Moohead Radio

Wright State was more illusion than substance this year. YSU fans were exhilerated when the Guins upset the Raiders. After all, Wright State had beaten Butler twice. But….

The Dance is a different time, when the cream rises to the top. A few weeks later, and everyone knows that Butler IS the best in the Horizon League. They play defense. They shoot 3’s. They have a great shooter off the bench. They’re mature. And they’ve beaten top 25 teams.

Right now, only VCU is a true “darling” of the fans (automatically achieved by defeating the despised Dukees in the first round). To be a darling, no one knows you. A darling comes out of nowhere. Butler is no darling. People already know how good they are.

Coach K and Booby Knight are already gone, making the way for John Thompson the 3rd and other younger coaches. Butler will hang with Maryland, but God help them against Florida. But a victory or 2 at the Dance buys a league credibility. The Horizon had 2 teams in the mix this year, the MAC only one. No one would have thought this possible 5 years ago.

As the stakes rise, YSU must either recruit better athletes, or fall by the Horizon wayside. It is apparent that there is a large gap between the haves and have nots in the Horizon. YSU is lingering on the edge of respectability. Now is the time to make a major recruiting push.

After all, YSU COULD be VCU in the next 3 years. A couple good recruits, a couple good breaks, and an improving conference all make for a luscious possibility. Or it could go the other way. Disinterest, bottom 3 finishes, and being cannon fodder for the league’s best.

The Final 64 turns the meekest of fans into dreamers. And for one or two weeks, we can imagine OUR team in one of the regionals. We can be Vermont, Cleveland State, Valpo or Indiana State for a day.

Akron coach Keith Dambrot railed against the referees. He railed against the NCAA selection committee. He railed against the NIT selection committee. But in the aftermath of his team’s 53-52 loss to Miami University, I did not hear him state plainly for the record how he was outcoached in the school’s biggest game of the year. Not a whimper about how he was responsible for allowing his team to play down to a less talented team.

Star player Romeo Travis blamed the refs, but not his meager output. Dambrot even criticized the conference for not having a high enough profile.

On the same day, reports surfaced about Ohio State graduating only 10% of their athletes from 1996-1999. Tennessee graduated 8%. UNLV? 8%. Michigan State? 75%. Thad Matta recruits like a wizard. But his players are not Mr Wizard. 10%. But Matta and OSU receive praise. Michigan State? They fire coaches who don’t win like Thad Matta.

For every Greg Oden, there are 1000 abandoned college athletes, squeezed for their talent, but not refined with skills. Oden will make millions, and will later become a free agent. He’ll have 20 girlfriends. He’ll hang out in the same places as Patrick Ewing. He will retire a rich young man and disappear from public view. The 1000 abandoned athletes will not get their degree. They will have made no money. They may play ball in Turkey. But not for long.

Today we talk about Dambrot’s lack of accountability. But I see a much bigger picture. If our teachers have no accountability…if our coaches have no accountability…why are we shocked when players commit crimes, miss practices or don’t try hard enough? Accountability starts with integrity. But when the NCAA picks 64 teams based on conference finances…when the BCS bows to economics, there is precious little integrity from the highest levels of college athletics.

How many times can I hear Dick Vitale scream about the Cameron Crazies, the Terps, Gary Williams, Tar Heels, Bruins or Big East and Big Ten? So Thad Matta had a great recruiting year? Bully for him. Nobody’s asking how he got these guys when Jim O’Brien couldn’t. Duke? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Give me Austin Peay, Mount St Mary’s, Eastern Kentucky. Let me see Akron or Wright State. Valpo or Alabama State.

For one time in the year, the oft forgotten get rewarded. His folks may not have gotten a new T-bird, but some kid at George Mason might score 30 on national TV. One of the elite teams is gonna get sucker punched by Oral Roberts. A sure fire NBA caliber guy is gonna call a timeout with none remaining. Oh yeah.

I watched Miami of Ohio beat defending champs Marquette in 1977. I was 19, and I did color commentary for the game in Indianapolis. The whole building turned on Jerome Whitehead, and started cheering for Miami. Unforgettable.

The big schools got the money and endorsements. They have the recruiting edge. But for one night, adrenaline levels the playing field. Someone will make the most of their 15 minutes of fame. It’s what makes sports truly heroic.

I grew up in blue collar Ohio, where we worked for a living. We got what we earned.  That’s how we liked our sports. Not the biggest or strongest. The most collective will. And somewhere in that final 65 will be a single team with an undeniable collective will for one night. That’s what will have me glued to the screen.

Answers to commonly asked questions:

Q: What’s this Moohead/Cow thing all about?

A: I have been nicknamed Mr Moohead since 1980, long before there WAS an internet. It is not a gimmick. If it were, it would be a weak one.

Q: If you’re so good, why aren’t you on the REAL radio?

A: I was. For many years as a DJ, then many years as a radio station group owner.

Q: So how come you’re not on a station now?

A: Because I want to develop internet broadcasting into a Bovine art form.

Q: Why do you keep falling back on the Cow thing every time I ask a question?

A: Why does it bother you so much?

Q: Aren’t I asking the questions?

A: Not very good ones.

Q: I think you suck.

A: That’s not a question

Q: Do you suck?

A: Yes. But a lot less than many regular radio hosts who have less to say than a Cow.

Q: Back to the internet radio thing…what if I don’t have broadband?

A: You’re a loser. No. Seriously. You might want to move to Sri Lanka.

Q: Why are you so elitist?

A: I’m not. The Sri Lankan thing is a figure of speech. If you don’t have broadband speed, we have a special dial up version of the show. It sounds a little rougher, but you can make the words out.

Q: Is internet radio growing?

A: A lot more than AM radio. Drive around in your car and tune into AM radio. Sounds scratchy. Plus it’s either Rush Limbaugh, O’Reilly, or Tommy Dorsey and his long dead orchestra. Plus you can only get it for 20 miles before it goes away (which is relieving in most cases). Internet radio is new. It’s in its infancy. That’s why my show is infantile.

Q: How is Moohead Radio different from other internet radio shows?

A: Our sound is clearer. We’re on every day. We don’t talk about computers, surfing or sex. We actually sound like a big city sports talk show. Except we’re Cows.

Q: Does Vindy.com pay you?

A: For what? For writing an inane piece like this? Heavens no. No. I don’t pay them either.

Q: Are you serious about all this?

A: Yes. Very serious. I put on the Cow suit every day at 5pm. I’d call that serious. One day, Moohead Radio will be mentioned in the same breath as Ducktails, Edsels and New Coke. I’m so serious, I hired a professional co-host. He’s the one with the pleasing voice.

Q: What does the future hold?

A: Naked photos of Hillary Rodham Clinton with Antonella Barba. Also, Moohead Radio will be getting a new updated site complete with real time Bovine chat functions. A matter of weeks away. The chat room, I mean. Give the show a listen. It’s irreverant, irrelevant and catatonic (go look it up). Moo.

Detroit @ Youngstown State, Tuesday 7:05

T.V., Horizon League Network (HLN) Free via www.HORIZONLEAGUE.org
Fox 17/62 Youngstown (replay 11:00 P.M.)

Radio: 1390 WNIO YSU Basketball Flagship Station (Play by Play Robb Schmidt)
Live Free Radio Web broadcast www.YSUSprots.com.  The game will be carried live on Sirius Satellite Radio

Tickets are on sale (Monday) 9am till 7pm and Tuesday 9am-5pm at the YSU ticket office, and open at Beeghly Center through tip off Tuesday evening.

Facts are facts. This will be the first time the Penguins host a Horizon League tourny game. They have an RPI of 166. They had an overall record of only 13-16. But they beat Kent State, Loyola, and Wright State this year. They split with their first round opponent this year. They’ve never made the 64 man NCAA final field. And they probably won’t this year. In fact, they’d have to win the post season Horizon League tournament, a tall order. Butler, at 24-5 may get in even if they don’t win the tournament. The Horizon League is considered the 12th strongest out of 32 conferences in the country. This does NOT bode well for more than one Horizon team getting into the final 64.

If YSU wins, they take on the winner of UW-Green Bay vs. Cleveland State. The venue moves to Dayton.

The football team will always get the bigger local press, but playing a home game in the league tournament will be the closest many of these players will experience to March Madness. The players of 13-16 teams take their game as seriously as 24-5 teams. And sometimes, 13-16 teams play larger when given local support.

A Cow urges you to buy a pair of tickets and support your local school. Make this moment one the boys will remember.

People in Youngstown know about tough times. That’s why sports are so big in the Valley. Pick your team, cheer for a few hours, and put the daily grind behind you. You turn to sports to get away from the crime, shootings and bad news that dominates the local news. Then you discover the guys playing the sports are shooting up nightclubs, and participating in brawls. It ain’t just Youngstown, my Pastureheads.

There were 350 reported crimes in Vegas over the NBA All Star Weekend, including a blatant shooting in the MGM Grand parking lot. Makes you wanna check out real quick. (We’re sorry about the bullet hole in your suitcase, Mr Moohead). Not even the MGM Grand could “comp” their way out of a shooting spree (Here’s a few chips for the roulette table…hope your wife survives the gunshot).

And what to say of sister Cleveland? A football team that was lost, then reclaimed. But it came back as some sort of evil joke. Since 1999, the Browns have been a model of incompetence. Free agents get career ending injuries, draft picks don’t pan out, QB’s go down like ducks in a shooting gallery. And now…the growing staph infection infestation at the Berea Complex (I still think there’s a STAFF infection there as well).

So today, the sun shines on a dog’s ass. The Browns won a coin toss and got the #3 pick in the draft. Tampa Bay lost the toss. They had the same record as Cleveland, and watched their team go from a Super Bowl contender under Tony Dungy, to an also ran who has worse luck than Cleveland. Then they watch Dungy win the big one. Not to mention the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have won as often as Allen Iverson has won a Championship.

Which moves us to Denver, which went from John Elway to Jake Plummer in 10 years. From the 3 Amigos to Hasta La Vista. And now Plummer’s going to Houston to play for the Texans, who passed on Vince Young in the draft to select terminally injured Mario Williams. The Texans? They hired ex Browns coach Chris Palmer AFTER he decimated the Browns in 1999 and 2000. Houston? Ask George Foreman about growing up on the streets of Houston. Did someone say Houston? Whitney Houston is named after the damn city and can’t get outta rehab. How bad is that?

Let the fools rip the Valley. I’m a Cow and I’ve been around more than a few pastures. You don’t live in the worst place in America. But not to worry. If you enjoy reading about crime and misfortune, keep following sports on Moohead Radio. Even if you’re safe and snug, we’ll bring you misery from every quadrant of the map. I hope you feel better now. Moo.

In cultural vernacular, the NBA All Star game has jumped the shark. I remember when the best players hit the floor, gave the fans a show, and the season went on. Mr Moohead knew he was in for a long night when:

1)Wayne Newton appeared with cheesy Vegas dancers. Not only were the dancers one grade below the “Solid Gold Dancers” (this is not a cultural compliment), but Wayne looked like he had been attacked by 1000 rabid botox injections. He made Liberace look warm (and Lee’s been dead for many years now, moo). Poor Wayne was corseted tightly enough to redden his wrinkle free, bloated face. I turned to my wife and said “If he sings Danke Shen, I’m gonna go postal”. Sure enough, right on cue, the bulbous, polyester skinned, corseted crooner started singing his anthem. I can’t imagine what guys like Shaq and D Wade were thinking. The Louis Leaky Foundation was thrilled to discover a Vegas dinosaur in a preserved state. “I’d say he dates back to the Paleozoic Era” stated an un-named archaeologist.

2)Shaq in the starting lineup. I know…he was voted in. But for God’s sake. The man is nailed to the floor. He can no longer elevate or move laterally. He runs into people. He’s like Godzilla, except he’s not as agile with a ball in his hands.

3) The obligatory 80 point half of scoring. The East subscribed to the “Go West” theory of defense. There were 5 spectators on the floor. The guy eating popcorn in section 212 was more into the game.

4) We get a race between a 67 year old referee, and a fat, ignorant, gambling addicted former athlete. When the fat guy wins because he’s 23 years younger, he presents the check by saying “We’re donating 2 blackjack hands to charity”. The actual amount was $50,000…2 blackjack hands and the real reason the corpulent unintelligible Barkley was in Vegas to begin with.

5) Someone gets DQ’ed in a pregame all star shootout for shooting out of turn. These things have rules?

6) Token WNBA players being forced in our faces. Like a Cow wants to see a few women chuck up 10 foot jump shots on a team with 2 men. I’m not being sexist. Did you notice that NONE of the women shot the difficult shots? If I wanted to watch the WNBA, I’d join the other 500 who do. (Not to mention every woman was stepping WAYYYY over the mid court line just to get the ball to the hoop from mid court.)

Guys going half speed, no defense, uncontested layups, turnovers, bad passes, steals off bad passes. Can you imagine what would happen if the baseball all star game was like this? Pitchers throwing batting practice 70 mph fastballs, hitters not running out ground balls, pitchers not throwing strikes.

Either play the game or banish it. It the players association is scared of injuries…just skip the damn game. The best dunkers will not participate in the slam dunk contest any longer. So we get Gerald Green versus Nate Robinson. Whoop-de-doo. I’ll pass. Into a double team. For no reason. And watch the other team lay it in. Make it STOP!

My childhood is fading fast. My innocence is being ripped from me, like Santa going from a mystical gift giver to a fat old Uncle in a mall. My heroes have fallen. I’ve seen 2 Supermans die. One remained crippled for years. I watched my President leave office. Another President get nookie in the Ovular Office.

The wrestlers I watched on TV are mostly dead now. The victims of hard lives on the road. Muhammad Ali is speechless. Pete Rose is banished. Albert Belle corked his bat. Mark McGwire was a labratory experiment that succeeded for a few years. Gene Hickerson get HOF induction, but no longer remembers he played the game. Players don’t show up for games, choke their coaches, and fight with fans.

What would the ultimate indignity be?

Jim Terry quote 

As a child, King Kong was mighty. He conquered the Empire State Building and swatted down planes. We cried for his tragic downfall, and were relieved to see he’d survived in “real life” (Hollywood happy ending).

So now comes a shrill voiced barker to denigrate and tarnish the image of the once proud ape. The King Kong I know would have eaten the Thunderdome as an hors d’oeuvre. My favorite ape would have vanquished Masury in 3 minutes. But alas, like all my other heroes, the new King Kong ends up in a golf dome in Girard. Putt the ball through King Kong’s legs.

I know. We live in a time of diminished expectations. We wait for Andy Kaufman and John Lennon to reappear. But we know they’re gone. Instead, we get Hogan Knows Best. We weigh in on the social significance of Anna Nicole Smith’s death.

Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Joe Louis, Superman, Santa Claus, and now…King Kong.

As my childhood heroes fall like dominoes, I cling to the few untarnished memories. Bob Beamon’s miraculous long jump. Dave Wottle’s unexpected sprint, a 1980 hockey game, Sandy Alomar’s shot off Mariano Rivera, Tony Pena’s joyous romp around the bases. I clutch them like precious metal. Please God, don’t take them from me.

When Jim Terry brought his Hitmen and his EIFL to Youngstown, there was an immediate uproar. Residents were upset about the team logo. People were appalled at the profiteering from Maurice Clarett’s fall from grace. It seems that no one in the area was untouched by the controversy generated by Jim Terry. Even the Valley Chamber of Commerce became short tempered with the relentless Terry, advising Chamber members to steer clear from the EIFL enterprise. Everyone from the owner of the Thunderplex, to the Principal of JFK High School had run-ins with the overly aggressive Terry. After multiple teams jumping ship, the loss of their commissioner, and months of being hounded by a lynch mob of internet posters, the EIFL kicked off. This was supposed to be the vindication Jim Terry was looking for. Instead, it has become an abomination. Not to the lynch mob. Not to the local media so frequently confronted by Terry. Instead, the coach of one of the EIFL teams took time out to talk with me at 11pm last night. After a day to think about his team’s game against the NE Ohio Panthers, coach Larry Macon of Chicago needed to get some things off his chest.

Macon Interview 

When does a game turn into a war? When does a dream turn into an obsession? And when does that obsession obscure the basic principles of fair play and safety?

Hours before the Macon interview, Jim Terry called me to say how well everything was going. He specifically stated that nobody had gotten hurt in his football facility. He was thrilled with the money he was making, and feistily told me that he had defied all the odds and kicked off his season successfully.

At no time did Jim relate the bad injuries suffered by a Buzzard player, or talk about player ejections, or players being hurled over walls after plays ended. I’m sure there will be an excuse. But as league owner, commissioner and team owner, Jim is directly accountable for the comportment of his teams. He has stated repeatedly that there is insurance available for injured players. Unfortunately, we will now find out how true this is.

We live in an increasingly unsafe world. The TV programs we watch mimic our own bizarre “realities”. We’ve got “Wife Swappers”, “Supernannies”, Survivor, even a crueler, unkinder “American Idol”. We are fascinated with the misfortune of others. We’ve got men fighting in cages, and now we have men being hurled over 4 foot walls. We have Indoor Football players suffering injuries more consistant with car accidents than Semi Pro football.

Perhaps Brookfield Township should take another look at this enterprise. Perhaps they should check to see what kind of insurance the league has provided for injuries such as these. Is this kind of sporting activity illegal? No.

It IS immoral. And I, for one, wish it would stop.

My longtime Cow friend Leroy De Bovine is going to be my co-host on Moohead Radio. Using new technology, Leroy will be sitting in a studio in Spokane Washington, while I’m in my Florida barn. But we will sound like we are sitting right next to each other. Will it work? Find out next week.

To whet your appetite, here are some promos that Leroy has created. We will be posting one minute radio show highlights every day right here, so you can get an idea of the show’s flavor without downloading the whole enchilada (great for people with dial up connections). Just click on the links below to hear the new Cow on the block:

Thursday’s show recap 

Mr Moohead’s opinion of Leroy 

Jim Terry insults Mormons (?) 

The New Moohead Radio begins next week. Faster paced, 2 hosts, slicker and sicker. Plus DAILY show recaps for the broadband impaired. Moo!