big brother picking on his little brother. I am starting to like the looks of this Jazz team. They could be dangerous when they get Okur back.

I would also like to introduce a new member of The Truth staff. Mr. Brian Nalls has graciously accepted the position of BCS apologist. Welcome Brian!

So the eagerly anticipated countdown continues with numbers five, six, and seven. These three are kind of my surprise picks. They are the only non- basketball and football players on the list. It is just a coincidence that they are all in a row in the countdown, but it makes for an interesting read.

So let’s go

#7 – Hulk Hogan – Yes I know this will spark the debate, “is he the seventh best athlete or is he the seventh best entertainer?”. There is a simple way to settle this, WWE vs. WWF. In my youth it had not yet legally been determined if professional wrestling was indeed fixed or if it was real. My memories of the Hulkster involve him as a member of the federation not the wrestling entertainment industry. Hence he was officially an athlete. I mean how many entertainers could have 24 inch pythons for arms? There was no greater wrestler than Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan. His guillotine leg drop was arguably the most dominating finishing move of all time. His dominance led to a wonderful career out of the ring including a reality TV show and wonderful Rent a Center ads with Troy Aikman. (Those ads don’t make me feel uncomfortable at all as I watch them.) As a child he inspired me to follow the three demandments; Training, Prayer, and Vitamins. There was a lesser known 4^th demandment ; massive amounts of anabolic steroids but you’ve still got to love him. So whatcha gonna do when the hulkster runs wild over you brother!

#6 – Wally Joyner – Many of you probably know Mr. Joyner for is incredible portrayal of Bishop Angel in the hit mormon comedy “The Singles Ward.” But to me he will always be my favorite baseball player of all time. With no baseball team in Utah and in the era of rampant free agency where rosters changed each year, it was hard to know which baseball team to cheer for. (Bad grammar, hanging participle) correction for which team to cheer. So I simply picked the best mormon player and cheered for him. His autographed poster hung over my bed for most of my young life. I came across this site of someone who feels the same way I do. http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/wallyworld21/, except maybe a little more freakishly involved than I was (13,900 cards?). In 1986 Wally Joyner became the first rookie ever voted to be an all-star starter. He was then robbed by a performance enhanced Jose Canseco for the Rookie of the Year that same year. Wally’s career basically went downhill from there. He remained a solid if not spectacular player for 15 years. He finished with 204 career home runs, a .289 average, and over 1100 RBI’s.

#5 – John McEnroe – When I was young tennis seemed to be as big as football or basketball. The major tournaments were a big deal, it seemed like everyone watched the finals. The McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg finals were epic and left a big impression on me. I followed Johnny Mac closely for the rest of his career always eagerly (yes I have now used eagerly twice in this blog, so what?) awaiting his next temper tantrum. He was fun to watch and made the difference between winning and losing look like the difference between life and death. I wish more athletes competed that way. I followed him through his post tennis career as an announcer, through his failed talk show on MSNBC, and I read his biography in one day. When I was at Wimbledon they presented him with an award and I had the honor of being the only one in the stadium to give him a standing ovation.

C.J. 's Top 10 Athletes 10 - 8

Darren’s article about NBA superstars sparked some memories of my long lost youth. It got me thinking about my heroes of yesteryear. So in honor of my childhood idols, I thought I would make a list of the top 10 athletes that have influenced my life. Or in other words my 10 favorite athletes. You might notice that the list is dominated by the Jazz, the Rams, and the Mormons, but that is because the Jazz and Rams are my favorite teams and the Mormons are my favorite religion. The list was long and it was a tedious process eliminating the many athletes that influenced my life. Some of the candidates that were close but that I had to leave off of the list were Adrian Dantley, Marshal Faulk, Jeff Hornacek, Lance Armstrong, Ty Detmer, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Akeem Olajuwon, Jim McMahon, Andre Agassi, Megan Payne, Nolan Ryan, Evgeni Malkin, and Zinedine Zidane.

10 -Deron Williams – Perhaps it is a little early to include him on the list but I am putting him here with the hope the he will yet prove he deserves such a lofty ranking. He holds a special place for me because he returned the Jazz to prominence after their only losing season in the last 23 years. He is a clutch performer. He is in the argument for best point guard in the NBA at time that many consider to be the golden age of point guards. I wish that he would have kept his "No Guts No Glory" tattoos, that might have moved him up a few spots.

9- Kurt Warner – He almost lost his #9 ranking by participating in Dancing with the Stars. It probably cost him a few spots but he is still on the list. As a lifelong Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams fan there was nothing better than the Kurt Warner feel good story. From Dick Vermeil crying after Trent Green’s injury to Warner taking over and leading them all the way to the Super Bowl. I will never forget his magical pass to Isaac Bruce to defeat the Tennessee Titans. With spikey haired Brenda cheering him from the stands. The best part about Kurt Warner is that he came along during the fantasy football age. Not only did he lead my St. Louis Rams to a super bowl victory, he led the Dorny Rams to one of the most dominating fantasy football seasons in history. I was also happy for him that he continued his success in Arizona. This time with a suddenly hot, long blond hair Brenda cheering him on from the stands. I think we would all be proud if our sons grew up to be like Kurt Warner, minus the dancing.

8- Julius “Dr. J” Erving – Perhaps my first sports hero. Some of my earliest sports memories are watching the 76ers battle the Celtics on late night rebroadcasts of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Dr. J could things that no other player could do. He did it with a grace and smoothness that was awesome. There was a period of my life that I always choose to be #6 because of him. I got to see him in person near the end of his career. He almost signed with the Jazz before retiring , too bad that really could have moved him up the list.

Superstars.......A fusion of music and sports like never before.

Anytime "Take My Breath Away", performed by Berlin, is heard across the radio waves 99.7% of the minds of Americans over the age of 25 revert to Tom Cruise and that blonde actress getting jiggy with it in Top Gun. But, if you're one of the lucky few, or maybe chosen few is a better term, your mind instantly takes you back to His Airness looking "like he was in an F-16" and gettin jiggy with the dunk contest. The same can be said of John Mellencamp's "Small Town" taking you back to a faded image of Larry Legends moustache and "Warrior" instantly flashing an image of the Round Mound of Rebound shooting a free throw with an eye that looks as if it's just gone 14 rounds with Apollo Creed.
From the minute Magic and Larry fistbump to Kenny "Sky" Walker with his gold chains and white spandex, this video has engraven so many different images and quotes that have shaped my life and molded me into the man I am today. Those of you that have seen it will recognize these moments, those of you that haven't seen it have lived a life of deprivation.


Kurt Rambis leaving his handprint on the backboard
Magic's full court bounce passes and the thing he and A.C. Green do with their fingers
The alley-oop to Michael Cooper
"There's only one place I'd rather be.........French Lick."
Birds Nest banner and Indiana Bird And The Garden of Doom
Bird waving his towel
There's a steal by Bird...underneath to DJ
Jordans cradle dunk with the 'Chicago' written in cursive jersey
Jordans palmed-ball ball-fake and dunk and stare down over Tree Rollins
"Rockit" performed by Herbie Hancock, the only reason I imagine I am one of the few that truly understood the joke in Tommy Boy
The Mailman saving the ball between his legs on the sideline instantly followed by Mark Jackson 1-upping him with a behind the back save
Horny with the Suns slamming the ball down in frustration
Rodman robbing Ewing of an alley-oop
Sir Charles giving the 'count the bucket' sign in perfect sequence with Bang Bang
Barkley teasing his opponent letting the ball roll on the ground then picking it up at the last second and driving and scoring
Akeem NOT Hakeem The Dream dribbling coast to coast like a girl using her opposite hand
"Get off this stage, I'm enraged, just like a lion, trapped inside of a cage"
Rick Barry's underhand free throw, Wes Unselds afro, and Dave Cowens diving for the loose ball.
Spud Webb at the end of the team line as Dominique Wilkins is introduced (the old Hawks uniforms were awesome)
The true Hawks fan wearing yellow pants with a red polo followed by Mike Fratello's face as The Human Highlight Film reverse dunks over his defender
Isaiah and McHale with a rapid-fire Five
Isaiah pulling up from beyond half court with 3 seconds still on the clock causing even the raccoon fur coat lady to get up out of her seat and give an Arsenio Hall cheer
"Here's Isaiah, let's see what you got....All the way up..*camera flash* ...GOOD! "And he has to smile at that one"
"I'm so proud of ya son, I'm so proud of ya, so proud. God bless ya"
Barkley picking up and dropping Michael Adams
"Blocked from behind by Spud Webb! To Wilkins, back to Spud, a reverse... GOOD!"
Muggsy Bogues half court heave and Muggsy sandwiched between Ewing and some other huge Knick
Kareem flying around in the little purple airplane and Sky Hookin all these years for you
The dunks and swats in Teddy's Jam with The Mailman's double fist pump
Clyde The Glide's dunk over Chambers followed by Chambers' greatest dunk of all-time over Mark Jackson
"Oh Manute a three!"
KJ's dunk over Eaton
"Rejected by Ewing! Grant can't hit! Here's Pippen......At the buzzer!"
"Julius, The Doctor, Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrving."
Dr. J's afro, his black and white photo of his version of the Vince Carter over the 7-footer and his cradle dunk over Michael Cooper
The 1989 Gatorade Slam Dunk Championship highlighting Ron Harper, Spud Webb, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey and Kenny "Sky' Walker


A fusion of music and sports like never before, indeed, and never again. I've watched that video easily over a hundred times since I was 8 yrs old. I used to watch it before my high school games and have even recently watched it before church ball games. NBA Superstars 2 and 3 were about as good as The Land Before Time 2 and 3, there's just no comparison. Would an NBA Superstars 4 with Iverson, Vince Carter, Kobe and Lebron have some awesome highlights with possibly better tunes? Probably. But those guys are just entertaining athletes who are really good at basketball. The original Superstars were heroes, my idols, I wanted to be them. They were my role models, unless you ask Sir Charles.

Darren Hatch

What about the A-11 offense?

The game of football has had its share of revolutions. From its origins in rugby-style play, to the wishbone, double-wing T, pro set, and the spread, we have continued to see the game change fundamentally on the offensive side. Today, we are amazed at the “Wildcat” and the seemingly endless possibilities it provides. The University of Oregon has taken its no-huddle offense to the next level, with seemingly indecipherable play cards held up on the sideline, along with forcing a defensive position that has no chance for adaptations during a drive.

In light of all of this, has anyone heard of the A-11 offense?

The A-11 offense was utilized by small high schools which didn’t have enough students to field a big, strong offensive line. So, they got rid of the need for linemen entirely by lining up with all 11 players wearing eligible numbers (1-49 and 80-99). Therefore, all players could line up anywhere on the field, as long as there were seven offensive players on the line of scrimmage.

The caveat was that for this to be legal, at least one player had to be seven yards deep at the snap. This is known as a “scrimmage kick” formation (or a punt or field goal formation to the layman) in high school rules. The A-11 offense usually had three interior linemen, two sets of three receivers to each side of the field, and two quarterbacks, one of which was seven yards deep. All players wore eligible numbers, so any of them could be potential receivers on every play. The trick for the defense and the referees was this: who lined up as the end man on the line of scrimmage, and who else lined up off the ball? Those players could run downfield to catch a pass, while the others were not allowed (ineligible man downfield penalty).

The A-11 offense has been outlawed at the high school level since February 2009, and a new rule has been added to the rulebook stating that the scrimmage kick formation is only allowed on 4^thst, 2^nd, and 3^rd downs, there must be at least five players in the offense which wear ineligible numbers. down. On 1

The existence (or non-existence) of the A-11 offense touches on some hot debate topics in the football world: What exactly is considered ‘deception’ and what is not? The play-action pass was once thought to be ‘deceptive’ by some, and has now become a staple of nearly every offensive system. Another hot topic: how valuable are linemen, really? We all know that speed kills, and if you can get your athletes in space, they can wreak havoc against a defense and put up points like gangbusters. Lastly, how valuable are “gimmick” plays, and should they even be considered “real football”? The Boise State Broncos have sprung onto the national scene in recent years, largely in part to their use of gimmick plays to beat more talented competition.

The game of football may someday never require a fullback or an offensive lineman, since the days of hard-pounding running up the middle are fading away, while the use of the fifth wide receiver has become commonplace. What new innovations will we see at the college and professional levels in the years to come? And how will the changes influence the game as a whole, and the character of the players at the high school level? Hopefully, the game will stay pure to its roots, with teamwork and selflessness heralded over individual glory. No one exemplifies that standard like an offensive lineman; to lose those big boys up front would affect not only the dynamics of the game, but also the culture and dignity of the men who can call themselves football players.

Jacque Henry

History in the Making

We have just witnessed what many if not all NBA observers are calling the greatest road trip in league history. The Utah Jazz just completed 4 – 0 sweep of the NBA’s Southeast division. These four teams had a combined 123 – 41 record at home last year, and that was before the Miami Heat added LeBron James and Chris Soft, I mean Bosh. But what makes this truly amazing is that the Jazz, hereafter referred to as the greatest team in the NBA, not only won these 4 games in 5 nights but did so after trailing by double digits in every game.

The entire NBA is scared right now. The Jazz have tapped into something that makes them an even more formidable opponent. Much like the 72 win ’96 Chicago Bulls, who had superior talent compared to the rest of league (Karl Malone and St. John Stockton being the exception) and who were able to motivate themselves by making up reasons to be mad at lesser opponents, the Jazz have figured a way to keep themselves mentally involved in games against teams comprised of much less talent. The trick is they simply spot the teams 15 or 20 points and then try to beat them in 2 quarters of play. For a team as vastly superior as the Jazz, excuse me, as the greatest team in the NBA, this is much more interesting than simply beating a team straight up over four quarters of play. If they simply did that it would be like the 92 dream team, let’s face it.

Jerry Sloan has been the mastermind behind this plan. A plan, by the way, that is much harder to execute on court than it appears on paper. The first trick to successfully executing this game plan is to actually get behind. Apparently the Jazz front office approached the NBA brass about simply starting games down 20 to nothing to make things fair but this idea was shot down. So Coach Sloan and his staff took it upon themselves to coach this technique. It took a little practice. In fact they were so bad at it that they went undefeated in the pre-season. Finally, with the regular season starting they were able to focus, play their starters more, and they perfected the art of falling behind losing to Denver in game 1 by 22 points and Phoenix by 16.

After perfecting the getting behind they were then able to focus on the coming back. They have done very well repeating the process 5 straight times now. In fact in Charlotte on Saturday night they were so good at it that they immediately got down 10 to 0. Then they followed the script perfectly eventually getting down by 18 waiting until it was almost too late to come back and finally winning on a beautiful shot by Deron Williams on the last play of the game.

So take time to sit back and enjoy this run. It isn’t everyday that history shows up on your step and rings the doorbell.

Should Boise State play for the BCS National Title?

As the laser ink is drying on this article, (2) Auburn is losing to Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs are 3-4 in the SEC and 5-5 overall. Auburn is undefeated, but their schedule never gets questioned, even if the SEC is having a down year. I cannot help but marvel at the lack of scrutiny given to perennial top-10 BCS teams, especially the LSUs, Ohio States, and Nebraskas out there (teams who always get the benefit of the doubt from the BCS voters). Whenever someone brings up TCU or Boise State, all we hear is the argument that they play weak schedules and could never hack it against stiff competition like the big BCS conference schools. I could sit here all day and talk about how college football has an even playing field; how on any given Saturday a Division 1AA team could beat any major BCS team; and how teams like Boise State and TCU could play any team in the country on any field and go home with the “W”. But I’d instead like to make a case for how Boise State is better than the voters realize; they are a better football team than TCU and even Auburn, and that the Broncos could, in fact, be ranked #2 in the BCS if they go undefeated.

Boise State’s defense is vastly underrated. They are 2^nd in the FBS in points allowed this year (12.8 ppg). They are 2^nd in the FBS in sacks on the season (35). They have allowed an average of 74.9 yards per game rushing and have only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns. They have allowed an average of 165.9 yards per game passing and have only allowed 7 passing touchdowns. This amounts to an average of 240.8 yards of opponent total offense allowed per game.

You may say, so what?- those stats are obviously the result of Boise State playing teams like New Mexico State, Wyoming, and Idaho… But I would answer you with this- What about when Boise State played then (10) Virginia Tech and then (24) Oregon State? Against the Hokies, Boise State allowed just 186 yards passing. Against Oregon State, Boise allowed just 78 yards rushing. Those numbers are right on with Boise’s season averages, so you must think Oregon State’s rushing attack is just as strong as Idaho’s, or that Virginia Tech’s passing attack is just as strong as Wyoming’s (insert sarcasm here). Incredibly, Boise State has held two of its opponents this year to negative total yards rushing (Wyoming and San Jose State).

Compare these stats to the defensive stats of the Auburn Tigers. Auburn allows 24.3 points per game, which places them 55^th overall in the FBS. They allow 241.3 yards per game passing and 114 yards per game rushing. These numbers may indicate that the opponents of the Auburn Tigers are generally better on offense then the opponents of the Boise State Broncos, but if you want to compare apples to apples, we need to look into when Auburn played seemingly “weak” opponents. When Auburn played Louisiana-Monroe, they gave up 232 yards passing. When they played Chattanooga, they gave up 101 yards rushing and 233 yards passing. These numbers are similar to Auburn’s season averages, so that must mean Chattanooga’s and Louisiana-Monroe’s offenses are comparable to the likes of LSU, Mississippi State, and Arkansas right?

I hope the sarcasm was noted in that last question. The point is, Auburn’s defense is weak. If Boise State were to play Auburn, I think the game would be decided by Boise’s defense, and the Broncos come out on top.

Now let’s compare Boise State’s offense to TCU’s offense. They are both very good statistically, nearly identical- but Boise State is better in points per game, passing yards per game, and average yards per pass. They are tied in average yards per rush (5.6), while TCU has the edge in rushing yards per game and total yards per game.

We can compare their defenses by looking at the two games where they played the same opponents- Boise State and TCU have each played Oregon State and Wyoming this year. Boise State held Wyoming to 135 yards, while TCU held Wyoming to 181 yards of total offense. Boise State held Oregon State to 237 total offensive yards, while TCU held Oregon State to 255 total yards of offense.

On the flip side, Boise State put up 648 yards of offense against Wyoming, while TCU put up 586 yards. Against Oregon State, Boise State put up 439 yards of offense, while TCU put up 453 yards.

Since TCU and Boise State are so similar statistically, we should go back to the last time they played each other- the 2010 Fiesta Bowl- and we can see that Boise State beat TCU 17-10. TCU lost 5 starters from last year’s squad to graduation, while Boise State lost 2 starters to graduation. It is this writer’s humble opinion that the above facts demonstrate a razor-thin edge for Boise State over TCU this year.

So is it possible for Oregon, Auburn or TCU to lose this year? And would Boise State move up in the rankings if those teams did lose? Oregon still has to play (18) Arizona and must travel to Corvalis to play rival Oregon State. Either of those games could hand Oregon their single loss for the year, and allow Boise State to move up in the rankings. Auburn must play at (12) Alabama and then probably play in the SEC title game. They could very well lose either of those matchups (maybe both), and get knocked out of the top ten in the BCS. TCU only has to beat New Mexico, and their destiny will then depend on Oregon and Auburn. If Oregon and Auburn fall, we may be looking at a #1 TCU and a #2 Boise State.

Sadly, the Broncos may not even get the chance to play in a BCS bowl game, should Auburn, TCU, and Oregon run the table. It will be a travesty if a 4-loss Pittsburgh team gets a BCS berth, while an undefeated Boise State does not. But that would be old hat for the BCS now wouldn’t it?

Jacque Henry - Boise State Correspondent