Finishing Strong: Handsome Hour Season Finale

After a few weeks off, the guys get the band back together for one more classic to end 2011.

They talk about the outlook for the season that's ahead...

They look into the reasons for optimism on the gridiron...

and teach you what real gangstas do when they're disrespected.

Get your holiday handsome cheer here...NOW!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

Boilers Return to Defensive Roots Beat EMU 61-36 (and notes from the day)

"My Name's AJ.  No one outside of the Purdue family seems to know who I am...but they will soon."

It was a big sports day, and we'll talk about some of the other stories in a second, but first, here are my thoughts on what happened in God's country today.

First off, the problem from the free throw line is officially a trend.  Purdue was 250th in the nation in free throw shooting coming into the game...after today's 52.2% performance from the stripe, our Boilers will most-assuredly be even worse.  Good teams will make Purdue pay for these points left on the floor in the win-loss column, bad teams, like EMU won't be close enough for it to matter.

Coming into the game, I was a bit concerned with EMU's size as they have three players that are around 6'10" in their regular rotation...plus, they play a zone, which Purdue has struggled greatly against in the past few seasons.

The game started well with Hummel scoring on his first two attempts from behind the three point line...and that'll soften up a zone. But, after the first few minutes, Purdue's woes from behind the arc were pretty obvious. The good guys shot 32% from the line, and Smith was only 1-for-7.  But Purdue out-rebounded the outmanned Eagles by 8 and frustrated them time and time again.

Kelsey Barlow only had 5 points, 2 rebounds an assist and a steal...but his defense made his presence impossible to ignore as he completely disrupted EMU's offense time and again.  TJohn had 4 turnovers...but also had three steals. He missed five free throws...but made a couple shots when the game was a bit closer than it should have been in the first half.  He finished with 9 points and is improving, but isn't ready to start; yet.  AJ had another solid game and finished with 7 points and 4 rebounds...and had 0 turnovers while running the point a bit in the second half.  But if you didn't get to see his put-back dunk in the second half, you missed Purdue's offensive play of the year, in my opinion.  Click here for more.

Ryne Smith struggled from three, but still finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 0 turnovers.  Hummel was streaky, but lead the team with 13 points...but his 8 rebounds were my favorite part of his game.  He missed a few open mid-range jumpers, which bothered me a bit to see...but I don't think he's forgotten how to shoot the 15 footer. Byrd played scrappy and seemed to be in the right place over and over again as he scratched and clawed out 6 rebounds...Jacob Lawson showed some finesse around the basket finishing with 7 points, but only 2 boards.  I loved what I saw out of Carroll- only one point, but 5 rebounds...and three blocks.  Plus, he was just more resolute than he had been the last three games.  John Hart saw his first action of the season, playing the final three minutes of the game...but not getting many opportunities to show a whole bunch.

EMU is a pretty bad team, and Purdue treated them as such.  EMU's big men didn't look very athletic and weren't, their guards struggled to find space and shots against Purdue's pressure.  In other words, Purdue did what they should have done versus some of the other sub-par teams they played this year, and left no doubt.  I think the hangover that was around the heads of our Boilers following the X game was flushed out in this one.

Now, Matty's boys get 6 days off before going to Indy to play Butler.  I think the break might be a great springboard for this team as they head toward the B1G season.

Special Note: From what I understand, BTN sent live humans to Mackey Arena to sit courtside and talk about what they saw as cameras rolled and the images were beamed to satellites and homes across America.  That's nice.

Boilers/Hope Get What They Deserve: Trip to Detroit (and B1G Bowl notes)

Last night when Purdue was given the news that they'd be making the short trip to Detroit to play Western Michigan, many players weren't celebrating, but instead were complaining about the draw.  Hours, if not minutes later, the tune changed...and this morning that continued.

Hope and some of the Seniors weighed in on GBI saying they were grateful for getting the invite...and honestly, they all should be.  Two teams eligible for bowls, Ball State (6-6) and Western Kentucky (7-5), didn't receive bowl bids...but everyone who was eligible to go from the B1G got an invite.  That's right TEN of the 12 teams in the conference are going bowling.  That's the most ever invited from one conference.  But is it something to brag about when four of those teams are .500? I think not.

Don't Tell Me This is the Same Ole Joe

Everytime I express my discontent with the current state of Purdue football, I'm reminded by some of the old guys around me that you simply have to respect all he's done for Purdue football.

I do.

Please don't get that wrong.

But, it's been time for him to go for a while now...and his chosen ending is wearing out all leniency that the fan base had. The high standards that Joe created have crept into the consciousness of the average Purdue fan...so what we're seeing and hearing is not acceptable.

This is what Coach Tiller said in the wake of this week's loss to aOSU:

"We live in a result-oriented society," Tiller said. "To me, the effort is more important than the results. My measuring stick is the type of effort we give. Where you're at is less significant. It's, how'd ya get there?"

That doesn't sound like an old football coach from Ohio talking...that sounds like a 40-something year old teacher from California. The transformation from cowboy to creampuff has been noteworthy. He talks about fishing more than football and his mind and attention has moved from West Lafayette to Wyoming. I don't blame him, but I am simply pissed that he's held the fanbase hostage instead of simply stepping down. Hope's recruiting efforts reflect that the transition is far from smooth and the results on the field show that Tiller really does think that results are not imperative.

Compare and contrast the above quote to this...another quote from the same man back in late November of 1996:

"We're not going to wait for four years to figure this out. If I would wait four more years, I would hardly have any hair left. We're here to win a championship. We've won in the past, and we will win again in the future."

And just the same, as Tiller's time at Purdue dwindles like the sunlight reflecting on a rolling stream in Wyoming in the late afternoon, Danny Hope should act, speak and coach in a way that shows he expects nothing less than championship-caliber football once again in West Lafayette. That's on of the things we can all take from Cowboy Joe Tiller as Purdue's football coach.

Mutiny!!!

It's actually NOT how you finish...

Chris Summers, Brandon Whittington, Curtis Painter, Dorien Bryant, Kyle Orton, Ben Jones, Berin Lacevic, Montrell Lowe, Kyle Smith, Brandon Kirsch, Brandon Hance, Kelly Butler, Travis Dorsch, Antwaun Rogers and even Drew Brees.
What do all of these players have in common?
First, they're all Purdue football players who were pretty solid, at least in most cases, during their careers. Furthermore, about half of them were stars in the black and gold. Another, more painful commonality is they all made costly mistakes late in a close game, during the Tiller era, that could have cemented a victory...and our Boilers lost a heartbreaker shortly after. I think it's important for individuals to take responsibility for their actions...in life as well as in sport. But, it's hard to lay blame when the same things happen repetitively with a wide array of players on all sides of the ball in a number of painful, sour-tasting, putrid-smelling ways.
I used to think it was Jim Chaney's fault when Purdue got conservative on offense when our Boilers were in the lead...Then, Coach Legg showed some really predicable tendencies...yesterday, we saw Coach Z painting a very familiar offensive picture during the second and third quarters- Three and out; draw left, option right, dropped pass. As the coaching gets tighter, the players get tighter, the fans get tighter, the energy in the stadium drastically changes...and before you know it, a lead has shrunk, then disappeared and finally has been replaced with a narrow margin that ends in defeat of my alma mater's football team.

I compared yesterday's game v. Oregon to a job interview in which you really aren't qualified...Like Purdue yesterday, there's nothing to lose...much to gain. And our Boilers played just that way...for about 18 minutes...then things changed. According to a radio program I was listening to while driving south on 65, the Purdue offense had 9 offensive possessions in a row in which they moved the ball 30-or-less yards...I would estimate many of those drives were 15 yards or-less and at least four of them were 3-and-outs.

I honestly don't give a damn who tells me different...This is a systematic, philisophical, and even psychological problem that will be cured, one way or another at the end of this season. And while I didn't want it to end this way, an old wound was torn open yesterday and a salenic-lemon tonic was shot into the contusion that reminded me of way too many games I've watched during the last 11 years.

Tiller Love Fest in Chi-Town

Today was media day up in Chicago. So, coach Tiller put on a golf shirt, packed up the station wagon, and took Greg Orton, Anthony Heygood, Curtis Painter North a few hours for a dog and pony show.

In most years, the talk will revolve around the potential Heisman candidate player or a coach that had a surprising, exceptional season the previous year or new players and coaches alike. This year though, nearly every coach was asked at least one question about Joe Tiller...You know- How did you meet Joe? -Where was your first kiss with Joe? -Do you think he's more handsome with or without the big sun hat that he wears away from gameday? Important, hard-hitting stuff. Talk also focused on JoePa's future in Happy Valley.
Paterno delighted and entertained the press crowd with an assortment of "ehhhhhs", "ahhhhs", inadvertant gas-passing and other old guy-isms. But, like a seasoned politician, Paterno never really answered any of the questions directly about his future at the program that he first started coaching in the late 1890s.
Tiller himself answered questions about fishing, his successor and his the state of the team that he'll be leaving at the end of the season. One point of interest, at least to this knucklehead, was the fact that Tiller blames the poor view of the Big Ten on people like J, Tim and I. I guess EspN's lemmings constantly bashing on the Big Ten doesn't matter, but sites like BS, with a readership in the hundreds are really hurting the perception of the league. Rrrrrright.

Another thing Tiller talked about was Wyoming...Ahhhh, Wyoming. The air's a bit sweeter there, the rivers flow with golden honey and are stocked with steelhead that jump right into your boat, and when it rains, monarch butterflies and lilacs fall softly from the sky. It's a pretty great place- we get the point. Like most years, Purdue's head man has spent the three weeks prior to the Big Ten presser away from campus. Oh, I know what you're thinking- I'm sure Tressel has a place in Montana where he lives the majority of the summer...Wait, no he doesn't, he's in Columbus or at speaking arrangements in the state like nine of the other coaches in the league. Hey, I'm just saying.

While I can't say I blame him for wanting to take it easy, I can say that it's probably not the best way for a CEO to lead. The tireless efforts and general hustle from Purdue's basketball coach is a refreshing departure from Wyoming Joe's way of running his ship. I've said it before, I'd probably love Coach Tiller as a neighbor...But I am pretty happy he's decided to follow his heart back West. He knows it's time, so do we. That said, even if he's not as excited about football as he used to be, I'm still excited to see what his team looks like in the first Saturday of September.

Recruiting Notes
While much of the Big Ten, and major programs elsewhere have 10-15 verbal committments at this point, Purdue only has three. But, they're in the final five schools for a bunch of kids- hopefully half of these four or high-three-star guys can end up in West Lafayette.

All three of the verbals are Florida kids- all three seem to be very athletic, but each seems to have an asterisk of sorts that is keeping interest in each player low.

-Aristide is coming off of a knee injury
-Bush has some academic questions
-Henry's only played QB for one season

As the old adage says, "It's not how you start, but how you finish..." That's true, but if signs of life don't start coming in the form of some August verbals, Coach Hope may have trouble filling his first class with Big Ten-type talent.