McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. Lane Kiffin’s coaching staff is complete and one would have to objectively give it a remarkably high mark.
Kiffin retained two coaches from offMatt Luke’s staff, reassigning Derrick Nix to wide receivers and giving Freddie Roach a promotion to hold off a strong overture from the New York Giants.
It’s a staff with head coaching experience _ co-defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin was the head coach at Maryland as recently as 2017 _ and Southeastern Conference experience. Kiffin plucked Joe Jon Finley from Texas A&M and Terrell Buckley from Mississippi State. He also is very clearly making Texas a priority, landing several coaches _ Blake Gideon, Finley, Randy Clements and Jeff Lebby _ with strong ties to the Lone Star State.
Kiffin is also very clearly making recruiting a tip-top priority. He poached Chris Partridge, one of the top recruiters in the country, from Michigan and brought running backs coach Kevin Smith with him from Boca Raton.
Kiffin also completely revamped the strength and conditioning program, putting an emphasis on it that, per industry sources, resembles what Alabama and LSU are doing in that category.
He didn’t get every coach he targeted, but, as promised, he was deliberate and put together a strong, SEC-quality staff.
Here’s the full staff, with titles:
With these final additions, Kiffin’s coaching staff includes:
Terrell Buckley (Cornerbacks)
Randy Clements (Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line)
D.J. Durkin (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
Joe Jon Finley (Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends)
Blake Gideon (Special Teams)
Jeff Lebby (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
Derrick Nix (Wide Receivers)
Chris Partridge (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties)
Freddie Roach (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator)
Kevin Smith (Running Backs)
“This coaching staff represents the winning mentality we are establishing here, and I’m excited to get to work as a full group,” Kiffin said in a statement released Saturday. “We added dynamic recruiters, championship experience and outstanding football minds. This is a staff that will attract the best players in the country and help them reach their full potential.”
2. Kentrel Bullock signed with Ole Miss in December.
He took his official visit over the weekend.
That’s not typically how it’s done, but it all worked out for the three-star running back from Columbia, Miss.
“I knew it was going to be a fun weekend and a great environment,” Bullock said Sunday. “I just knew it would be fun to hang around and talk. We ate a lot. They showed us the campus and we went to the basketball game. We did a lot of fun stuff. They made it feel like home.”
Bullock committed to the previous Ole Miss coaching staff but he said he’s really gotten to know Kiffin and Co. in recent weeks.
“Coach Lebby and Coach Smith, they really know what they’re talking about,” Bullock said. “The assistant coaches, I really like. I really think they have a good scheme. The offense and defense are going to be prepared. Special teams, too.”
Bullock spent a lot of time with fellow visitors Henry Parrish and Zachary Evans.
“We were taking pictures with each other and in the running back room, chatting it up, laughing and having fun,” Bullock said.
3. Ole Miss is expected to host another 4-5 official visitors this weekend, per sources. Only four-star safety Donovan Kaufman is firmly slated to visit, as of this writing. A source said at this late point in the process, with so many prospects already signed to NLIs, there are “a lot of moving parts.”
Ole Miss added two players _ Temple tight end Kenny Yeboah and Georgia safety Otis Reese _ from the transfer portal over the weekend. The expectation is the Rebels aren’t necessarily done in that category either.
Ole Miss will bring in more visitors on Jan. 31. Throughout the next few weeks, the Rebels will be hitting the accelerator on 2021 recruiting as well.
4. Ole Miss lost yet another second-half lead on Saturday night, dropping a four-point loss to LSU.
Breein Tyree scored a career-high 36 points. He was fantastic. The rest of the team struggled, especially at the free throw line.
Ole Miss lost for the fifth straight time and is now 0-4 in the Southeastern Conference.
“We just have to keep going or it’s going to snowball,” Tyree said.
He had plenty of other things to say following the game. It’s worth a view.
5. Here’s my weekly ranking of SEC basketball teams, with their NET ranking in parentheses)
1. Kentucky (27)
2. Florida (39)
3. Alabama (43)
4. Auburn (20)
5. LSU (23)
6. Arkansas (32)
7. Mississippi State (57)
8. Georgia (72)
9. Tennessee (63)
10. South Carolina (98)
11. Missouri (77)
12. Ole Miss (111)
13. Texas A&M (145)
14. Vanderbilt (146
6. It was a traumatic week for Major League Baseball, as three managers lost their jobs, a general manager was suspended for a year and the very integrity of the game was called into question.
The Houston Astros cheated on their way to the 2017 World Series title. We know that beyond any doubt. There were lots of victims, most especially the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost that series in seven games.
I couldn’t help but wonder what Yu Darvish, who lost Games 3 and 7 of that series, thought as the stories unfolded. I didn’t have to wait long, as Darvish, now with the Chicago Cubs, spoke to media late in the week.
“I know they steal signs, but at the same time I was not good in the World Series, too,” Darvish told The Athletic. “So I can’t say anything.”
In Darvish’s first two playoff starts as a Dodger in 2017, he gave up two runs on a pair of solo homers in 11 1/3 innings in road wins over the Diamondbacks and the Cubs. He struck out 14 and walked one.
In the World Series, he was a shell of himself.
He lasted 1 2/3 innings in each of his losses in Games 3 and 7. He gave up four runs on six hits in his first start at Houston. Darvish didn’t have any strikeouts. He didn’t get any in his short outing in Game 7 at home, either. That hadn’t happened all season.
Astros hitters couldn’t touch him in the regular season from 2016-17. However, in Game 3’s 5-3 loss, he gave up four runs in the second innings off a homer, two doubles and two singles before getting pulled.
In Game 7’s 5-1 loss, he gave up a leadoff double to George Springer in the first inning — Springer scored on an error — and he was pulled after Springer’s two-run homer made it 5-0 in the second inning.
While Darvish blames himself for the results, he wants some answers on what really happened.
“That’s what I want to know,” he said. “A couple Astros players told me I was tipping pitches, 100 percent. That’s what I want to know, if the World Series (losses) came from stealing signs or tipping pitches.”
His wife, Seiko, tweeted that her son was “watching the game all the way through till the end while trying to hide his tears with his hat” in that game. But she wasn’t angry because “the truth is, my husband is who he is today because of what happened on that day. Life really is mysterious.”
Darvish may have recovered, but it’s my opinion the Astros should be even more severely punished, players included. Careers were altered. Money was lost. The Dodgers likely lost a World Series because of the Astros’ cheating.
A high price must be paid for that, at least in my opinion.
7. Most NBA teams are either right at or just over the halfway mark of the regular season. If the season ended today, the playoffs would look like this:
Eastern Conference
Milwaukee vs. Brooklyn
Miami vs. Orlando
Toronto vs. Philadelphia
Boston vs. Indiana
Western Conference:
L.A. Lakers vs. Memphis
Denver vs. Oklahoma City
L.A. Clippers vs. Houston
Utah vs. Dallas
If the season ended today and I had a ballot, my postseason awards would go to:
Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant, Memphis
Most Improved Player: Brandon Ingram, New Orleans
Sixth Man of the Year: Montrezl Harrell, L.A. Clippers
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra, Miami
Executive of the Year: Sam Presti, Oklahoma City
Most Valuable Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
8. Laura and I attended a memorial Saturday evening at The Lyric honoring the late Edward Aschoff.
Aschoff died on Christmas Eve after a bout with pneumonia. Last week, his fiancee, Katy Berteau, learned Aschoff had, unbeknownst to him, Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. That disease, combined with pneumonia, can trigger HLH in the body and helps explain how his condition declined so rapidly in December.
Anyway, this isn’t about that. A full house congregated to celebrate Ed’s life on Saturday. It was a who’s who of national sports writers, from Wright Thompson to Mark Schlabach to Ross Dellenger to Chris Low. Several of Ed’s Oxford friends spoke, as did family members and the like.
Katy Berteau spoke last. It was a moving, beautiful tribute to the man she had hoped would become her husband this spring. Saturday night was supposed to be an engagement party in Oxford for Edward and Katy. Instead, she was left to read vows she had prepared months ago at a memorial service.
Katy had a request for those of us in attendance, so I’ll pass it along to you.
In short, be kind. Try to have an open heart. Tell the people you love that you love them.
As Katy said Saturday night, Edward would consider that quite a tribute to his legacy.
9. It’s time for something sweet, and with that in mind, here’s Burton Webb with Taste of the Place, Lesson 20: Lemon-Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes.
Yes, it’s an American dessert. Yes, it’s popular all over the world. Yes, you can make it home. Desserts can be daunting but they do not need to be. You have to be precise in the measurements when it comes to this particular aspect of the meal and everything else will be fine. Mississippi Promise. Now for some tidbits.
Tidbits #1: We will be using what is called a “water bath” to cook the individual cheesecakes in. All this means is that you place your individual circular ramekins into a casserole dish and then fill that dish halfway up with room temperature water. It lends to even cooking.
Tidbit #2: Let your cheesecakes cool down to room temperature once you pull them out of the oven. Then place in the fridge for two hours to cool down properly before serving.
Tidbit #3: You can wrap your cheesecakes in plastic wrap once they have cooled downed properly and place in the freezer for up to one month. You just need to pull them out of freezer and let sit in the fridge for two hours to unthaw. Let/s get into the recipe!
Things you will need:
3 People or 2 People sharing the 3rd Cheesecake
A few glasses of Riesling Wine
Preparation Time: 4 Hours Total, 2 Hours for Cooling
Equipment Needed:
1 Work Surface with a Pairing Knife
3 Oven Safe Ramekins near 3.5 Inches in Diameter and 2 Inches in Height
1 Small Microwave Safe Bowl
2 Medium Mixing Bowls
1 Casserole Dish
1 Medium Metal Whisk
1 Rubber Spatula
1 Oven
1 Microwave
1 Spoon
1 Pair of Oven Mitts
Measuring Cups of 1/2 Cup, 1 Tbsp, and 1/2 Tsp
Timer on your Phone
Ingredients Needed:
8 Ounces of Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
3 Tbsp White Sugar
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Vanilla Bean Sliced and Scrapped
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Whole Egg
Water from the faucet
1/2 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
Directions:
Step 1: “Mis En Place” all of your ingredients and set your oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2: Melt your butter in the small bowl in the microwave for 40 seconds. Add to one of the medium mixing bowls followed by the graham cracker crumbs. Mix until combined and then divide between the 3 ramekins. Use your spoon to ‘mash’ the crust down to an even layer. Place in your casserole dish.
Step 3: Place the cream cheese in the other mixing bowl along with the ‘scrapped’ vanilla bean, white sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk until throughly combined. Add the egg, mix again.
Step 4: Now add your lemon juice and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl. Mix until throughly combined. Divide the batter between the 3 ramekins.
Step 5: Run warm water into the casserole dish so that about 1 inch in depth. Place your casserole dish in your oven being careful not to spill the water. Set your timer for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the casserole dish from the oven, again being careful with that hot water now. Let sit till room temperature, 30 minutes and then place them in the fridge to cool down fully.
Bonus Step: When it comes to toppings, place fresh blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries on top. If you find a fruit puree at the grocery store that you like…go for that. Another option for your self is chocolate or caramel sauce. When you use those two sauces, omit the lemon juice in the recipe and add 1 tsp of vanilla extract for the batter. With the new year comes new opportunities, one of which is actually having access to rebel grove in Europe now. So if you have any questions let me know @BurtonWebb. From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appetite!
10. We’ll have coverage of Ole Miss football recruiting, basketball and whatever else may come up this week here on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure:
How Lane Kiffin’s analytical approach will modernize Ole Miss football | The Oxford Eagle
FSU football-Bob Stoops emails: Pooping rhinos, profanity and fan ultimatums
Buzzers, burner accounts and conspiracies: Inside baseball's day of epic chaos
To stop sign stealing, MLB could fight tech with more tech
Red Sox firing Alex Cora was Boston's best and only option - Sports Illustrated
Why anger is boiling behind the scenes about Astros' sign-stealing punishments
Slimmed-down Miguel Cabrera looks ready for 2020 - mlive.com
Small transactions, behind-the-scenes moves tell story of Cubs’ 2020 vision – The Athletic
Carig: Notes from a surprise roadside conversation with the elusive Sammy Sosa – The Athletic
Bradley Beal is angry and the Wizards better find out why, and fix it, immediately – The Athletic
The aura of Bridgestone Arena is gone – The Athletic
Here Are the Most Popular Liquors in Every State | Food & Wine
How TikTok Is Killing the Radio Songwriter - The New York Times