This happened much faster than I thought, but the now-former Cincinnati Bearcats Head Coach Brian Kelly was introduced today at a press conference as the University of Notre Dame's 29th head football coach. Kelly coached the Cincinnati Bearcats to an amazing run, going undefeated in 2009 and earning a Sugar Bowl game against Florida.
I think the Fighting Irish made the right choice; they found someone who's passing approach is light-years ahead of that of Charlie Weis.
Yep. I wrote that. Light years.
Coach Kelly's innovative use of formations and motion and creative short passing methods are worthy of intense study. Of particular note is his employment of formations with four wide receivers on one side of the ball. In those sets, Kelly will use short-man-in-motion to cause one receiver to "rub" another, then run what is called a "stick" pattern off that action.
Coach Kelly uses four-and-five wide receiver formations most of the time. He employs the quarterback draw from these sets. And Coach Kelly rolls out the quarterback to vary the passing launch point.
Coach Kelly also regularly uses a high-middle-low receiver pattern combination that's lethal. I'm not taking anything away from Weis, who had a great approach to the passing game, but Kelly's is just more varied. This video from this year's game against Fresno's a great example of how the Brian Kelly passing game works, and why Golden Domers should be excited:
Under Brian Kelly, Notre Dame will be able to move the ball against anyone. I'm just concerned that the defense will not have the talent needed to take the Fighting Irish to national championship level.
Stay tuned.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Happy Hanukkah! Celebrating Hanukkah in Oakland and the East Bay
Happy Hanukkah (or Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannuka and the Festival of Lights) ! I wasn't raised to believe that one had to be Jewish to recognize Hanukkah, so today's a special day. Latkes! Yum! (And for the record, my Mom makes awesome Latkes and she's African American. Unfortunately, I'm back in the Bay Area for business and she's in Georgia, otherwise she'd make them for me!)
For those who may be surprised to see this celebration on my blog and aren't familiar with Hanukkah, here's a nutshell primer.
This is the eighth day of the Festival of Light on the eve of what is called the commemoration of the miracle of the oil. Each day, one kindles the Hanukkah lights of a special candelabrum, the Menorah which has nine branches, and does this once each day for eight days (December 11th to December 19th), increasing the number of lights each evening. So for this time before sundown we kindle one light. (In the Jewish calendar the day begins at night, then starts the 1st day of Hanukkah.)
The ritual celebrates the victorious battle of the Jewish rebel army the Maccabees over the supposedly much superior Syrians in 165 B.C. and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. (By the way, there are many variations of this history, so chime in with any variation, if you please.)
One lights a menorah, exchanges gifts, and has food cooked in oil. Now the question is can one get a good Latke in Oakland?
Yes.
The place I visit is called Grand Bakery and its on 3264 Grand Ave just up the street from The Grand Lake Theater; the number is 510-465-1110. They ran out earlier today because of the Hanukkah rush. And sundown is nigh. So the best alternative is to make your own or visit Saul's Deli in Berkeley.
Making Latkes is easy, really. Here's a great receipe I found for Zucchini Parmesan Latkes at The Friday Flyer:
Zucchini Parmesan Latkes
Yields 24 pancakes
2 lbs. zucchini
1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 C. chopped green onions (scallions)
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 C. chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper
2 tsp. sugar
1/3 C. flour
2 medium eggs
Vegetable oil for frying
Serve with sour cream
But if you have to go out in the East Bay, I annually recommend Saul's Deli, at 1475 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, CA. Saul's has a fantastic Hanukkah menu and a Latke tent and Beer Garden that's open until 7 PM. And the Jewish Community Center has a Family Shabbat and Candlelighting at 5pm. The JCC East Bay is at 1414 Walnut Street in Berkeley and at 4500 Redwood Road in Oakland ; the phone number is 510-848-0237 in Berkeley and 510-530-9222 in Oakland. The JCC East Bay has a full list of daily Hanukkah events.
So as we approach sundown and you think there's no place to go in the East Bay, don't dispair! There's lot's to do and places to visit! Happy Hanukkah.
For those who may be surprised to see this celebration on my blog and aren't familiar with Hanukkah, here's a nutshell primer.
This is the eighth day of the Festival of Light on the eve of what is called the commemoration of the miracle of the oil. Each day, one kindles the Hanukkah lights of a special candelabrum, the Menorah which has nine branches, and does this once each day for eight days (December 11th to December 19th), increasing the number of lights each evening. So for this time before sundown we kindle one light. (In the Jewish calendar the day begins at night, then starts the 1st day of Hanukkah.)
The ritual celebrates the victorious battle of the Jewish rebel army the Maccabees over the supposedly much superior Syrians in 165 B.C. and the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. (By the way, there are many variations of this history, so chime in with any variation, if you please.)
One lights a menorah, exchanges gifts, and has food cooked in oil. Now the question is can one get a good Latke in Oakland?
Yes.
The place I visit is called Grand Bakery and its on 3264 Grand Ave just up the street from The Grand Lake Theater; the number is 510-465-1110. They ran out earlier today because of the Hanukkah rush. And sundown is nigh. So the best alternative is to make your own or visit Saul's Deli in Berkeley.
Making Latkes is easy, really. Here's a great receipe I found for Zucchini Parmesan Latkes at The Friday Flyer:
Zucchini Parmesan Latkes
Yields 24 pancakes
2 lbs. zucchini
1/2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 C. chopped green onions (scallions)
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 C. chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper
2 tsp. sugar
1/3 C. flour
2 medium eggs
Vegetable oil for frying
Serve with sour cream
But if you have to go out in the East Bay, I annually recommend Saul's Deli, at 1475 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, CA. Saul's has a fantastic Hanukkah menu and a Latke tent and Beer Garden that's open until 7 PM. And the Jewish Community Center has a Family Shabbat and Candlelighting at 5pm. The JCC East Bay is at 1414 Walnut Street in Berkeley and at 4500 Redwood Road in Oakland ; the phone number is 510-848-0237 in Berkeley and 510-530-9222 in Oakland. The JCC East Bay has a full list of daily Hanukkah events.
So as we approach sundown and you think there's no place to go in the East Bay, don't dispair! There's lot's to do and places to visit! Happy Hanukkah.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Liu Bolin thinks President Obama's setting World on fire
Chinese artist Liu Bolin thinks President Obama's setting the World on fire - making rapid change in many ways. And to express his view, Liu Bolin's created a sculture of Barack Obama that's on fire. In a sculpted image that renders Obama in the guise of The Human Torch, flame intermittently rises up over the head of Obama.
Liu Bolin made the sculpture to celebrate Obama's visit to China and is an admirer of the President. Liu Bolin said, “Obama is a very interesting and perspective leader. He is so hot now that I decided to impress this in “Burning Man Obama” work. Here's the work in this video:
I like the work, but others have issues with it.
Stay tuned.
Liu Bolin made the sculpture to celebrate Obama's visit to China and is an admirer of the President. Liu Bolin said, “Obama is a very interesting and perspective leader. He is so hot now that I decided to impress this in “Burning Man Obama” work. Here's the work in this video:
I like the work, but others have issues with it.
Stay tuned.
Obama Nobel Peace Prize Speech one of President's best (video)
Always able to deliver an address that's the measure of the moment, President Barack Obama did so again this morning with a speech that CNN's David Gergen said would "stand the test of time."
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, I now contend, was given not for keeping America out of war, but for this unique person at this special moment in time. Obama is doing what I thought was impossible: turning the unjust act of war into a just action of necessity. Here's Obama's speech:
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, I now contend, was given not for keeping America out of war, but for this unique person at this special moment in time. Obama is doing what I thought was impossible: turning the unjust act of war into a just action of necessity. Here's Obama's speech:
Holly Sampson Tiger Woods Video: porn star talks sex
New Tiger Woods video!
The latest in the ongoing Tiger Woods scandal has Porn Actress Holly Sampson talking about sex with Tiger Woods in a video created for the website online show Naughty America and originally aired May 26, 2009. But the video - which I have in my video-blog talk above - has Holly giving information that the media has not as of this writing touched on.
Holly Sampson
Holly Sampson mentions that she was at "Tiger's bachelor party", which means Tiger Woods was not married at the time. That's an important fact to remember because Tiger Woods has been painted as one who ran around with all of the alleged mistresses after he was married. But the real story is Holly Sampson was part of what I now call the "Entertainment Culture" Woods was already caught up in.
Holly Sampson gets around. In the video she mentions sleeping with celebrities like Kevin Costner and Stephen Dorff before she talks about Tiger. But when she does mention Woods, she talks at length about him.
I f—– Tiger Woods... Me and my girlfriends did a bachelor party for Tiger and it was amazing. A friend of mine Brent Bolthouse - he runs a lot of nightclubs. He used to be a friend of mine and he was good friends with one of Tiger Woods' assistants. So me and my girlfriends we did a bachelor party for Tiger and uh it was amazing. And so he picked me to go into the room...I have to say he was really good. He and Kevin...I've got juice...I think it’s pretty amazing. He’s (Woods) like the whitest black boy you’ve ever met. His teeth are perfect and he’s the perfect gentleman. He’s beautiful.”
Holly Sampson also said that Tiger Woods practiced safe sex as did she.
I've got to take an aside and crit on the "whitest black boy" comment. Holly Sampson talks as if she thinks every black guy's a rapper and has never been with an African American gentleman. That's what we call "institutionally racist" where she would say 'I'm not racist' then say racially divisive things like that. Calling Rush Limbaugh!
But I digress.
Now what's interesting aside from the matter of where they met being a bachelor party, is the role of Brent Bolthouse. I did some online checking and Brent Bolthouse has become of some note in the LA Entertainment Culture. He's been in the business for 19 years and he owns four nightclubs (two of which are visible on his MySpace page), hotels, is the producer of the MTV television show "The Hills", and is an event planner.
(Indeed, the New York Post reports that another alleged Tiger Woods mistress Jaimie Grubbs was at a recent party thrown by Bolthouse in LA.)
What we're getting is a bigger picture of Tiger Woods life in this culture of parties, athletes, celebrities, and women. It's a scene that I now contend he got addicted to before he married Elin Nordegren and never got out of his system.
But it's clear also that Tiger Woods Management needs to, again, get control of what's an out of control media circus. It's like a giant PR amusement park with the World's longest indoor roller coster: one never knows what's around the corner.
But Tiger Woods does.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Mc Donalds in Walmart in Georgia
Interesting that the two mass-market organizations have teamed up in this way.
It also explains why a lot of folks here are fat.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Tiger Woods scandal update - Rachel Uchitel talks to OK Magazine
In the latest Tiger Woods scandal update, the woman some now call "Mistress #1" Rachel Uchitel apparently grew tired of New Media crafting her image for her and decided, undoubtedly with prodding from her attorney Gloria Allred, to talk.
Rachel Uchitel
But rather than give a full blown press conference, Rachel played it in a passive-aggressive way and gave OK Magazine an exclusive interview. Before I turn to it, I must explain that had Rachel created a full press conference she would have been able to have multiple media outlets send out her message and the pattern of online search would have been turned to her. But she didn't do that.
Meanwhile, we have OK Magazine and TMZ.com flashing a photo of her rear end as she climbs over a railing to get into her apartment building.
In the OK Magazine interview, Rachel kind of spills her guts, so to speak. I write that because OK Magazine wants you to buy either the street version or the online version of the article, which I'm not going to do and I doubt you are either. What OK Magazine quotes Rachel as saying is...
And that's it. That's all online.
The rest was provided to Star Magazine which is reporting an alleged email sent from Woods to Uchitel. Now, here's where it gets real weird. How does Star Magazine know the email's really from Tiger Woods? That's where Woods needs to take Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg's advice and dig up every bit of information that he's sent out so he and his team alone can separate fact from fiction.
If you missed my interview with the legendary sports agent click here.
Rachel Uchitel
But rather than give a full blown press conference, Rachel played it in a passive-aggressive way and gave OK Magazine an exclusive interview. Before I turn to it, I must explain that had Rachel created a full press conference she would have been able to have multiple media outlets send out her message and the pattern of online search would have been turned to her. But she didn't do that.
Meanwhile, we have OK Magazine and TMZ.com flashing a photo of her rear end as she climbs over a railing to get into her apartment building.
In the OK Magazine interview, Rachel kind of spills her guts, so to speak. I write that because OK Magazine wants you to buy either the street version or the online version of the article, which I'm not going to do and I doubt you are either. What OK Magazine quotes Rachel as saying is...
In every story, you need a villain and a hero. I’ve been characterized as a villain. People have called me homewrecker, gold digger, tramp, whore. I make mistakes, but I’m not those things. I have very good qualities. When you’re judged by the nation, it’s really difficult. It’s horrible.
And that's it. That's all online.
The rest was provided to Star Magazine which is reporting an alleged email sent from Woods to Uchitel. Now, here's where it gets real weird. How does Star Magazine know the email's really from Tiger Woods? That's where Woods needs to take Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg's advice and dig up every bit of information that he's sent out so he and his team alone can separate fact from fiction.
If you missed my interview with the legendary sports agent click here.
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