A very special interview with Michael Schur (writer/producer/actor on The Office and co-founder of FireJoeMorgan.com). Michael joins Swatter and Larks to talk about the state of sports journalism, Costas Now, the Boston Red Sox, Roger Clemens, a day in the life of The Office, the appeal of Dwight Schrute, and much more.
Hello all.
Writer/producer/actor Michael Schur of The Office will be our guest on this week’s podcast. He’s a two-time Emmy award winner. He has appeared in three episodes of The Office as Dwight’s cousin Mose Schrute. But more importantly, he writes for the critically acclaimed website FireJoeMorgan.com under the name Ken Tremendous (which is the real reason we’re having on the podcast — to talk about baseball and basketball and blogging).
The podcast will be online Thursday at 8:30. It will be awesome.
That is all.
(NOTE: You can see plenty of Mike — the bearded guy — in the opening 4:50 of this clip.)
Swatter and Larkins are joined by former Brandon Bobcat stars Gilford Cheung and Aaron Mitchell to talk about the NBA playoffs and their favorite memories from the Wheat City. It’s the funniest podcast you’ll hear this year, guaranteed. Plus, Swatter watches the Montreal Canadiens lose to the Boston Bruins (and slowly descends into depression).
An interview with newly appointed Brandon University men’s basketball coach Keith Vassell; an apology for last week’s podcast; thoughts on the Masters, the NHL playoffs, and the opening week of the MLB season; plus, an episode of Blindside featuring another question for the ages: Who’d make a better CIS coach, Swatter or Larkins?
A few rambling thoughts on an NCAA men’s final that wasn’t at all times aesthetically pleasing but, in the end, provided for a pretty fun finale.
So many people will talk about Memphis’ free-throw (dis-)ability and there’s no doubt that the Tigers’ effort at the free throw line — their Achilles heel all season long — finally came back and bit them in the backside at critical times on Monday.
However, how the Tigers blew a nine-point lead in the final two minutes of a national final and then lost in overtime is only based partially on sucking at free throws.
There was a prevailing feeling through most of the game that it was Memphis that had to work really hard for its hoops, while Kansas was getting its points in the course of its offence. And that, not surprisingly, stood out in the late stages more than any other time when the Jayhawks were getting better looks and easier shots closer to the basket.
An offence that Memphis coach John Calipari referred to as “Princeton on steroids” — in reference to Pete Carill’s Ivy League O predicated on off-the-ball motion and penetrate-and-pitch tactics — suddenly bogged down into a stale and static machine, the equivalent of a 1978 El Camino with four flat tires parked in your front yard.
One entry pass and four players standing around watching their teammate try to do something — anything — to get a hoop when the Tigers needed it. With that taking place, predictably in the end the Tigers were scrambling in an offence that relies in large part on individuals’ ability to create on the fly.
On the other end, the Jayhawks were poised in the late stages and didn’t allow that nine-point deficit to stand as an overwhelming hole. They went to big man Darrell Arthur — he finished with 20 and 10 — worked their screen and roll on the wing over and over, and basically were more consistent in controlling the tempo of the game. It was a pair of up-and-down teams but the predominating feeling was that KU was getting the pace that suited it the best. In fact, the high-tempo Tigers mustered just four fast-break points all game.
The Tigers were the 339th-ranked of 341 teams in free throw shooting this season, and that’s most certainly what people will talk about in the hindsight chats around the water cooler. But Memphis’ offence was also to blame. The Tigers were the ones who had the best view to one of the biggest meltdowns in NCAA final history.
After all, they were the ones who were standing around watching it.
We The People of The Scrum, would like to formally apologize for our ruse of 2 April, 2008. We would like to apologize to the patrons of this Internet stop for our desire to have a little fun and, in the spirit of the day on the calendar, play a minor and completely harmless trick on our devoted readers.
For those of you who believed that David Larkins is the new assistant coach of the Brandon Bobcats, but were able to laugh it off in that “egg on my face” sort of way, we thank you for playing along and being good sports about it. For those of you who didn’t buy it for a second, award yourself a jujube candy for your heightened intelligence and keen ability to separate fact from fiction. There is a special place for you in our hearts.
For those of you who felt like the joke was somehow out of line, we apologize. We are sorry, indeed, that you are not able to take a joke and that your life is devoid of fun. Certainly this little charade of ours wasn’t the highest of high comedy — rarely anything we do is — but at the very least we’d hope it could be recognized for what it is: A bit of levity at a slow time of year. Some, apparently, can’t grasp that. We’re truly sorry for that fact.
No, David Larkins will not be coaching the Brandon Bobcats next season and no he will not be leaving his post at the Brandon Sun, a job he cherishes much more than the chance to be on a CIS bench. He wishes the Bobcats the best of luck next season — even without his *ahem* “assistance” — and looks forward to covering the team in depth again.
So that you’re not fooled again this time next year, allow us to give you a little heads up: Swatter will NOT be the next Prime Minister of Burma. Don’t get fooled again.
Yours in Fun,
The Scrum
Hello world.
Jeremy here, with a quick FYI: we have a brand new podcast coming tomorrow night, and it promises to be our best yet. The cast will feature a major announcement from the world of CIS basketball (we have the exclusive!) and special guest Eric Fehr of the Washington Capitals (I used to play against him back in the day, true story).
Come back tomorrow, you won’t regret it.
WINNIPEG — In the River City covering the Manitoba provincial high school championship but still keeping track of the men’s nationals in Ottawa.
So a few quick notes: First, Larks picked the “upset” of the first round with Western knocking off Saint Mary’s to advance to Saturday’s semifinal.
Friday’s second semifinal — with Larks’ alma mater Brock taking on the “can we just please win one” UBC Thunderbirds — is currently underway. There’s a few different ways of following the action from Scotiabank Place, so I’m likely not telling you anything that you don’t already know.
I like this as a first-round game, by the way. And it, along with the Western win, goes to show that this year’s top seeds (save for Carleton) are far from untouchable. Not like they ever are, really, but I don’t think you’re looking at any of the first-round games and thinking you’d be shocked to see the quote-unquote underdog coming out with a win.
But that certainly holds true for Brock. The Badgers, on one hand, are told they’re going to be playing the No. 2 team in the tournament but also that that team is one that hasn’t won a game at nationals this century. No way Brock comes into this feeling like its up against the world.
And same for Western. The Mustangs caught a hot streak after the Christmas break but have really hit a stride in the post-season and obviously are playing confident ball. Western spread out its offence on Friday with five players scoring in double figures and shook off a poor shooting performance (27-for-71/38 per cent) to advance to tomorrow’s semifinal.
I wasn’t a fan of Saint Mary’s being in the No. 3 spot and I’m not the least bit stunned that the Huskies are gone. I fully understand the balance the selection committee attempts to maintain, but no one mistook the Huskies for a top-three team. SMU got hot, won a few nailbiter games and vaulted into the top of the seedings. It’s not their fault they didn’t belong there. (Again, I’m going to have to put an embargo on any “they won the games that mattered” talk right now. I’m aware. Because they won their tournament didn’t suddenly make them one of the nation’s elite.)
Currently in the Brock-UBC semifinal, the Badgers have slipped into a 2-3 zone, which I’d think would be the right call. UBC has never played in this arena, and the spacious confines (much more spacious than the Halifax Metro Centre) obviously is going to play with team’s depth perception. I wouldn’t stay locked in that zone — that may lead to complacency on defence — but giving UBC the perimeter isn’t a bad idea. The T-Birds don’t have a ton of guys who are going to kill you from back there anyway, but especially when adapting to this big, new environment it’s wise to say “OK, prove you can hit it first.”
* * *
Just a quick note from the provincials in Winnipeg. Anyone that follows women’s basketball in the CIS should be keeping a few names in their heads for next season and beyond.
Sisler’s Debbie Yeboah will graduate this year and become an immediate impact player at the next level. Her brother Kevin played briefly with the Winnipeg Wesmen. Debbie, meanwhile, has what many call — fairly or not — “a guy’s game.” I’m not usually one to make that kind of comment, but it’s fun to watch her play. She’s got a tremendous hesitation, her first-step quickness is beyond anyone else in this province and she can pull up and knock down shots too.
Everyone in Brandon who follows basketball is familiar with the name DeGagne and more and more people should be starting to hear Crocus Plains’ Danielle DeGagne’s name in the next year-plus. A Grade 11 point guard with good size, DeGagne is the daughter of longtime CIS referee Rick DeGagne but don’t hold that against her (that’s a joke, relax). Anyway, Danielle is eye-popping and more than one coach at Thursday’s semifinal had an ooh-ahh reaction to some of the things she does. Her vision is exceptional and that’s maybe the last thing you notice on her. I commented to someone at Thursday’s game that it really said a lot about her that, when the team needed steadying, you would look to a Grade 11 to get the ball to just because you know it’s safe there. DeGagne has tremendous athletic ability — she could probably go post-secondary in three sports — and her numbers are gross: She averaged a triple-double over the course of three games at a tournament earlier this season and averaged 17.8 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game for the year. The one knock is her outside game but, still with a year of high school left, she’s got time to add that. She’ll have to be able to shoot the ball at the next level, but no one is doubting her ability to become a force in university. Now, if we can just figure out where she’s going to go.
And finally, also from Brandon Crocus Plains, is Grade 9 forward Tia Coulter — also the daughter of a ref (Grant Coulter) — who is getting a ton of attention mostly because of her youth and the fact she’s in the starting lineup of the province’s No. 1-ranked team. I’m not going to knock a 14-year-old, and there’s very little not to like here. She’s got size, athleticism and three years left of high school after this. She went for 18 points and 15 rebounds in the semifinal and, while not every game is that gaudy for her, everyone is taking notice. You have to remind yourself frequently that she’s only in Grade 9. Pops has been said to be one of the best, if not the best, all-around athletes ever in Brandon and you can see the pedigree in Tia.
One brief note on the boys’ side because a couple of months ago I already dealt with some of the best players in the province the only name I’ll add in the mix is Justin Roper, the Oak Park point guard. Justin is joining his brother Ryan in heading to the Cape Breton Capers next season. Justin has a pretty solid all-around game and, at this level, can get to the hoop regularly. He won’t dominate at the next level, at least right away, but he’s got the style of game that could make him one of those “watch him in his third year” kind of guys. Ryan, who took a year off after his three years at Winnipeg, verballed to Cape and Justin soon followed. It will be interesting to see how they fit in with Jim Charters‘ crew on the coast.
An interview with Acadia Axemen head coach Les Berry; a recap of last week’s action across the CIS; NFL play-off picks, and the “greatest Blindside episode ever”, featuring thoughts on Facebook wedding photos, the stupidity of “Lost”, single men who have cats, and the musical stylings of the Weakerthans. Plus, David J. Larkins ranks the past five Brandon Bobcat coaches - Hemmings, Carrick, Berry, Craddock and Raimbault - and tells us who he’d prefer to play for.
An insightful (and occasionally uproarious) interview with Fraser Valley Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock… featuring thoughts on his former team, his current team, his newfound hippie lifestyle, and his love affair with the Brandon media. Also: a plea to the Bekkering brothers, and an episode of Blindside that offers predictions for 2008 and a debate about the worst reality TV show of all-time.
Two guys who love sports, almost more than women...
